Fossils

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.

What needs to happen for a bone to become a fossil?

• it must be buried

• it must rot

• it must be eaten

• it must be crushed

Scientist who studies fossils is called:

• doctors

• meteorologists

• paleontologists

• geologists

A group of friends were hiking to the top of a mountain. When they got to the top of the mountain, they discovered several fossils of animals like the one pictured above.

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.

Making imprints of objects in clay is most useful for learning about _____________________.

• weathering

• fossils

• renewable resources

• the rock cycle

What is a fossil?

• fossils are the preserved remains of plants or animals that lived long ago

• fossils are decayed remains of plants or animals

• fossils are imprints of leaves found in the mud

• fossils are humus found in soil

What can scientists learn about a particular dinosaur from studying its fossilized teeth?

• how big it was

• what its skin looked like

• what kind of food it ate

• how fast it would run

A student is observing two fossils 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.

A third grader is tasked to create a model to show how a fossil is formed. What needs to happen first and why?

• The first step is that an animal dies because once any living thing dies, it will always start the fossilization process

• The first step is that an animal dies because once a living thing dies, it has the possibility of becoming a fossil.

• The first step is that the animal is buried by sediment because if it is buried by sediment, it will then die to become a fossil.

• The first step is that bone is slowly replaced with minerals because if they are replaced by minerals, then once it dies, it starts to fossilize.

You find a dinosaur footprint in a rock near your house. What is the BEST conclusion you can draw from this footprint about what happened many years ago?

• dinosaurs changed and adapted over time

• a meteor hit where you live

• dinosaurs once loved where you live

• dinosaurs were reptiles