Fossil Study Guide

While digging in the sand, you found a fossilized insect that has pinchers for eating grass. What can you conclude about the habitat of the once living insect?

• The area was always a desert and someone put the fossil there.

• The area was once covered in water and must have had sea animals.

• The area must have once had lots of grass because of the characteristics of the fossil.

• The area has always been a desert because of the location where the fossil was found.

You observed an animal at a museum. You want know more about the animal and are curious about the type of habitat it lived in when it was alive. What clues below would BEST help you to find out what you wants to know?

• he animal has large tusks with very short front legs and long legs in back.

• The animal has a very large body and flipper-like front feet.

• The animal has large flat teeth and really large rib bones.

• The animal has very sharp teeth and a really large skull

How is there fossils of organisms that lived in water found today in dessert areas

• The fossils moved.

• That area was once covered in water.

• You can't find water organism fossils in mountain areas

Two fossils are found in a cold mountain region. One is a fish fossil and the other is a palm tree fossil. What can you infer about the environment in which these organisms lived?

• A warm ocean environment because fish are found in areas with water and palm trees are found in warm ocean environments.

• A cold mountain region because an environment cannot change its type of environment over time.

• A warm mountain region because since there are palm trees, the area needs to be warm.

• A hot desert because palm trees are found in hot areas.

Two fossils were found in a warm wooded region. One fossil is of an animal and one of a plant. Both of these fossils appear to have the same characteristic that they retain water. What can you infer about the environment in which these organisms lived? *

• The fossils are of organisms that once lived in an ocean because they need water in order to survive.

• The fossils are of organisms that once lived in a desert since these organisms are able to live where there is limited water.

• The fossils are of organisms that once lived on the coast next to the ocean because they lived on land, but need access to the ocean.

• The fossils are of organisms that once lived in a wooded area because there are a lot of types of plants and animals found in this region.

You went hiking in the mountains. While there you discovered several fossils of animals that had fins. What clues does the fossil give you about how the animal moved and what type of habitat it lived in?

• This animal lived at the bottom of the mountain since it was discovered at the mountain, but the mountain rose in height over time.

• This animal lived at the top of a mountain since that is the location it was discovered.

• This animal lived in a water environment such as a lake or ocean since it has bones.

• This animal lived in a water environment since it has dorsal fins.

A student needs to draw a model of how a fossil is formed. The should

• Only showing the organisms alive

• Draw a model showing a paleontologist digging a fossil up.

• Draw a time lapse of each step of the process in order

Which step of the fossilization process happens first.

• The first step is the organism dies. Once an organism dies it ALWAYS becomes a fossil.

• The first step is the organism dies. Once an organism dies it has the POSSIBILITY to become a fossil.

Fossils are

• Old rocks from a long time ago.

• The preserved remains or traces of organisms from the past.

• Only skeletons of animals.

• Only found on land.

Fossilization is

• When a person digs up a fossil.

• When a organism dies.

• The process of a once living organism becoming a fossil.