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Vocabulary
Fossil Information
True or False
Misc.
How Fossils are Formed
100
The study of fossils is called:
paleontology
100
Dead organisms' hard body parts fossilize in this type of rock.
Sedimentary
100
Organisms that are buried slowly have a better chance of getting into the fossil record?
False
100
Minerals that fill a mold and have the same shape as the original living organism is this type of fossil.
A cast fossil
100
The first thing that must happen for a fossil to form.
The organism must die.
200
What do we call the remains or traces of past life, usually found in sedimentary rock?
Fossils
200
Entire animals, for example, ants, can be preserved when they are trapped in this hardened tree sap.
Amber
200
Less than 10% of all organisms become fossils.
True
200
Why do scientists study fossils and compare them to living things today?
That's how scientists know how living things have changed over time.
200
Name three things that could preserve a whole fossil.
Ice, tar and tree sap.
300
An example of this type of fossil is a worm burrow.
A trace fossil.
300
A mammoth was fossilized by ___________.
ice
300
Many fossils have been found in the rainforest.
False
300
Why must paleontologists be very careful when excavating fossils?
They must be careful so they don't destroy the fossil.
300
Which layer of rock would be the oldest - the bottom or the top?
The bottom layer of rock is the oldest.
400
What is the fossil imprint made by the outside of a dead plant or animal?
Mold
400

What is the black gooey substance that formed some fossils?

Tar

400
Organisms with hard bodies are fossilized more often that soft-bodied organisms.
True
400
If a fossil animal was a carnivore, what would its teeth look like?
They would look sharp and pointy, because it was a meat eater.
400
You can tell how an animal moved and its size from ______.
footprint
500
The type of rock that fossils are usually found in.
Sedimentary rock.
500

The tree log was fossilized through this process.

Mineralization/petrification

500
A footprint is an example of this type of fossil.
A trace fossil.
500
If a fish fossil is found in the desert, what could you infer about the what the area was once like?
You could infer that the area was once covered by water.
500
If a fossil animal has flat teeth, what can we infer about what this animal ate?
It ate plants.