Sol 5.8 Fossils

Fossils give us evidence about which of the following?

• Plants and animals that lived long ago.
• How weathering and erosion break down rocks. 
• The other planets in our solar system.
• The transfer of energy from one form to another.

Finding the fossils of trees in an area that is currently a desert without much life might tell us that the area, millions of years ago – 

• was heavily eroded by strong winds.
• received enough rain to support a forest.
• suffered very powerful earthquakes.
• was destroyed by the impact of meteorites.

This table gives information for different kinds of fossils. Finding which kind of fossil in a location would lead to the conclusion that the area was, long ago, under hundreds of meters of salt water?

• Fish skull
• Mouse skull
• Alligator toe bone
• Shark's tooth

Several wooly mammoth fossils have been found. Mammoths, which lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, were covered with thick fur. Based on this evidence, mammoth fossils tell us that the area in which they are found –

• has too many humans.
• no longer has large animals. 
• was, at one time very cold. 
• receives more rain than it used to. 

A scientist is seeking rocks that formed at the mouth of a river. The fossils of which of the following would be the best evidence that rocks were formed under these conditions?

• Freshwater birds
• Large animals
• Flying insects 
• Tropical bats

Fossil trees were discovered in a sedimentary rock layer. In the rock layer below are fossils of clams, similar to clams that are currently found on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Based on this evidence, we could conclude that the area where the fossils were discovered had what sequence of climates in the past?

• Beach, followed by a forest.
• Rocky and dry, then very moist.
• Forest, and later a mountain. 
• Very cold area, then much warmer.

Geologists discovered a layer of rock formed millions of years in the past. Which of the following would provide the best evidence of what the environment was like when the rock formed?

• The time when the rock appears to have formed.
• The sediments from which the rock is made.
• The fossil plants and animals found in the rock. 
• The kinds of rocks above and below the rock layer.

Finding fossils of what kind of organism in the rock layers below a forest would lead to the conclusion that the area long ago had a large lake?

• Tall trees
• Small reptiles
• Flowering plants
• Freshwater fish

The tables here give information on animal and plant fossils. Based on the information in the tables, which two fossils would most likely be found together in the same rock?

• Fish skull and cactus
• Mouse skull and seaweed
• Alligator toe bone and fern 
• Shark’s tooth and marsh grass

Fossils are best used as evidence about which of these?

• The processes that change rocks over time.
• How best to conserve natural resources.
• The plants and animals that lived long ago.
• What forces drive the water cycle on Earth.