Clues to Earth's Past

Fossils most often form when a dead organism is buried in sediments.

• True
• False

Carbon films are formed when a thin film of carbon is left, forming a picture of the original organism.

• True
• False

Dinosaur footprints are original remains.

• True
• False

To be a useful index fossil, a species must have been found in only one are of the world.

• True
• False

Index fossils are the remains of species that existed on Earth for relatively short periods of time and lived in many places.

• True
• False

Absolute age examines the position of rocks in a sequence.

• True
• False

Rock layers are correlated if they both contain the same fossils.

• True
• False

The fossil remains of Sue the T-Rex in the Chicago Museum of Natural History is an example of permineralized remains.

• True
• False

All of the following conditions help preserve organisms as fossils EXCEPT____________.

• quick burial by sediments
• hard parts
• protection from scavengers
• activities of microorganisms

If the same types of fossils are found in two separate rock layers, it is likely that the two rock layers _________________.

• formed at different times
• are part of one continuous deposit
• formed under different conditions
• none of the above