Vocabulary
This is the remains of an ancient organism.
What is a fossil?
This fossil is a solid copy of the shape of the organism or organism part.
Cast
Mike and his Dad went fossil hunting on a mountain. They found these fossils:
1. Shark Tooth
2. Snail Shell
3. Clam Shell
Based on these fossils, how has the area changed?
A. It used to be warmer
B. It used to be colder
C. It used to be in an ocean
C. It used to be in an ocean.
What is the correct sequence of fossil formation?
A. The sand and soil hardens
B. A living thing dies
C. Bone becomes rock
D. The non-living thing begins to decay or rot
E. Dirt covers the non-living
B
E
D
A
C
What organism can make fossils?
Any living thing
Trails, feathers, footprints, and bitemarks are this type of fossil.
Trace fossils
All of the following can become a fossil except..
A. Bones
B. Shells
C. Teeth
D. Rocks
D. Rocks
How can finding fossils tell us about the past environment of a specific area?
The fossils can tell us what type of animals used to live there which gives us the information we need to know whether they lived on land or in water.
When something no longer exists, it is called...
extinct
Impressions (stamps) in sediment/soil are this type of fossil.
mold fossils
Which of these best describes a fossil?
A. A geometric pattern formed by a mineral.
B. A solid element or compound from Earth's crust.
C. Remains of an extinct organism found in a rock layer.
D. Bits of weathered rocks and pieces of dead organisms.
C. Remains of an extinct organism found in a rock layer.
What organisms fossil is considered to be the largest found?
dinosaur
A person who studies fossils.
palentologist
These are ways to preserve a whole organism and create true form fossils.
amber (tree sap), ice or tar
Which can a scientist learn from studying a plant fossil?
A. How long ago the plant lived
B. How the plant became extinct.
C. How many plants lived in the area
A. How long ago the plant lived.
What are the 4 types of fossils?
cast, mold, trace and true form
The kind of rock that fossils are found in.
What is sedimentary rock?
This is why the soft parts of a shark's body are not preserved as a fossil.
What is rotting or decay?
The fossils of extinct sea animals called, trilobites are found in Ohio. This means Ohio was once covered by..
A. Grass
B. Water
C. Forests
D. Mountains
B. Water
Paleontologists usually find all bones of an organism together.
False, fossils are typically spread apart and paleontologists have to piece them together carefully.