Fossil Study Guide

Fossils Study guide

           

FOSSIL – a trace or the remains of a living thing that died a long time ago.

Important Vocabulary to know:

• Fossil – the hardened remains of a living thing that died long ago
• Extinct – describes a group of living things that are no longer living
• Trace fossils – fossils that are only marks left behind (dinosaur footprint in mud)
• Mold – the shape of a once living thing left in sediment when the rock formed
• Cast – forms when mud or minerals later fill a mold
• Sedimentary rock – a type of rock that is in layers and that is best to find fossil remains

Look in your Science Textbook or online e-book to find the answers:

• How does a fossil form?
1. The soft part of an animal decomposes or rots away.
2. Hard parts of the animal, such as shells or bones, are buried under layers of sediment.
3. Over a long time, the bones of sediment turn to rock.
4. Movement of the Earth’s crust brings the rock closer to the surface. Wind and rain wear away the rock. Then, people can see the fossils.

• What are different types of fossils, and how do they differ?

·         Trace fossils – fossils that are only marks left behind (dinosaur footprint in mud)

·         Mold – the shape of a once living thing left in sediment when the rock formed

·         Cast – forms when mud or minerals later fill a mold

• What can fossils tell you about plants?

-What kind of plants and animals used to live together

-How plants have changed over time

-How plants are similar and different from plants today

-Show plants that are extinct

• What can fossils tell you about animals?

-What kind of plants and animals used to live together

-How animals have changed over time

-How animals are similar and different from animals today

-What the animals used to eat

-Show animals that are extinct

• How can a fossil tell you what the animal ate?

-Sometimes another fossil is found inside of a fossil, so you can tell what the fossil used to eat that way (ex: a shark inside of a whale’s stomach)

-If the animal had sharp pointed teeth, then you know it ate meat.

• Why are there more animal fossils than plant fossils?

-The soft parts of the plant are easily destroyed under the rock particles unlike animal bones.

• What can fossils tell you about the area a fossil is found in?

-It can tell you what the environment was like. For example, if you find a fossil of a sand dollar in Southern Georgia, then you know that Southern Georgia was most likely covered with water.

• When we used our sea shells to do an experiment in our class what did each item represent?

1.  The sea shell was the animal or plant that died.

2.  The clay was the mold fossil.

3.      The glue was the cast fossil.