Fossils Quiz

A scientist is trying to learn about extinct animals. Which would be the BEST method of studying an extinct animal?

• Studying pictures

• Studying them at the zoo

• Studying fossil of their remains from the past

• Studying their bones that were left behind

Fossils help paleontologists in many ways. Which is one importance of studying fossils?

• they tell us about living organisms

• they tell us about the history of the Earth

• they may come back to life

• they tell us about future organisms

Which of the following BEST describes a fossil?

• The marks or remains of a plant or animal that lived long ago

• The marks or remains of a dinosaur

• The marks or remains of a plant or animal that is still living today

• The marks or remains of an ocean creature

What is one of the steps that have to occur in order for a living thing to become a fossil?

• The living thing must have a skeleton

• The living thing must have a hard outer shell

• The living thing must die by drowning in water

• The living thing must be dead for a very long time

Karen found a fossil of a leaf in a rock. What can you infer about how the fossil formed?

• Someone pressed the leaf against a soft rock

• The leaf fell into soil that later became a rock

• The leaf melted into the rock

• The leaf grew inside the rock

A scientist discovered a fish fossil in the Georgia Mountains. What can the scientist infer about this discovery?

• Birds carried the fossils to the mountain top

• Georgia was once under water

• Georgia mountains have sea life

• Someone put the fossil there

Which animal part would MOST LIKELY form a fossil?

• Muscle

• Fur

• Lung

• Bones

A fish fossil might form when a fish dies and…

• is trapped in ice

• a volcano erupts

• sinks to the bottom of a river and the river mud becomes rock

• is pressed into a soft rock

Where are most fossils formed?

• near volcanoes, because the high heat of the lava helps to from fossils

• in glaciers, because fossils are created when an organism is frozen quickly

• In sedimentary rock, because being buried in sediment helps to form fossils

• Near earthquakes, because the shaking ground traps organisms to create fossils

Trinity read an article about an organism that was found fossilized in ice. The organism had soft fur and long teeth. The fossil was found in a cold climate with hard soil. Trinity wants to make a model showing how an organism is fossilized in ice for her science class. What would be most important for her to show in her model?

• Soft Fur

• Hard Soil

• Long teeth

• Cold Climate