Fossils II Name: 1. Date: A student notices a paw print while walking in a park. 3. Use the picture below to answer the following question(s). The paw print could be considered a fossil if the print was in 2. A. rock B. topsoil C. thick mud D. loose sand Use the information below to answer the following question(s). Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.The heads of four former presidents—George Washington, Thomas Je erson,Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—are carved into Mount Rushmore as a monument. The monument rises to 1,745 meters above sea level. Why do scientists study fossils? Mount Rushmore is granite, one of the most common rocks on Earth, and took millions of years to form.The sculptor chose to carve the monument in granite because granite erodes at a rate of about 2 centimeters every 10,000 years. These fossils are evidence that South Dakota was once a forest area B. covered by water C. to learn how the planet was formed B. to study how organisms changed over time C. to observe how drought a ected the landscape D. to understand how weathering a ected rock layers Coral, clam, and star sh fossils are common in South Dakota. A. A. ooded by spring rains D. at the edge of a tectonic plate page 1 4. Which fossil shown below is that of an organism that most likely lived on land? 6. The diagram below shows the undisturbed layers of rock found in an area and some of the fossils found in each layer. A. B. C. Which describes how the environment in the area most likely changed over time? D. 5. A. from desert to lake B. from river valley to forest C. from ocean to desert D. from grassland to coastal plain Paleontologists study fossils to obtain information about organisms. In which of these types of rocks would a paleontologist most likely nd fossils? A. Igneous B. Synthetic C. Sedimentary D. Metamorphic page 2 Fossils II 9. 7. Fossils of the Coelacanth (se' le kanth') sh occur in the fossil record from 410 to 65 million years ago. The lack of more recent fossils led scientists to conclude that the sh went extinct along with the dinosaurs. In 1938, a sherman caught a living Coelacanth. More than 200 of them have been caught on the deep reefs in the Indian Ocean. This sh has been called a “living fossil” because its body plan is nearly identical to the 400-million-year-old fossils. Scientists claim that the area around the Grand Canyon was once covered by an ocean. What evidence would support their claim? A. Dinosaur footprints were found near the Grand Canyon. B. Fish were found living in the rivers of the Grand Canyon. C. Fossils of ocean animals were found at the Grand Canyon. D. Bones from desert animals were found at the Grand Canyon. This structural similarity, as evidenced by the fossil record, supports which statement? A. The environment of the deep sea has changed little over millions of years. B. The amount of salt in the deep sea has varied greatly over millions of years. C. The oceans have completely dried up multiple times during the past 400 million years. D. The oceans have been continuously repopulated by freshwater sh species over millions of years. 10. Study the picture below. What surface feature is shown at X? 8. Which technique has helped scientists more accurately determine the age of fossils and draw conclusions about changes in organisms over time? A. time-lapse photography B. radioactive dating C. electron microscopy A. foothill B. mountain C. plain D. plateau D. color staining page 3 Fossils II 11. The map below shows the Western Hemisphere. Coral fossils that are about 90 million years old have been found at site X. What do these fossils indicate? A. Coral was once a land organism. B. Coral migrated north of the equator. C. Site X was once covered by a warm sea. D. Site X was once located further north. page 4 Fossils II
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