Fossils, Rocks and Earth

________ are the remains or traces of once-living organisms.

• Sediments

• Shells

• Fossils

• Cell structures

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

If you want to explore rock layers in regions where the rock is not exposed, you can:

• use a drill or sonography

• look for other areas that are exposed and limit your research space to ONLY areas that are visible

• wait for a fault to occur and stall your research

• use relative dating

True or False? High concentration of fossils in the Morrison Formation meant that more organisms lived there than in other parts of the country.

• True, more fossils means more organisms.

• True, the Morrison Formation is known to be the home to more species than anywhere else in the USA.

• False, it just means that the conditions there were better for fossil formation at that time.

• False, the Morrison Formation does not have any fossils.

How does knowledge of sedimentary rock formation help us to understand fossils?

• Sedimentary rock formation do not help us understand the fossils found in them.

• The rock formations help us determine absolute age of each fossil. We can tell the exact age of fossils without chemical testing.

• The rock around a fossil helps scientists with forming the theory of uniformitarianism.

• Knowing how the rock around a fossil is formed helps scientists draw conclusions about how the fossil formed and what type of environment the animal lived in.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The rock layer at the very top is the ______________. The rock layer at the very bottom is the ________________.

• youngest; oldest

• youngest; weakest

• strongest; weakest

• weakest; strongest

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

______ is any method of determining whether something is older of younger than something else.

• absolute dating

• relative dating

• radioactive dating

• chemical dating

What is a term used to describe the remains of an organism that was common and widespread but existed for only about 1 million years (or less).

• relative fossil

• absolute fossil

• recurring fossil

• index fossil

If fossils of a certain trilobite and brittle star were found in the same rock layer, what an you infer about them?

• They are related species.

• They like in completely different habitats.

• Fossils in the same rock layer are likely the same age.

• They had the exact same diet.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

When some rock layers are missing and form gaps, you have a/an ____________.

• unconformity

• uniformitarianism

• gap links

• rock gaps

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which layer is the oldest?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4