5.9D Fossils

Scientists often get clues about the past from fossils found in sedimentary rock. Information from a sedimentary rock is shown in the chart below.

Which fossil was most likely found in rock layer 4?

• 
• 
• 
• 

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Evidence of past living organisms from millions of years ago are found in—

• volcanic rock

• igneous rock

• sedimentary rock

• ocean waters

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The photograph below is a fossilized imprint of a tropical plant found in the very cold climate zone of Antarctica.

What conclusion can be drawn about how this tropical plant fossil ended up in such a cold climate zone?

• The land was once a warm climate.

• The land was once a dry desert.

• The land was once an ocean.

• The land was once a forest.

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Scientists have found dinosaur tracks that were made in fresh mud 100 million years ago. The tracks became fossilized in sandstone. What can these footprints tell scientists about dinosaurs?

• How big it was.

• How fast it moved.

• How many legs it walked on.

• All of the above.

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All of the following can be considered a fossil EXCEPT—

• animal bones turned to stone

• petrified wood

• shells from ancient clams

• dog’s paw imprint in the mud

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Paleontologists can use the shapes of fossil teeth from animals to find out what kinds of food they might have eaten. Below is a fossil of an animal and its teeth.

What do the teeth most likely tell paleontologists about this animal?

• This animal most likely ate plants only.

• This animal was most likely a meat eater.

• This animal most likely hunted insects.

• This animal most likely used its teeth to

  grind leaves.

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At times, scientists have found fish fossils in dry areas. What does this tell scientists about the dry area?

• The area was once a tundra.

• The area was once a desert.

• The fish was moved into that area by

  someone.

• The area was once covered with water.

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Students observe a diagram of rock layers with fossils. They notice that an older layer contains dinosaur fossils but the newer layers do not. What most likely occurred for the dinosaur fossils not to show up in the younger layers of rock?

• The dinosaurs were extinct when the new layers were formed.

• The dinosaur fossils were washed away by a running river.

• The new layers did not have the proper minerals in the soil to fossilize the dinosaurs.

• The dinosaur fossils dissolved in the new layers.

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Students were asked to compare the different

layers of fossils in the diagram. Some student

responses are given below. Which student’s

response was correct?

• The fossil in layer 1 is older than the fossil in layer 2.

• The fossil in layer 4 is the youngest of all the fossils.

• The fossil in layer 4 is the oldest of all the fossils.

• The fossils are all the same age.

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Which statement best explains the environment in which the fossils were most likely formed.

• The fossils in layer 1,2, and 3 formed in water. The fossil in layer 4 formed in the desert.

• The fossils in layer 2,3, and 4 formed in water; the fossil in layer 1 formed in the forest.

• All the fossils formed in the desert.

• All the fossils formed in the tundra.

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