Fossil Notes
Essential Questions:
What are fossils and how are they formed?
What are the different kinds of fossils?
What do fossils tell about how organisms have changed over time?
How do fossils form?
 Fossils are the preserved ____________________________ or traces of _____________________ things.
 Fossils provide evidence of how _______________ has _______________________ over time.
 Fossils also help scientists infer how ___________________________________________ has changed.
 Fossils are clues to what past _____________________________________ were like.
 Most fossils form when living things die and are buried by __________________. The sediments slowly
harden into rock and ________________________ the shapes of the ____________________________.
 Scientists who study fossils are called _________________________________.
 Fossils are usually found in ______________________________________________.
 _______________________rock is the type of rock that is made of hardened _______________________.
What are the different kinds of fossils?


Fossils found in rock include _________________ fossils , molds and casts,
___________________________, and trace fossils.
Other fossils form when the remains of organisms are preserved in substances such as
___________________, ______________________, and ____________________.
Petrified Fossils



A fossil may form when the remains of an organism become ______________________________.
Petrified means “__________________________________________________.”
Petrified fossils are fossils in which minerals __________________ all or part of an __________________.
Molds and casts




A __________________ is a hollow area in ________________________ in the shape of an organism or
part of an organism.
A mold forms when the _________________________________ of the organism such as a shell, is buried
in ___________________________.
A ________________________ is a copy of the __________________________ of an organism.
Water carrying dissolved minerals and sediment may seep into the empty space of a mold. If the water
deposits the minerals and sediment there, the result is a cast.
Carbon films

An extremely thin coating of _______________________ on rock.
HOW DOES A CARBON FILM FORM?

When sediment _______________________ an organism, some of the materials that make up the
organism can become ____________________________. These gases escape from the sediment, leaving
______________________ behind. Eventually, only a thin film of carbon remains.
Trace fossils



Trace fossils provide ___________________________ of the __________________ of ancient organisms.
A fossilized ________________________________ is on example of a trace fossil.
Other examples of trace fossils include the ____________________ that animals followed or the
________________________ that they lived in.
Preserved Remains




Some processes ________________________ the remains of organisms with little or no change.
Some remains are preserved when organisms become trapped in _______________.
Ancient organisms also have been preserved in ____________. Amber is the hardened resin, or sap, of
_________________________________________.
_____________________________ is another way in which remains can be preserved.
What do fossils tell about how organisms have changed over time?











The ___________________________ provides evidence about the history of life on Earth. The fossil
record also shows that different groups of organisms have changed over time.
The fossil record reveals a surprising fact: _____________________________________________.
The fossil record shows that life on Earth has ________________________, or changed.
The fossil record provides evidence to support the theory of _____________________________.
Evolution is the gradual __________________ in living things over long ___________________________.
The fossil record shows that _____________________ of types of organisms have ___________________.
But many others have become ___________________________.
A type of organism is extinct if it no longer ______________ and will never again live on Earth.
_______________________________ use fossils to build up a picture of Earth’s environments in the past.
Fossils also provide evidence of Earth’s ________________ in the past.
Scientists can use fossils to learn about changes in Earth’s _________________________________.
In Summary



Most fossils form when living things die and are quickly ________________________ by sediment, which
eventually hardens and preserves parts of the organisms.
The major kinds of ____________________ include petrified remains, molds, casts, carbon films, trace
fossils, and preserved remains.
The fossil record shows that many different organisms have lived on Earth at ______________________
times and that groups of organisms have changed __________________________________.