The Process by which an organism has parts of its preserved or imprinted in rock
Fossilization
Shark Teeth
Body Fossil
The organism must be in an evironment with minimal decay
Mold Fossils
Ancient animals and plant species
Past environmental conditions
Evolution and biological changes
Fossils
What are the two types of fossils
Body Fossil and Trace Fossil
An impression in the rock left by an organism
Fossil
Trail Marks
Trace Fossil
A hollow impression remains where the organism was located
Mold Fossil
Fossil can be found
Sedimentary Rocks
Fossils can be preserved in many ways what are some of the ways
Mineral replacement (petrification)
Ice
Amber (tree sap)
Tar pits
Molds and casts
Small solid materials, like sand, that are carried by air or water and settle at the bottom of bodies of water, such as riverbeds or the ocean floor
Sediment
Bites Marks on Bone
Trace Fossil
Pressure and time transform the minerals into solid rock
Cast Fossil
Why are fossils important to scientists
Provide clues about what life was like on Earth millions of year ago and help understand extinct species and their environments.
People who study fossils
Paleontologists
A process of fossilization in which minerals seep into pores and cavities of the tissue and bones of an organism, leaving a cast of the organism behind
Permineralization
Animals Skull
Body Fossils
Shows Precise external characteristics
Cast Fossil
Fossil can be small as
A grain of pollen
How can fossils be used
Answer will vary
The death of all individual organisms in species, meaning the species can no longer continue
Extinction
Leaf impressions
Body Fossil
Areas with quick sediment accumulation
Mold Fossil
What do fossil preserved
Remnants from the past
Name the 4 spheres
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Geosphere
Hydrosphere