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How are geologic maps useful to paleontologists?
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Explain why the fossil record is not complete.
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Earth's Layers 2
6th Grade Science: Unit 5 - Fossils
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How are geologic maps useful to paleontologists? | they indicate the age of rock formations, allowing them to pinpoint where to search for fossils from specific geological periods |
| Explain why the fossil record is not complete. | because the conditions needed for fossilization are rare: consider these factors (1) soft bodies organisms don’t make good fossils, (2) environmental factors reduce chances of becoming a fossil, (3) fossils get destroyed (4) not all fossils are found |
| Name 3 questions that the fossil record can help us to answer. | (1) How did organisms move? (2) What did the land look like during different periods? (3) What did oceans look like during different periods |
| Describe the difference between a body fossil and a trace fossil. | Body fossils are body parts of ancient organisms such as bones, shells, teeth, or plant leaves and trace fossils are traces left by organisms such as burrows, coprolites (feces), tracks and trails, nests or footprints |
| Define: Fossil Record | ALL of the fossils that have existed throughout life’s history, whether they have been found or not. |
| Define: Paleontologists | scientists who use fossils to study life in the past. |
| Fossils can be classified as what 3 types? | (1) body fossils: body parts of ancient organisms such as bones, shells, teeth, or plant leaves; (2) trace fossils: traces left by organisms such as burrows, coprolites (feces), tracks and trails, nests or footprints; or (3) both a trace fossil and a body fossil at the same time |
| A _________ is any evidence of past life including bones, teeth and shells. | Body Fossil |
| What is a trace fossil? | traces left by organisms such as burrows, coprolites (feces), tracks and trails, nests or footprints |
| Does an organism always have to be buried in sediment to become a fossil? | No. In rare instances an entire organism becomes fossilized because it gets trapped in a substance that protects it from destruction. |
| Why is a quick burial of a dead organism in sediment is important in the fossilization process? | it protects the organism from physical and biological destruction. If an organism or its trace gets buried quickly, it is less likely to be destroyed by scavengers and decomposers. It also protects them from physical factors such as rain, waves, wind and sun |
| Which is most likely to fossilize: a clam or a jellyfish? | Clam because it has hard body structures |
| Why are organisms that are buried rapidly more likely to fossilize than those that are buried slowly or not at all? | it is less likely to be destroyed by scavengers and decomposers. It also protects them from physical factors such as rain, waves, wind and sun |
| Describe three ways an organism can become a fossil without being buried in sediment. | (1) frozen very quickly (2) trapped in tree sap (3) mired in a tar pit |
| How is a cast fossil different from a mold fossil? | Molds are imprints left from something that was buried. The structure decays and its imprint or mold is left in the sediment. The mold can be seen if the rock is broken open. Casts are formed when sediment leaks into a mold and hardens to form a copy of the original structure. |
| Describe three factors that could prevent an organism from long ago from ever turning up in a fossil collection today. | (1) avoiding scavengers and decomposers (2) having hard body structures (3) dying in the right place |
| How does the environment affect the formation of fossils? | Where an organism dies helps determine whether or not it becomes a fossil. For example, Organisms that die in or next to a lake have a better chance of becoming fossilized because they can end up at the bottom of the lake where sediments cover them. |
| Paleontologists estimate that fewer than ___% of all the organisms alive today will be preserved as fossils | 10% |
| Once a fossil has been formed, it still might not become part of the fossil record. Describe two natural processes that might destroy the fossil. | (1) If a fossil is buried by too much sediment it may become flattened or distorted beyond recognition (2) Weathering by wind, water, and sun can destroy a fossil by wearing it away (3) they can be washed away by streams, moved by glaciers, carried by scavengers, or caught in rock slides. |
| In what type of rock would you most likely find fossils? | igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic |
| A _________ studies the fossil record to better understand life on Earth. | Paleontologist |
| Define: Igneous Rock | Produced when molten magma (lava) cools and solidifies. |
| Define: Sedimentary Rock | Layers of small particles (sediment) compressed and cemented together |
| Define: Metamorphic Rock | Any type of rock changed by heat, pressure and chemical activity |
| Fossils are most like to be found in what type of rock? | Sedimentary rock (in the older rock layers) |
| Name two geologic processes that can expose fossils buried below the surface. | Uplift (process that causes part of the Earth’s crust to rise above surrounding areas. This can cause layers of rock to become exposed at the surface) and erosion (weathering or wearing away of rock and earth (and any fossils they contain) caused by wind, sun and/or water) |
| ______ fossils are evidence that animals moved from living in the water to dry land. | Transitional fossils |
| What type of fossil is formed when the remains of animals or plants decay and/or dissolve leaving a hollow space in the rock? | Mold Fossil |
| Petrified bones and dinosaur tracks (trace fossils) are two types of fossils. What are some other types of fossils? | mold fossils, impression fossils, petrified fossils, preserved fossils and carbon fossils |
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Engle Family
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