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WorksheetsScience Fossils
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
Joanie brought home several different seashells from the beach. Which one is a fossil?
a clam that died on the way home
a rock with an imprint of a seashell
a clump of seashells stuck together
two seashell halves that fit together
What causes petrified wood to form?
Cells of wood are slowly filled with minerals.
Sediment hardens around a piece of wood.
A piece of wood is frozen for thousands of years.
A piece of wood becomes trapped in tree sap.
Which part of an organism is the most likely to be fossilized?
the feet
the hard tissues
the head
the soft tissues
What is a scientist who studies fossils called?
a biologist
a botanist
a paleontologist
a physicist
Fish live in many different environments such as lakes, ponds, and oceans. Which is one feature in fish that has changed greatly over time?
scales
bones
eyes
jaws
At a family reunion, people are talking about everyone’s age. The family members all line up without saying anyone’s exact age. What principle is the family using?
absolute age
relative age
estimate age
approximate age
Sharon is studying some rock layers near her home. She uses the terms Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic to name them in order of their age. What are all these terms part of?
the world calendar
Earth's history
the geologic time scale
the fossil record
Scientists know that the continents have moved across Earth's surface throughout history. What is the name of the idea that first described the movement of continents?
plate tectonics
continental drift
continent movement
landform change
Scientists use fossils to describe how all of the environments on Earth have changed over time. Which fossil discovery represents a change in the environment where the fossil was found?
fish in rocks on top of a mountain
seashells in the sand at the beach
horse bones in soil in the prairie
polar bear bones in Alaska
Many fossils found today are from plants and animals that no longer live on Earth. Sometimes this is due to a large number species dying out over a relatively short time. What do scientists call this type of dying out?
great due-off
species death
mass extinction
population change
Julian was given a bag with several fossils in it from the rock layers shown below. If one of the fossils is older than layer 1, but younger than layer 3, which rock layer was it collected from?
1
2
3
4
Which fossil's relative age cannot be determined based on its position?
a fossil found in every rock layer
a fossil found in the bottom rock layer
a fossil found in the top rock layer
a fossil found in a middle rock layer
Which fossil could be a good index fossil?
a fossil found in every rock layer
a fossil found in only one place in the world
a fossil found only in a top rock layer
a fossil found in a middle rock layer in many places in the world
In a laboratory activity, students are using symbols to represent types of fossils. Several of the symbols look similar to each other. Why is it important for the students to draw each symbol carefully?
so the symbols cannot be confused
so there are enough symbols
so the symbols resemble fossils
so the symbols are familiar
Which can you conclude about a fossil that appears in many rock layers?
The fossil is useful for scientists.
The organism lived in many places in the world.
The organism lived for a geologically short period of time.
The organism lived for a geologically long period of time.
A fossil of a type of organism that lived in many places during a relatively short time span is called
Index fossil
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fossil
An impression of an organism, formed when sediment hardens around the organism, is called a(n)
cast
mold
mass extinction
index fossil
The remains or traces of plant or animal that lived long ago is an)
fossil
index fossil
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mold
A model of an organism, formed when sediment fills a mod and hardens, is a
cast
mold
mass extinction
index fossil
An event that results in the dying off of many species is called a(n)
mass extinction
index fossil
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