Vocabulary
Paleontologist
A person who studies fossils
The most common type of fossils are...
Mineral Fossils
Some fossils form in sticky tree sap. They get trapped and over time the sap hardens into a material called ______
Amber
Studying fossils allows scientists to learn more about earths ___________.
History
Layers of a rock can be used to tell how _______ a fossil is.
Old
Fossil
The preserved remains of plants and animals that lived long ago.
Fossilized dents made by plants and animals are called...
Molds
Define Preserved
In its original condition.
What does a sharp tooth fossil tell scientists about that animal?
It probably ate other animals (meat)
Deeper layers of rock are ____ than the layers above.
Older
Amber
A hard orange-yellow substance formed from tree sap.
Fossils that form when minerals fill dents and harden into rocks...
Casts
In very cold climates such as, Alaska and Siberia, where were fossils found?
In ice!
What do flat tooth fossils tell scientists about what that animal ate?
They ate plants.
Living things such as plants and animals
Organisms
Extinct
No longer alive.
Fossils made from markings or other things that animals leave behind...
Trace fossils
Fossils are usually found in this type of rock
Sedimentary
What can you determine about the land if a fish fossil was found in the desert?
It was once underwater.
_______ are the most common kind of trace fossils.
Footprints
Decay
To rot or decompose.
True or false... A cast fossil is hardened rock, while a mold fossil is hollow.
True
Describe the steps for how a fossil forms in sedimentary rock.
1) An animal dies 2) The animals' bones get buried by mud, dirt, or sand. 3) Minerals seep into the bones 4) they harden into rocks that look just like bones.
Coprolites, also known as, _________ can show us what animal ate and where it lived
Animal droppings
Most plant fossils are __________
Carbon prints.