Fossils are formed when the animal or plant (or impressions) are buried quickly by sediment or ash before they decompose

Fossils are formed pretty quickly, like over a few hundred years

The _______ parts of the organism make the best fossils.

What type of rocks are fossils found in?

What can be learned by studying the geologic column or fossil record?

The newest rock strata (layers) are found

The oldest rock strata (layers) can be found

It is unlikely that fossils would form in metamorphic or igneous rock due to the high heat and pressure that occur during these rock processes

The organisms in the layers of rock can tell you about what the environment used to look like millions of years ago

This is a physical record of the changes Earth has gone through, with the oldest at the bottom and the newest at the top

If an organism is present in old layers of rock, but not in new layers of rock, what can this tell us about that organism?

This type of fossil leaves a negative impression or image in the rock

This type of fossil is formed when an impression gets filled in, making a 3D copy of the organism

This type of fossil is the actual animal or part of animal. It is formed by being covered in sediment, ash, or tree sap.

This type of fossil can tell us how organisms behaved and include things like footprints, nests, burrows, and poop!

We call organisms that have survived unchanged for a very long time, such as crocodiles and horseshoe crabs, living fossils.

Organisms in the fossil record are either extinct, a living fossil, or the organism has changed over time.

The fossil record can provide evidence of changes in organisms over time