Name: _________________________________________
Chapter F Lesson 4: Looking at Fossils
QUIZ date: _______________________
Vocabulary:
1. Fossil – the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in
sedimentary rock
2. Trace Fossil – a fossilized mark that is formed in soft sediment by the movement of an animal
3. Mold – a mark or cavity made in a sedimentary surface by a shell or other body
4. Cast – a type of fossil that forms when sediments fill in the cavity left by a decomposed
organism
5. Index Fossil – a fossil that is found in the rock layers of only one geologic age and that is used to
establish the age of the rock layers
Things to Know:
1. Amber is hardened tree sap and petrified wood is an example of mineral replacement.
2. Preserved footprints or a mark left by a dinosaur’s tail would be examples of trace fossils.
Animal tracks can tell how big the animal was that left the track.
3. Freezing temperatures will slow down an organism’s decay.
4. Marine fossils discovered on a mountaintop tell the scientists that the rock was once below the
ocean’s surface.
5. Scientists can learn how life has changed and the age of certain layers of rock by studying fossils
and the relationship between them.
6. Most fossils are preserved in sedimentary rock.
7. The fossil record is incomplete because most organisms never became fossils.
8. Shells and bones are more commonly preserved because of their hardness and the fact that it
takes a longer time for them to break down than soft tissue.
9. Mineral replacement is a process where minerals replace tissue.