Vocabulary
describes a group of living things that is no longer living
extinct
in petrified wood, the soft parts of the once-living plant were replaced by this
minerals
Scientists may learn what an animal ate by looking at the shapes of this fossil (hint: it is an animal body part)
teeth
the hardened remains of a living thing that died long ago
fossil
Animal fossils are more common than plant fossils because plants are _________ than animal bones.
softer
An individual animal, plant or single-cell life form
organism
We do not know what many ancient plants look like because they did this before they could form a fossil.
rotted away?
Fossils of fish have been found on mountain tops. What does this tell us about the past?
The mountains were once covered by water.
Fossils are usually found buried under these pieces of rock and soil?
sediment
A type of fossil that tells where an organism has lived or traveled (for example: a footprint)
trace fossil
What is something you CANNOT learn from a fossil of a leaf?
A. how BIG the leaf was
B. what COLOR the leaf was
C. what SHAPE the leaf was
D. how WIDE the leaf was
B. what COLOR the leaf was
when an insect gets stuck in tree sap and the sap hardens
amber
Describe the steps for a fossil to form in sedimentary rock.
1) soft parts of the animal decompose 2) hard parts of the animal are buried under layers of sediment 3) the bones and sediment turn into rock
Which of these creatures is extinct?
A. Elephant
B. Camel
C. Woolly Mammoth
D. Hippopotamus
C. Woolly Mountain