NEW
Font size
WorksheetsFossils
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 13mins
Footprints and trails are examples of trace fossils.
True
False
Uplift may be caused by the Earth's plates colliding together and causing rocks to be pushed upward.
True
False
What is a fossil?
any dead organism
a perfect copy of a rock
the remains, imprints, or traces of once-living organisms
complex organisms that existed many centuries ago
Which type of fossil preservation is a thin carbon outline of the original organism?
cast
carbon film
mold
petrified
A fossil formed when minerals replace all or part of an organism is called a
mold
petrified fossil
cast
trace fossil
Which type of fossil can provide clues about the activities of ancient organisms?
trace fossils
remains preserved in amber
carbon films
molds and casts
How do most fossils form?
The hard parts of the organism dry out in the air until they harden.
The soft parts of the organism change to stone.
Living things die and their remains are buried by sediments.
Freezing preserves the remains of an organism.
The relative age of a rock is
its age compared to the ages of other rocks
less than the age of the fossils the rock contains.
the number of years since the rock formed.
its age based on how much carbon-14 the rock contains.
Radioactive decay occurs when atoms of an unstable element
become part of a fossil.
join with atoms of another element.
break down to form atoms of another element.
are exposed to chemical weathering.
When an isotope in the rock decays, a new _______________ is formed.
proton
element
organism
fossil
What is a copy of a fossil produced by filling a mold with sediments or crystals?
mold
cast
petrified fossil
carbon film
The law of superposition helps geologists determine the absolute age of a rock layer.
True
False
In layers of undisturbed sedimentary rock, the oldest rocks are on the top.
True
False
Which of the following is least likely to be found as a fossil?
clam shell
shark tooth
snail shell
jellyfish imprint
The picture shows what type of fossil?
cast
mold
preserved remains
carbon film
The fossils of organisms that were widely distributed but only lived during a short
period of time are called
trace fossils
petrified fossils
index fossils
carbon film fossils
In what type of rock would you most likely find a fossil?
any type of rock
igneous rock
sedimentary rock
metamorphic rock
Index fossils must meet 2 criteria. They must have existed for a short period of time and ___________________.
be few in numbers
be widely distributed
lived for a long time
be really old in age
An organism that no longer exists on Earth is called
decayed
extinct
evolved
preserved
Radioactive dating enables geologists to determine
the age of the atoms in a rock.
the half-life of a fossil organism.
the relative age of a fossil organism.
the absolute ages of rocks.
Fossils provide important evidence of
how life and the environment have both changed over time
how both the environment and life have remained the same over time
how only the environment has changed, but life has remained the same
how climate and weather have remained the same over time
Which type of fossil preservation is shown in the picture?
trace fossil
original remains
carbon film
petrified remains
Which letter represents the youngest rock layer?
L
A
Q
D
Which letter represents the oldest layer?
L
A
Q
D
Scientists study the __________ to learn about the history of life, past environments on Earth, and how different groups of organisms have changed over time.
animal record
historical record
Earth record
fossil record
