Fossils

People who study fossils are called ____.

• meterologists
• fossilologists
• paleontologists
• fossil hunters

Which of the following is NOT an example of a fossil?

• a petrified dinosaur bone
• a footprint captured in mud
• a seashell found on the beach
• an insect stuck in amber

Which of the following is NOT something you could learn from a fossil?

• The size of the animal
• What the animal ate
• The color of the animal
• Where the animal lived

In which kind of rock do we usually find a fossil?

• sedimentary  rock
• metamorphic rock
• igneous rock

In order for a fossil to form, which of the following events must happen FIRST?

• Slowly, minerals in the water replace the bone.
• Sediment covers the bone.
• An animal dies.
• The bone is no longer a bone, but a rock copy.

Why don't we know what many ancient plants looked like? 

• They had too many soft parts.
• They were all eaten by dinosaurs.
• There weren't ancient plants.
• They had too many hard parts.

Which statement BEST describes how the fossil bones of a dinosaur are formed?

• The dinosaur became trapped in amber.
• The dinosaur was covered in sediment.
• The dinosaur was frozen in ice.
• The dinosaur stepped in wet mud.

What happens when a group of animals become extinct?

• All of its members have died.
• Only a few of its members are still living.
• The animals can no longer lay eggs.
• All of its members move to another place.

Lily sees a skeleton of a dinosaur at a museum. What is true about the bones that make up the skeleton?

• The bones are made up of minerals.
• The bones are those of the dinosaur itself.
• The bones were formed from mud that hardened.
• The bones are made up of amber.

You find a fossil of an animal. Which is probably true about that animal?

• The animal lived long ago.
• The animal lived about 5 years ago.
• The animal never existed.
• The animal is still alive.