Fossils

Where can the oldest layer be found?

• The top layer
• The middle layer
• They are all the same age
• The bottom layer

In what kind of rock can fossils be found?

• Sedimentary Rocks
• Igneous Rocks
• Metamorphic Rocks
• Granite

How are fossils created?

• Traces of organisms get turned into stone.
• Dead organisms are quickly buried for millions of years.
• Animals get trapped.
• All of the above

Which layer formed first?

• Rock Layer W
• Rock Layer X
• Rock Layer Y
• Rock Layer Z

Fossils give us evidence about which of the following?

• plants and animals that lived long ago
• how weathering and erosion break down rocks
• the other planets in our solar system
• the transfer of energy from one form  to another

Finding the fossils of trees in an area that is currently a desert without much life might tell us that the area, millions of years ago - 

• was heavily eroded by strong winds
• received enough rain to support a forest
• suffered very powerful earthquakes
• was destroyed by the impact of meteorites

Several wooly mammoth fossils have been found. Mammoths, which lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, were covered with thick fur.  Based on the evidence, mammoth fossils tell us that the area in which they are found - 

• has too many humans 
• no longer has large animals 
• was, at one time, very cold
• receives more rain that it used to 

Finding fossils in an area can help us learn what about that location?

• Which places in the region receive the most sunlight
• The effect of the climate on the formation of the soil
• How modern plants and animals interact there
• The kinds of organisms that lived there long ago

An area is currently a forest.  What evidence would best indicate that this area was covered by water millions of years ago?

• An increase in rainfall in the forest over time
• The presence of plants in the forest that need water to live
• Fossils of fish discovered in rock below the forest
• Insects in the forest that lay their eggs in the water

Herbivores are animals that eat plants.  Finding many fossils of large herbivores in rocks that are millions of years old would lead to what conclusion about the ancient environment of the area?  A reasonable conclusion is that the area was once a -

• rocky seashore
• thriving grassland
• frozen lake
• muddy swamp