Fossil Facts
What are fossils shapes in?
Rocks
What do fossils tell us about?
The past
Can you find fossils in many or only a few parts of the world?
In most parts of the world
Where can you go to look at fossils that are already collected?
Museums
In which country did scientists find whale fossils in the desert?
Chile
What do fossils show in the rocks?
Animals and plants that lived a long time ago
What can we learn about rocks from fossils?
Types of rocks
Name one place on land where you can find fossils.
On mountains, in deserts, on beaches or under the ground.
Where can you buy fossils?
Special fossil shops
How many whale skeletons did the scientists find in the desert?
20
How old must a shape be to be a fossil?
At least ten thousand years old
What can we learn about animals from fossils?
Animals that lived a very long time ago
Where can people sometimes find fossils when they are working?
When they are digging up roads or building houses
On what two places outdoors can you look for your own fossils?
On the beach or on rocks
How old are the whale fossils in the desert?
Between two and seven million years old
What parts of animals can some fossils show?
The shape of the animal or its bones
Why do fossils help us understand life on Earth thousands of years ago?
They give us clues about animals and plants from that time
Name one place on land and one place in water where you can find fossils
On mountains , in deserts , on beaches or under the ground and in seas
If you want to see fossils without buying them what two things can you do?
Visit museums or look for your own fossils
How big are some of the whale fossils?
Some are the size of a bus
Name two other things fossils can show apart from animals and bones
An animal's footprints eggs or nest any two
If you wanted to study animals from millions of years ago why would fossils be useful?
They show the shapes of those animals so we can learn about them even though they are gone
If fossils are in most parts of the world what does that tell us about where animals and plants lived in the past?
They lived in many different places all over the world
Why might beaches and rocks be good places to search for fossils?
Because fossils are in rocks and on beaches rocks are easy to see and pick up
What do scientists think this desert place was in the past?
A sea or a very big lake