click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
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 |