What Fossils Tell Us - Inspire Science

What are sediments?

• Large pieces of unbroken rock

• Tiny bits of soil or rock that have been broken down and deposited

• Water that has evaporated from the ocean

• Plants that have died and decomposed

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

How are sedimentary rocks formed?

• By volcanic eruptions

• By the sun heating the sediment

• By the weight of the top layers pressing the sediment together

• By animals walking over the sediment

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

What can fossils tell scientists?

• Where treasure is buried

• How to make medicine

• Information about environments of the past

• The color of ancient animals

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Why are ammonite fossils found on dry land significant?

• They glow in the dark

• They are made of gold

• They prove that ammonites could live on land and in water

• They indicate the land was once covered by water

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

How can the relative age of fossils be determined?

• By how deep the fossils are buried in the layers of rock

• By asking a historian

• By checking the fossil's heartbeat

• By measuring how much the fossil weighs

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

How can scientists tell that a landscape has changed over time?

• By observing the clouds in the sky
• By measuring the temperature of the landscape
• By counting the number of trees in the area
• By analyzing sediment layers, studying fossils, examining rock formations, and using dating techniques.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3