WorksheetsFossils
Total questions: 30
Worksheet time: 15mins
A fossil is
the evidence of organisms that lived a long time ago.
a cute picture
a piece of candy
the evidence that organisms never lived.
An organism is
a musical instrument, like a piano or keyboard.
a non-living thing, like a laptop or tablet.
a living thing, like a plant or animal.
a video game, like Among Us or Roblox.
What kind of environment is this?
hot desert
warm wooded
cold mountain
water environment
This is a warm wooded region. Which would be the BEST characteristic an animal needs to live in this environment?
Fins to swim because there is only water in this environment.
Ability to retain water because it is so hot and dry.
Large skull to think because it is so hot.
Feet to walk on land or climb trees for food.
This is a desert. The animals and plants that once lived here had to have had what characteristic to survive?
Flipper feet to get around.
Pinchers to grab the food from the trees.
Ability to retain water because it was so hot and dry.
Wings to fly away to a new environment.
Based on the pictures of the fossils, what can you infer about the environment that they once lived?
A warm mountain region, like the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia.
Hot desert environment, like the Mojave Desert in California.
Warm ocean environment, like Miami Beach, Florida.
Cold mountain environment, like the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
A student found this fossil. What evidence does the fossil have that shows where the organism lived?
The organism lived in a water environment because of the flippers and fins.
The organism lived in a water environment because it has a long beak.
The organism lived in a mountain environment because it looks like it was carved in the mountain.
The organism lived in a tundra or arctic environment because it looks frozen.
We sorted these fossils into two categories based on which environments animals lived: land or water. What is the BEST clue to help us decide if the animal lived on land or water?
Their fur
Their bone structure
Their teeth size and shape
Their feet, fins, or wings
A turtle fossil was recently found in a desert of South America. Millions of years ago, the environment was wet and swampy. What can you conclude about the environment?
The swamps washed the turtles away.
The environment changed over a long time from swamps to desert.
The swamps disappeared and the turtles crawled to the desert.
The environment changed in two years from swamps to arctic.
Which would be the BEST argument from the observation of the fossil below?
This organism has a big footprint.
This organism could retain water because of of it's antennas.
This organism could fly because of the wings.
This organism lived in the ocean because the fossil was found near the beach.
What can we learn from this fossil?
The color of the leaf.
The texture of the leaf.
Which animal ate the leaf.
The size of the leaf.
Jayson saw a fossil that looked like this. What habitat or environment did the organism once live?
land
water
The environment can _________ over time.
tell
run
change
jump
This fossil of a fish was found while hiking the Appalachian Mountains. Does this mean it a fish can live on a mountain?
Yes, fish love the mountains.
Yes, because it was found in the mountains.
No, because a fish can only live in the desert.
No, the environment probably changed from water to mountains over many years.
This is a time lapse illustration of what happens when a fossil forms. How is this helpful? Choose the BEST answer.
It shows the time the fish died.
It shows images for each step of how a fossil forms over time.
It shows pictures of the fish.
It shows how you can put a fish in your lap.
What is the first step to fossil formation? (STEP 1)
The fossil is discovered
The parts begin to decay or decompose and minerals fill in the spaces.
The organism is buried in sediment.
An organism dies.
Over time, sediment or soil turns into rock or stone.
What is the second step to fossil formation? (STEP 2)
The fossil is discovered
The parts begin to decay or decompose and minerals fill in the spaces.
The organism is quickly buried in sediment.
An organism dies.
Over time, sediment or soil turns into rock or stone.
What is the third step to fossil formation? (STEP 3)
The fossil is discovered
The parts begin to decay or decompose and minerals fill in the spaces.
The organism is quickly buried in sediment.
An organism dies.
Over time, sediment or soil turns into rock or stone.
What is the fourth step to fossil formation? (STEP 4)
The fossil is discovered
The parts begin to decay or decompose and minerals fill in the spaces.
The organism is quickly buried in sediment.
An organism dies.
Over time, sediment or soil turns into rock or stone.
What is the last step to fossil formation? (STEP 5)
The fossil is discovered
The parts begin to decay or decompose and minerals fill in the spaces.
The organism is quickly buried in sediment.
An organism dies.
Over time, sediment or soil turns into rock or stone.
EVERY living thing that dies becomes a fossil.
True
False
We made models out of clay or dough. What did the CLAY or DOUGH represent?
the bone
the sediment
the minerals
the organism
We made models out of clay or dough. What did the GLUE represent?
the bone
the sediment
the minerals
the organism
We made models out of clay or dough. What did we use to represent the organism being BURIED or pushed down into sediment?
Our hands pressing the object into the clay.
The object in the clay.
The glue in the imprint of the clay.
The clay.
We made models out of clay or dough. What else could we have used to represent an organism being BURIED or pushed down into sediment?
A jacket
A piece of paper
A book
Air
This is a model to show the _________________ of a leaf fossil.
skeleton
imprint
minerals
sediment
This is an 8th grade student's model of how a fossil is formed. How do we know the order of fossil formation?
The arrows tell us the order.
The words tell us the order.
The numbers tell us the order.
We don't know the order.
Will you pass the Fossils test?
Yes
No
When is the Fossils test?
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Which model is more likely form a fossil?
Model A
Model B
