Fossils Chapt 6 Lesson 3

Entire animals trapped and preserved in sap.

• fossil

• amber

• casts

• mold

• imprint

Marks left behind by animal tracks.

• fossil

• amber

• casts

• mold

• imprint

A trace or the remains of a living thing that died a long time ago

• fossil

• amber

• casts

• mold

• imprint

The shape of a once living thing left in sediment when the rock formed.

• fossil

• amber

• casts

• mold

• imprint

Material that fills up molds.

• fossil

• amber

• casts

• mold

• imprint

Which is one thing scientists learn from fossils:

• how rocks form

• what sediments are where to find them.

• what animals are like today

• what living things of long ago were like and where they lived.

How do fossils form?

• when organisms die and their bodies decompose completely.

• when living things die and their bodies are exposed to the elements.

• when living things die and their bodies are consumed by other animals.

• when an organism is buried by sediments that hardens into rocks.

Why are there fewer plant fossils today?

• Plants didn't exist in the past
• Soft parts of plants are easily destroyed so they don't last as long as other organisms.

• Plant fossils are all in museums
• Plant fossils have been destroyed by natural disasters