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Fossil Records FEH
Fossil Vocabulary
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| All of the fossils that have existed throughout life’s history, whether they have been found or not. | Fossil Record |
| are scientists who use fossils to study life in the past. | Paleontologists |
| body parts of organisms that become fossils, such as bones, teeth, skin, leaves, and tree trunks. | Body Fossil |
| evidence left by organisms such as burrows, imprints, coprolites or footprints. | Trace Fossil |
| an organism that feeds upon dead and dying organisms. | Scavenger |
| an organism that breaks down the tissue and/or structures of dead organisms. | Decomposer |
| non-living factors such as erosion, wind and sun exposure. | Abiotic/Physical Factors |
| are imprints left from something that was buried | Molds |
| are formed when sediment leaks into a mold and hardens to form a copy of the original structure | Casts |
| occurs when minerals carried in water build up in the spaces of an organism an eventually become rock. | Mineralization |
| are the imprints left behind in the sediments by an organism. | Impressions |
| are found in the ocean and are very common in the fossil record. | Forams |
| living at the bottom of the ocean or on the ocean floor. | Benthic |
| living factors such as decomposers, scavengers and predators. | Biological/Biotic Factors |
| fossils formed when an organism is flattened, leaving a dark stain in the rock. | Compression |
| fossilized feces. | Coprolite |
| weathering or wearing away of rock and earth caused by the wind, sun, and/or water. | Erosion |
| water found underground as a result of rainfall, ice and snow melt, submerged rivers, lakes and springs. | Groundwater |
| the study of trace fossils. | Ichnology |
| type of rock produced when molten magma cools and solidifies. | Igneous rock |
| not containing carbon. Not from living things. Ex- mineral. | Inorganic |
| the coastal zone between the low and high tide mark where waves impact the land. | Intertidal |
| rock produced when any type of rock is changed by heat, pressure, and chemical activity in the Earth. | Metamorphic Rock |
| the concept that explains the movement of the Earth’s crustal plates, sea floor spreading, and a number of other geologic processes of the Earth’s surface. | Plate tectonics |
| the process through which one type of rock is converted into another. | Rock Cycle |
| rock that is formed when layers of small particles are compressed and cemented together. | Sedimentary Rock |
| evidence left by organisms, such as burrows, imprint, coprolites, or footprints. | Trace Fossil |
| the process that caused part of the Earth’s crust to rise above surrounding areas. This can cause layers of rock to become exposed at the surface. | Uplift |