Instructions
Read each question carefully. Circle the best answer for multiple-choice questions, write 'T' for True or 'F' for False, and fill in the blanks for other questions.
Part A: Circle the Correct Answer
- What is a fossil?
- A. A pretty rock you find on the beach.
- B. The preserved remains or traces of an ancient living thing.
- C. A living dinosaur.
- Most fossils are found in which type of rock?
- A. Igneous rock (from volcanoes)
- B. Metamorphic rock (changed by heat and pressure)
- C. Sedimentary rock (made of layers of sand and mud)
- A scientist who studies fossils is called a:
- A. Geologist
- B. Paleontologist
- C. Biologist
- What can a fossil of a footprint tell us?
- A. The color of the animal.
- B. What the animal liked to eat.
- C. How the animal moved and how big it might have been.
- Which of these is an example of a trace fossil?
- A. A dinosaur bone
- B. An insect trapped in amber
- C. A fossilized footprint
Part B: True or False?
Write 'T' for True or 'F' for False in the blank space before each sentence.
- All living things that die become fossils.
- Fossils can be the bones, teeth, or shells of an animal.
- A fossil mold is formed when sediment fills a hole left by a dead organism.
- Fossils show us that life on Earth has always been the same.
- Amber is hardened tree sap that can preserve insects as fossils.
Part C: Fossil Formation Diagram
The pictures below show how a fossil might form. Number them from 1 to 4 to put them in the correct order.
Layers of sand and mud (sediment) build up over time, putting pressure on the layers below.
Step:A dinosaur dies and its body sinks into the mud near a river.
Step:Over millions of years, water seeps into the bones, and minerals replace the bone, turning it into rock.
Step:Later, erosion wears away the rock layers, and the fossil is exposed on the surface.
Step:Part D: Match the Words
Draw a line to match the word on the left with its correct meaning on the right.
| 1. Extinct | A. An empty space in rock where an organism used to be. |
| 2. Cast | B. Tiny bits of rock, sand, and dirt that settle at the bottom of water. |
| 3. Mold | C. A type of living thing that no longer exists on Earth. |
| 4. Sediment | D. A scientist who studies fossils. |
| 5. Paleontologist | E. A fossil made when a mold is filled with minerals. |
Part E: Rock Layers Diagram
Look at the layers of sedimentary rock below. The oldest layers are at the bottom and the newest layers are at the top. Answer the questions about the diagram.
Layer C (Newest)
🐙 (Fish Fossil)
🐙 (Fish Fossil)
Layer B
🦕 (Dinosaur Fossil)
🦕 (Dinosaur Fossil)
Layer A (Oldest)
🦑 (Trilobite Fossil)
🦑 (Trilobite Fossil)
- In which layer is the oldest fossil found?
- In which layer is the newest (youngest) fossil found?
- Is the dinosaur fossil older or younger than the trilobite fossil?
- Which fossil is found in Layer C?
Part F: Short Answer Questions
Write your answer in a full sentence on the line provided.
- What are two things a fossil can tell us about an ancient animal?
- Why don't we find fossils of soft animals like jellyfish very often?
- What is the difference between a mold fossil and a cast fossil?
- How does an insect get preserved in amber?
- If you found a fossil of a seashell on top of a mountain, what could that tell you?
- Name one place where you might go to see fossils.
- What does it mean if an animal is "extinct"?
- Why is it important to study fossils?
- What is a trace fossil? Give one example.
- How do we know how old a fossil is?
ANSWER KEY
Part A: Circle the Correct Answer (5 Questions)
- B. The preserved remains or traces of an ancient living thing.
- C. Sedimentary rock (made of layers of sand and mud)
- B. Paleontologist
- C. How the animal moved and how big it might have been.
- C. A fossilized footprint
Part B: True or False? (5 Questions)
- F - It is very rare for a living thing to become a fossil.
- T
- F - That describes a cast. A mold is the empty space.
- F - They show us that life has changed a lot over time.
- T
Part C: Fossil Formation Diagram (4 Questions)
Order is: 2, 1, 3, 4
- Step: 2 (Layers of sand and mud...)
- Step: 1 (A dinosaur dies...)
- Step: 3 (Over millions of years, minerals replace the bone...)
- Step: 4 (Later, erosion wears away...)
Part D: Match the Words (5 Questions)
- Extinct → C. A type of living thing that no longer exists on Earth.
- Cast → E. A fossil made when a mold is filled with minerals.
- Mold → A. An empty space in rock where an organism used to be.
- Sediment → B. Tiny bits of rock, sand, and dirt that settle at the bottom of water.
- Paleontologist → D. A scientist who studies fossils.
Part E: Rock Layers Diagram (4 Questions)
- Layer A
- Layer C
- Younger
- Fish fossil
Part F: Short Answer Questions (10 Questions)
(Sample answers. Student answers may vary but should be similar.)
- A fossil can tell us the size of the animal and what it looked like. (Other answers: what it ate, how it moved).
- Jellyfish do not have hard parts like bones or shells, so they usually rot away before they can become a fossil.
- A mold is the empty shape of an animal left in rock. A cast is formed when that empty shape gets filled up with minerals.
- An insect gets stuck in sticky tree sap, and then the sap hardens into amber over millions of years, preserving the insect inside.
- It could tell you that the land where the mountain is was once covered by an ocean.
- You can see fossils at a museum. (Other answers: in some rocks, at a dig site).
- It means that there are no more of that type of animal alive anywhere on Earth.
- It is important to study fossils to learn about life long ago and how the Earth has changed.
- A trace fossil is a sign an animal was there, but not part of its body. An example is a footprint, a burrow, or droppings.
- Scientists can tell how old a fossil is by looking at the layer of rock it was found in. Older rocks are deeper down.