INVESTIGATION 1 I-CHECK
HEREDITY AND ADAPTATION
Name
DateClass
1. The fossil record documents the _____ of life-forms throughout the history of life on Earth.
Mark an X next to each word that correctly completes the statement.
_____ change
_____ diversity
_____ entire number
_____ extinction
_____ environment
_____ age
_____ mating behavior
2. Which of the following best describes what we mean when we talk about the fossil record?
(Mark the one best answer.)
❍ A Leaf imprints found in hardened mud
❍ B The history of fossils in the last 400,000 years
❍ C A fossil found in rock
❍ D All the fossils that have been discovered
3. Mark an X next to each statement that explains why the fossil record is considered incomplete.
_____ Not all organisms become fossils.
_____ Some organisms have not been extinct long enough.
_____ There were times when fossils didn’t form.
_____ There are still fossils that haven’t been found.
_____ Some organisms are too small to make fossils.
FOSS Next Generation
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INVESTIGATION 1 I-CHECK
Name
HEREDITY AND ADAPTATION
4. These images represent the limbs of extinct organisms found in the fossil record. X
W
Y
Z
a. Write the letters of the fossil limbs in order from oldest (most ancient) to youngest (most recent).
_____ (oldest)
_____
_____
_____ (youngest)
b.
Explain why you put them in that order.
5. Why do we find more fossils of organisms such as snails and vertebrates than organisms such as
jellyfish?
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HEREDITY AND ADAPTATION
A
B
C
D
6. Look at the image above. Fossils were discovered in four different layers of rock, A, B, C, and D.
Write T next to each statement that is true; write F next to each statement that is false.
Fossils found in layer A are most likely older than fossils found in
layer B.
The age of a fossil is the same as the age of the rock it is found in.
Organisms with shells appeared before tetrapods.
Fish and organisms with shells lived at the same time.
According to the principle of superposition, layer D represents the oldest rock.
7. How do fossils of limb structures provide evidence that ancient and modern tetrapods are related?
FOSS Next Generation
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