What Do Fossils Tell Us About Ancient Environments

If a tree fossil is found in the middle of a desert, what can you infer about the past environment of the area?

• It used to be a forest
• It was always a desert
• It used to be at the bottom of the ocean
• It used to be covered in ice and snow

If two animals have similar traits, that means that they must be related.

• True
• False

The plesiosaur was an ancient  

• marine reptile
• dinosaur
• bird
• insect 

Why is it important to examine fossils from different places and ages?

• so we can gain a better understanding of the ancient environments that they lived in
• so that we can put them in museums 

How do artists know how to draw an extinct animal?

• they study similar living animals
• they went back in time and took photographs of them

Which of the following describes a group of living things that is no longer living.

• fossil
• extinct
• mold
• cast

The hardened remains of a living thing that died long ago.

• extinct
• cast
• fossil
• bone

A fossil animal has a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth.  What can you infer about the animal?

• The animal ate fruits and vegetables.
• The animal is closely related to a shark.
• The animal did not live on land.
• The animal ate meat.

If scientists found this fossil, what could they infer?

• what fish are like today
• that this fish lacked oxygen
• what kind of animal ate this fish
• that water once covered the area

How are an elephant and mammoth alike?

• both are extinct
• both have tusks
• both have thick, shaggy fur
• both live in warm climate