KEY Online Fossil Lab

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: _____________
Getting inAnto the Fossil

Online Fossil Lab
Record
This lab activity will be completed entirely on-line. You will be visiting several web sites devoted to fos-
sils, the fossil record, and geologic history. Visit the web sites listed and explore the information pre-
sented. As you do so,record brief responses to the questions below. This activity will be collected and
counted as a lab.
Destination #1: “Getting in to the Fossil Record”

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/fossil/9to12/intro.html
Click the links at the bottom of the page to continue through the site. Some pages may require you to
click on an image or answer a question before the link appears to guide you to the next page.
1. View the animation about getting into the fossil record, and write several sentences summarizing how
a dinosaur can become a fossil.
Dinosaur can get buried by sediment after it dies, become a fossil and then become exposed.
2. The word "fossil" means what (from Latin)?

Fossils are remains or traces of ancient life. The word fossil comes from the Latin word fossilis, which
means something dug up. Today, the word fossil refers only to the remains or traces of ancient life and is
usually reserved for remains at least 10,000 years old.
3. What are paleontologists?
Paleontologists are scientists who use fossils to study life in the past.
4. Fossils can be body parts of ancient organisms, or they can be traces. Give five examples of traces.
1.Footprints
2.Burrow
3. Nest of Eggs
4. Coprolite
5. Animal Trail
5. Which type of organism do you think is most likely to be preserved? One that gets buried quickly or
one that gets buried slowly?
If an organism or its trace gets buried quickly, it is less likely to be destroyed.
6. What are three biotic factors that can affect an organism after death?
Name: ________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: _____________
1. Decomposers
2. Scavengers
3. Predators
7. What is an abiotic factor that can prevent the organism from becoming preserved, AFTER it has been
buried?
Exposure to heat, cold, moisture, water, and wind are abiotic factors that can also cause a dead organism to decompose and
break apart.
8. What is a mold?
Molds are imprints left from somethng that was buried. The structure decays and its imprint or mold is left in the sediment. The molds can
be seen if the rock is broken open.
9. What is a cast?
Casts are formed when sediment leaks into a mold and hardens to form a copy of the original structure.
10. What is amber?
The tree sap hardens into amber, preserving the insect inside
11. What type of animal might become preserved in amber?

Insects
12. Where in the US is a tar pit found?

Southern California
13. What type of animal might become preserved in a tar pit?

Smaller ones such as a wolf.
14. Which is more likely to fossilize? Hard parts or soft parts?

Soft parts
15. What are three ways in which a fossil can be destroyed after it has formed?
1. Crushed
2. Melted
3. Eroded or Moved
17. Which type of rock is most likely to contain fossils? Igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic?
Sedimentary
Destination #2: “The geologic Time Scale in Historical Perspective”

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: _____________
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibit/histgeoscale.html
1. Explain the contributions of Nicholaus Steno to geology.

The first stated that sedimentary rocks are laid down in a horizontal manner, and the second stated that younger rock units were deposited
on top of older rock units.
2. What was William Smith's contribution to geology?

principle of faunal succession- simply stated that fossils are found in rocks in a very definite order. This principle led others that followed to
use fossils to define increments within a relative time scale.
3. The beginning of the Phanerozoic is marked by what occurrence?

This eon coincides with the appearance of animals that evolved external skeletons, like shells, and the somewhat later animals that formed
internal skeletons, such as the bony elements of vertebrates.
4. What are the three divisions (Eras) of the Phanerozoic Eon?
1. Paleozoic
2. Mesozoic
3. Cenozoic
5. What do the following terms mean?
1. "zoic" -root
2. "Cen"-recent
3. "Meso" -middle
4. "Paleo" -middle
6. What major group of animals dominated the Mesozoic Era? Reptiles

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: _____________
Destination #3: “Frequently Asked Questions About Paleontology”

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/FAQ/faq.html
1. What are coprolites? Fossil feces
2. What are the practical uses of paleontology?

Some study the sedimentary rock which contains resources such as coal and oil which are considered fossils.
Paleontologists can provide historical data on past climates and apply it towards understanding future trends and their likely effects.
Paleontology can potentially provide much data on the evolutionary relationships of organisms, which in turn gives a deeper
understanding of biodiversity.
3. How do paleontologists know how old fossils are?
Absolute dating, which estimates the age of a rock or fossil in years, is most usually done by measuring the amounts of a
radioactive isotope and its decay product; since isotope decay rates are known to be constant, the age can be calculated from the
relative amounts of parent isotope to daughter product.
4. Fossils that are most useful for correlation tend to be:
1. Widespread or found in many rock types
2. easily recognozible
3. lived for a short period of time.

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Name: ________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: _____________

Getting inAnto the Fossil

Destination #1: “Getting in to the Fossil Record”

2. The word "fossil" means what (from Latin)?

10. What is amber?

The tree sap hardens into amber, preserving the insect inside

11. What type of animal might become preserved in amber?

12. Where in the US is a tar pit found?

13. What type of animal might become preserved in a tar pit?

14. Which is more likely to fossilize? Hard parts or soft parts?

Destination #2: “The geologic Time Scale in Historical Perspective”

1. Explain the contributions of Nicholaus Steno to geology.

2. What was William Smith's contribution to geology?

3. The beginning of the Phanerozoic is marked by what occurrence?

4. What are the three divisions (Eras) of the Phanerozoic Eon?

5. What do the following terms mean?

6. What major group of animals dominated the Mesozoic Era? Reptiles

Destination #3: “Frequently Asked Questions About Paleontology”

1. What are coprolites? Fossil feces

2. What are the practical uses of paleontology?

4. Fossils that are most useful for correlation tend to be:

1. Widespread or found in many rock types

3. lived for a short period of time.

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