Fossils and Geologic Time

Multiple Choice

How many years ago did the Earth form?

• about 4.5 billion years

• ago 100,000 years ago

• 1 million years ago

• 2000 years ago

Multiple Choice

What is the geological time scale?

• A system for categorizing different types of fossils

• A method of measuring the age of rocks using carbon dating

• A system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time

• A scale used to measure the intensity of earthquakes

Multiple Choice

Which division is the largest ?

• Epoch

• Era

• Eons

• Periods

Multiple Choice

Dinosaurs lived in this era.

• Mesozoic

• Cenozoic

• Paleozoic

Multiple Choice

Which order is correct ?

• Precambrian, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Cenozoic

• Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

• Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

• Precambrian, Cenozoic Paleozoic, Mesozoic

Multiple Choice

Which era was the Ice age ?

• Precambrian

• Cenozoic

• Paleozoic

• Mesozoic

Multiple Choice

Reptiles and Dinosaurs were not common during this Era

• True

• False

Open Ended

How do Scientist reach the conclusion on how old Earth is and the different organisms that once existed ?

By Studying Fossils and Rocks

Fossils

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Objectives

• Define the Term Fossil

• Explain how fossils help to determine the changes that took place on Earth

• Explain what fossil reveal about the living things lived in the past

• Identify the different types of fossils

What is a Fossil?

• Fossil is the preserved remains or traces of an organisms that lived in the past

What Fossils Reveal?

• Fossils give clues to the diversity of living things over the history of Earth

• Give clues to past climate and surface changes on Earth

• Give clues to changes that have occurred with organisms over time

Multiple Choice

Which of the following fossils do not reveal?

• The changes that took place on Earth over time

• The changes living things went through over time

• Fossils give clues to the diversity of living things over the history of Earth

• The way Earth was formed

Types of Fossils

• Mold

• Cast

• Petrified

• Preserved

• Carbonized

• Trace

Trace Fossils

• Trace Fossils are activities of organisms that have been preserved. Ex

• Tracks of animals

• Root cavities

• Nests

• Trails

Nest Fossil

Track

Trackways

Mold Fossil

• Forms when sediments bury an organism and the sediments change into rock

• The organism decays leaving a cavity in the shape of the organism

Cast Fossil

• Forms when a mold is filled with sand or mud that hardens into the shape of the organism

Multiple Choice

Hollow space in the rock.

which shows the shape of the organism’s remains.

• Mold

• Cast

• Trace

• Tar

Multiple Choice

Formed when the hollow space formed by and organism is filled in with dirt and become solid

• Mold

• Cast

• Tar

• Amber

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a mold fossil?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a cast fossil?

Petrified fossil 

• Forms when minerals soak into the buried remains, replacing the remains, and changing them into rock

Carbonized fossil 

• Forms when organisms or parts, like leaves, stems, flowers, fish, are pressed between layers of soft mud or clay that hardens squeezing almost all the decaying organism away leaving the carbon imprint in the rock

Multiple Choice

Formed when an organism’s tissues are completely replaced by minerals

• Cast fossil

• petrified fossil

• Mold fossil

• Carbonized fossil

Multiple Choice

Organisms are pressed between layers of mud or clay that hardens, squeezing almost all the decaying organism away leaving the carbon imprint in the rock.

• Mold fossil

• Cast Fossil

• Carbonized Fossil

• Petrified Fossil

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a Carbonized fossil?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a petrified fossil?

Preserved fossil 

• Forms when entire organisms or parts of organisms are prevented from decaying by being trapped in rock, ice, tar, or amber

• These are termed true fossil

• Why do you believe these are true fossil?

Open Ended

Why do you believe preserved fossils are considered to be true fossil?

Amber

Amber is a tree resin Small animals can become trapped in resins preserving it for a long time as it hardens

Tar

• Tar can be found naturally
• When living things are trapped they can be preserved
• With tar only the hard parts are preserved

Ice fossil

• Formed when an animal gets trapped and the temperature is very low
• The animal is preserved as it slows down or prevents decay

Ice

Rock Fossil

Rock  fossils are formed when living things get trapped beneath sand or mud .Due to the pressure created by the addition of more sand and mud. Sedimentary rock is formed The organism now become trapped in the rock.

Open Ended

Of all the preserved Fossil which do you believe preserve the organisms the best? Give reasons for your answer

Open Ended

What is one thing this picture tells you about the organism?

Open Ended

What is one thing this track tells you about the organism?

Open Ended

What does this trackway fossil tells you about the animals involved?

Multiple Choice

An animal has sharp, pointy teeth, what can we infer about this animal?

• The animal lived in the water

• The animal lived near the beach.

• The animal is a carnivore.

• The animal only ate plants.

Multiple Choice

What replaces the wood of a once-living thing to form petrified wood?

• amber

• cast

• mold

• minerals

Multiple Choice

This type of fossil is tree sap hardened and replaced by minerals.

• Petrified wood

• Imprint

• Amber

• Mold

Multiple Choice

this type of fossil provides evidence of the activities of ancient organisms; examples include marks left by footprints or tails

• mold
• carbon film
• trace
• cast

Multiple Choice

What conclusions could you make about the environment where this fossil formed?

• It was under water.

• It might have been a grassland.

• It was snowy and cold.

• It was a desert.

Multiple Choice

Which parts of an organism are more likely to fossilize?

• the soft parts - skin, muscle
• the hard parts - bones, shells, stems
• all parts can become fossilized easily because the organism becomes buried by sediments

Ice Core are not fossils but can give useful information of the past They can tell us what the temperature and climate of the past was like . Each layer of ice tells us what the weather and climate was like in a particular year .
They also contain dust particles which  indicates the level of pollution. Ex. Volcanic activities

 

Multiple Choice

___________ are drilled from sheets of ice, mostly from Greenland or Antarctica.

• extrusions

• ice cores

• intrusions

Multiple Choice

Ice cores can trap gases, like carbon dioxide. And increased concentration of carbon dioxide found in a layer of ice is one piece of evidence for ____________.

• climate change

• cell theory

Multiple Choice

Since 1958, increased levels of CO₂ have been detected in ice cores. Which is most likely responsible for this increase?

• Using wind turbines

• Using moving water to generate electricity

• Burning fossil fuels

Multiple Choice

Ice cores also follow the Law of Superposition, which shows that the oldest deposits can be found at the __________, and the youngest are found at the top.

• bottom

• middle

• top

Multiple Choice

How can ice cores provide evidence for the evolution of Earth's atmosphere?

• Ice cores can show how the composition of the atmosphere has changed over time.

• Ice cores can show how reptiles have changed over time.

Multiple Choice

If a layer of volcanic ash is found in an ice core, what does that indicate?

• Ash borer beetles lived in that habitat.

• A volcanic eruption occurred.