Finding Fossils in an Area

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

Finding which kind of fossil would lead to the conclusion that the area where it was found was, long ago, under hundreds of meters of salt water?

• Fossil 1

• Fossil 2

• Fossil 3

• Fossil 4

Several woolly 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

Finding fossils in an area can help us learn what about that location?

• Which places in the region receive the most sunlight

• The effect of the climate on the formation of soil

• How modern plants and animals interact there

• The kinds of organisms that lived there long ago

An area is currently a forest. What evidence would best indicate that this area was covered by water millions of years ago?

• an increase in rainfall in the forest over time

• Presence of plants in the forest that need water to live

• Fossils of fish discovered in rocks below the forest

• Insects living in the forest that lay their eggs in water

According to the information on the table, finding which fossil in a region would lead to the conclusion that the area was, long ago, covered with trees?

• snail shell

• Scopion

• Dragonfly

• Millipede

Fossil ferns, like the ferns found in modern swamps, were discovered in a layer of rock. In a rock layer below were found the fossils of cactus, like those that live in hot, arid deserts today. Based on this evidence, we could conclude that the area where the fossils were discovered had what sequence of climates in the past?

• Forest, followed by deep ocean

• Cold climate that got warmer over time

• Rushing river, then a dark cave

• Very dry and then, much more damp

Herbivores are animals that eat plants. Finding many fossils of large herbivores in rocks that are millions of years old would lead to what conclusion about the ancient environment of an area? A reasonable conclusion is that the area was once a -

• rocky seashore

• thriving grassland

• frozen lake

• muddy swamp