Fossils Quiz

People who study fossils are called ____.

• meterologists
• fossilologists
• paleontologists
• fossil hunters

What type of fossil fills a mold, and is a model of the actual organism?

• cast
• trace
• carbon imprint

According to the law of superposition, the oldest fossils are found 

• At the top of the rock layers
• Near the bottom of the rock layers
• In the middle of the rock layers
• Somewhat near the surface

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

• A skeleton preserved in a tar pit

• A footprint of an extinct animal

• A mummy buried in ice

• An insect preserved in amber

Why are deserts, tar pits, and ice good places to find body fossils?

• Most ancient organisms lived in these environments

• Bacteria and other decomposers cannot thrive in these environments

• Many ancient organisms traveled to these places to die

• The largest ancient organisms lived in these places

this type of fossil is a mark or cavity made in sediment in the shape of a shell or other body

• cast
• trace
• petrified
• mold

In which type of rock are most fossils found?

• igneous
• sedimentary
• volcanic
• metamorphic

What type of fossil is pictured? 

• preserved remains
• trace fossil
• carbon film
• petrified fossil

What type of fossil is this?

• Mold 
• Cast
• Preserved remains
• Petrified

To determine the age of a dead organism, we can look at how much of the _________ in that organism has decayed.  

• Carbon
• Oxygen
• Hydrogen
• Nitrogen