Fossils & Geologic Time Study Guide
Name_________________________Period____Entry____
A. If the statement describes a fossil write down the type of fossilization described. If it is not a fossil
Write- NOT A FOSSIL!
1. Bird tracks in the snow.___________________________________________________________________
2. Shell-shaped mineral found in rock cavity____________________________________________________
3. Insect in amber from a pine tree_____________________________________________________________
4. Dinosaur tracks in rocks__________________________________________________________________
5. Sandstone showing ripple marks from water_________________________________________________
6. Dinosaur leg bone containing quartz and minerals instead of regular calcium______________________
7. Thin cavity in a rock showing where a shell has decayed_______________________________________
8. Burrows of worms that lived millions of years ago____________________________________________
9. Living pine tree more than 4,000 years old__________________________________________________
10. Thin layer of carbon from the remains of a plant that lived thousands of years ago_________________
11. Arrowhead made thousands of years ago___________________________________________________
B. Answer the following questions.
12. What must happen to a dead organism if a fossil is to form?
13. What can you infer about finding a seashell fossil on a mountain?
14. What are three things about Earth’s past that scientists can learn from fossils?
15. What 2 characteristics describe a good index fossil?
16. How is an index fossil useful?
17. What is the difference between relative age and absolute age?
18. What is the “Law of Superposition”?
19. What are the “gaps” or missing layers of rock in the a section of rock called?
20. Which is older a fault line cutting across rock layers or the rock layers themselves? Explain your
thinking.
21. Using the picture to the left and write down which layer is
older for each of the following….
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
C or A?
C or B?
The dark line or A?
D or the dark line?
D or C?
2008-2009 Edwards
22. What form of fossilization would this be an example of? (look left)
23. Analyze the star shape image to the right.
What type of fossilization is this? Describe the environment/habitat of this past
creature.
24. A common cause of gaps in rock layers is __________________.
25. The law of ______________________ states than an older rock is deeper than younger rock.
Match the term with the correct description.
26. _____absolute age
a. time it takes for half of an isotope to breakdown
27._____ half-life
b. the specific age of something
28._____ radiometric dating
c. uses isotope to calculate the absolute age of a rock
29. What do you notice about ancient organisms compared to organisms found closer to present day?
30. Roughly, how old is the Earth?
31. What is the difference between a geologic era and a geologic period?
32. What two periods is the Cenozoic era broken into?
33. What is the first, longest and least known section of time in Earth’s history?
34. What type of animals dominated the Paleozoic era? The nickname for this Era was what?
35. What type of animal was the Mesozoic noted for? The nickname for this Era was what?
36. What type of animal became common during the Cenozoic era? The nickname for this Era was what?
REMEMBER TO STUDY ALL OF YOUR NOTES. YOU MAY USE THE TEXTBOOK TO
HELP STUDY AS WELL.- CHAPTER 3
2008-2009 Edwards