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Fossils- Earths History

Total questions: 14

Worksheet time: 7mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What answer best describes the relationship between cast fossils and mold fossils?

a)

Mold fossils are formed when minerals fill the cavity left by cast fossils.

b)

Cast fossils are formed when minerals fill the cavity left behind by mold fossils.

c)

Cast minerals and mold fossils are formed when animals leave a footprint in wet mud.

d)

Mold fossils and cast fossils are formed when dead animals are preserved in tree sap.

2.

How can scientists most likely find that two different extinct animals lived in similar climates?

a)

Their fossils are the same size.

b)

Their fossils are found in the same region (area).

c)

Their fossils are found in the same year.

d)

Their fossils show that they died the same way.

3.

Which of the following is categorized as an imprint fossil?

a)

an insect stuck in amber

b)

a leaf outline on a rock

c)

dinosaur bones

d)

petrified wood

4.

How do we know that all seven continents were once connected by a landmass?

a)

The continents were surrounded by oceans.

b)

Dinosaur fossils are found on all seven continents.

c)

The North and South Poles are the coldest places on Earth and are frozen.

d)

There is different weather on the continents.

5.

What can we learn from studying a plant fossil?

a)

how long ago the plant lived

b)

how the plant became extinct

c)

how many plants lived in the area

d)

how many animals lived near the plants

6.

When we look at fossils found in layers of rock, which are the oldest fossils?

a)

the middle layers

b)

the top layers of rock

c)

the bottom layers

7.

Someone discovered a saltwater fish fossil on the shore of a freshwater lake. Why could the fossils be found there?

a)

The fish was left there by a fisherman.

b)

The fish moved across the land to get to the lake long ago.

c)

The fish lived in the area long ago when it was covered by an ocean.

d)

The fish was left there long ago by a storm.

8.

What type of information can fossils provide to us?

a)

the color of animals from long ago

b)

the type of plants animals liked to eat

c)

the kind of organisms that lived long ago

d)

the type of water in an environment

9.

What change to Earth's surface would be seen if a volcano suddenly erupted?

a)

It would form a hole slowly

b)

It quickly changes the Earth's surface

c)

It starts slowly and then rapidly changes the surface of the Earth

d)

It starts rapidly and then slowly changes the surface of the Earth

10.

Rock layers in a canyon have been gradually disappearing. Which most likely explains this?

a)

slow wind erosion

b)

rapid tide changes

c)

rapid flowing water

d)

slow glacier movement

11.

Which best explains the process that causes cracks in bedrock due to the freezing and thawing of water?

a)

frost action

b)

glacier movement

c)

seismic waves

d)

volcanic eruption

12.

Which best describes a sudden fall of rocks?

a)

earthquake

b)

landslide

c)

erosion

d)

weathering

13.

Which process slowly changes Earth's surface by breaking rocks and soil into smaller pieces?

a)

weathering

b)

landslide

c)

erosion

d)

eruption

14.

Which is an example of a slow change to Earth's surface?

a)

an earthquake

b)

A boat travels toward the ocean

c)

A tree falls to the ground

d)

a river collects carries sediment to the ocean