Earths Geologic History

Earths Geologic History

TEKS ESS. 7: The student knows that scientific dating methods of fossils and rock sequences are used to construct a chronology of Earth’s history expressed in the geologic time scale.

Earths Geologic History

Earth’s Fossils

Unit 5

Objective:

ESS.7A Student will evaluate relative dating methods using original horizontality, rock susperposition, lateral continuity, cross-cutting relationships, unconformities, index fossils, and biozones based on fossil succession to determine chronological order.

How Fossils Form

ØA fossil is any remains or traces of an ancient organism.

ØFossils include body fossils, left behind when the soft parts have decayed away, and trace fossils, such as burrows, tracks, or fossilized coprolites (feces)

ØCollections of fossils that are found together are known as fossil assemblages.

ØThere is virtually no fossil record of soft bodied organisms such as jellyfish, worms, or slugs.

Ø

ØInsects, which are by far the most

    common land animals, are only rarely

    found as fossils

ØUsually it’s only the hard parts that are fossilized.

ØThe fossil record consists almost entirely of the shells, bones, or other hard parts of animals.

ØMammal teeth are much more resistant than other bones, so a large portion of the mammal fossil record consists of teeth.

ØThe shells of marine creatures are common also.

Vocabulary

amber fossil

body fossil

cast fossil

fossilization

index fossil

microfossil

mold fossil

permineralization

trace fossil

true form fossil

Multiple Choice

amber fossil

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stems.

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

Multiple Choice

microfossil

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stem

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• a fossil or fossil fragment that can be seen only with a microscope.

Multiple Choice

mold fossil

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

• A fossil formed when sediment fills the inside or covers the outside of a dead organism and the organism's remains do not persist, leaving just the shape and texture of the rock to indicate the organic material that was there.

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

Multiple Choice

permineralization

• is a process of fossilization in which mineral deposits form internal casts of organisms.

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stem

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

Multiple Choice

trace fossil

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stem

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• a fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other trace of an animal rather than of the animal itself.

Multiple Choice

body fossil

• the remains of the body parts of ancient animals, plants, and other life forms. They tell us something about the appearance of ancient life forms.

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

Multiple Choice

cast fossil

• the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stem

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

Multiple Choice

fossilization

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stem

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

Multiple Choice

index fossil

• the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• a fossil that is useful for dating and correlating the strata in which it is found.

• are the most common type of fossil found across the world. They are formed from the remains of dead animals and plants. Most body fossils are of hard parts such as teeth, bones, shells, or woody trunks, branches, and stem

Multiple Choice

true form fossil

• It is a replica of the original organism, providing an impression of the organism’s original morphology, without containing any, or at least very little, of its original organic material.

• the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone.

• the remains of ancient organisms trapped in, tree resin which has hardened through a process called polymerization.

• fossils are formed when animals or plants are trapped within ice, tree sap, or tar, and remain there for years, keeping their original features intact.