What is a Fossil
Physical remains or evidence of an organism’s activity
What is a fossil?
The most common body fossil type
What are preserved hard parts?
Burrows, tracks, and bite marks are this fossil type
What are trace fossils?
Scientists who study fossil formation
Who are taphonomists?
Coprolites reveal this about animals
What is diet?
Fossils allow scientists to observe these organisms
What are long-extinct organisms?
A hollow space left after an organism dissolves
What is a mold?
Fossilized feces
What is a coprolite?
First condition required for fossilization
What is rapid burial?
Tracks can estimate this measurement of an animal
What is size or weight?
Most fossils form after burial by these materials
What are mud, sand, or volcanic ash?
Minerals fill a mold forming this fossil
What is a cast?
Trace fossils help determine this about organisms
What is behavior?
Second condition required for fossilization
What is proper chemistry / mineralization?
Coal forms mostly from this source
What are plants?
Rocks where fossils are usually found
What is sedimentary rock?
A flattened dark outline of an organism
What is an impression?
Bite marks matching serrated teeth suggest this
What is predation / the predator ate the animal? Carnivore
Bacteria and fungi mainly do this after death
What is decomposition?
Oil forms mostly from these organisms
What are plankton or algae?
Study that uses fossils to learn about past life
What is paleontology?
Rare fossils like insects trapped in amber preserve these
What are soft parts?
Tracks can show if animals traveled like this
What is in groups or herds?
Common fossil-bearing rocks
What are limestone, shale, or sandstone?
Why whole organisms rarely fossilize
What is decomposition by scavengers, bacteria, and fungi?