Fossils and the Fossil Record

Which layer contains the oldest fossil?

• Layer 1

• Layer 2

• Layer 3

• Layer 4

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Which layer contains the youngest fossil?

• layer 1

• layer 2

• layer 3

• layer 4

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Organisms D and C clearly lived in an aquatic (water) environment. Organism A does not look like it lived in the water. What is the most likely explanation for this?

• The fossil in layer A died on land and was carried to the water

• The fossils in layer C and D did not live in the same location as the fossil in layer A

• The environment changed over a long period of time. It used to be under water, but is not anymore

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

What is a likely event that occurred between fossil layers B and D?

• explosion of new species

• mass extinction

• can not tell from the image

• small changes to the environment

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

450 million year old rocks contain fossils of jawless fish. 400 million year old rocks contain fossils of jawless fish AND fish with jaws. What does this evidence suggest?

• fish with jaws appeared earlier in the fossil record

• fish with jaws and jawless fish appeared at the same time in the fossil record

• jawless fish appeared first in the fossil record

• fish with jaws no longer exist

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The trend for a certain type of fish is that over time, the species increases in the number of teeth they have. A new fossil is found to have 34 teeth. Use the chart to estimate the age of this fossil.

• 20 million years old

• 30 million years old

• 70 million years old

• 100 million years old

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

a ​ (a)   is any remains, trace, or imprint of animal or plant life preserved in Earth's crust

• fossil
• organism
• rock
• biodiversity
• fossilrecord

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The ______ parts of an organism are what gets fossilized in most cases.

• big

• soft

• hard

• small

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The fossil record contains fossils of every single living thing.

• True

• False

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The fossil record shows us...

• Change of Earth's environments

• the entire number of fossils

• mass extinctions

• biodiversity of life

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1