Fossil Formation

Organize these options into the right categories

Groups:

(a) True

,

(b) False

• most dead organisms become fossils

• A fossil can be tracks or burrows

• fossils can be found in mountains

• Fossils must be parts of ancient organisms

Organize these options into the right categories

Groups:

(a) Fossils

,

(b) Not fossils

• air trapped in an ancient ice layer

• Egyptian mummy

• Roman skull from 100BC

• dinosaur bone

• ancient shark tooth

• prehistoric cave drawing (petroglyph)

• dinosuar excrement (poop)

• sedimentary rocks

• mammoth frozen in ice

• dinosaur tracks

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Would an old carved gravestone be considered a fossil? Why or why not?

What is a paleontologist?

• A scientist who studies extinct animals

• a scientist who studies the history of life on Earth through the fossil record

• A scientist who studies rocks

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Based on the reading, what is coprolite?

• Frozen lava
• Petrified wood
• Dried seaweed
• Fossilized feces

Organize these options into the right categories

Groups:

(a) Body Fossil

,

(b) Trace Fossil

• footprints

• bones

• shells

• fecal remains

• trails

• teeth

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Why do you think only a tiny percentage of living organisms become fossils after death?

Is it more likely that a marine organism will become a fossil?

• yes

• no

• maybe

How about a soft bodied organism? Will a creature without hard shells or bones likely become a fossil?

• yes

• no

Which of the following are more likely to result in a fossil?

• muscles

• shells

• teeth

• bones

• organs