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Fossils
This category is for questions about the bones, fragments, imprints, and other remainders from a different time. The questions and answer you will find here are history set in stone -- our past, immortalized in solid rock. You will also be able to find questions pertaining to the locations of these fossils, how you might identify them, and how they were formed.
3,454 Questions
What two types of evidence do scientists use to determine what inside earth?
Indirect evidence from Seismic Waves, and direct evidence from rock samples.
What are the most likely parts of a animal to be preserved of a fossil?
when an organism dies, its soft parts often decay quickly or are eaten by animals. that is why only hard parts of an organism generally leave fossils. these hard parts include bones, shells, teeth, seeds, and woody stems.
relative dating
How can dead things be fossilized?
it happens when dead mammals begin to pile on top of each other after a while then they get compressed or buried under rock and turn into a fossil. It could also fall into a tar pit or marshes locking all of it underneath the earth and the bones turn into rock via a chemical reaction.
How does mud turn into a fossil?
To become a rock, mud must first undergo the process of lithification. This would involve the subsequent covering of the mud with additional sediments. If the weight of those sediments becomes great enough, the pressure will squeeze out the air and water from between the small clay and silt particles that the mud is composed of. Eventually, minerals will precipitate out of the remaining water, crystallizing to form a cement that holds the clay and silt particles together as a new sedimentary rock.
Fossilisation is a rather rare occurrence. Organisms must 'fall' into conditions where decay does not occur. The soft tissues of organisms usually do not form fossils. Fossilisation is more likely in seas, lakes, swamps and caves, but unlikely on land. Geological processes, and human activity, are constantly moving and destroying the sedimentary rocks which contain fossils.
What do people learn from fossils?
* The skin type, the thickness of the skin and the color. * Stupid or smart animal.... * how tall it will be when it grows up..if its a baby, ....... sorta.... O.o * male or female....well kinda....depends * pregante or not
What types of rocks are found in Seattle Washington?
There are many types of rocks that are found in Washington state. The most common ones found are sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks.
What assumption is made about the fossil record?
Actually, the only assumption made is the assumption that the world was not created purposefully with the intention of deceiving scientists into thinking common descent is true.
What are the steps necessary for a fossil cast to form?
Molds and casts are a third method of fossil preservation. Molds form after hard parts have been buried in mud, clay, or other material that turns to stone. Later, water dissolves the buried hard part, leaving only an impression or mold of the original. When this mold is filled with new material, a cast of the original is formed.
well we could debate the answer that the process of fossilisation is a long one (like mine) or we could debate that the proccess of fossilisation is short (probably like yours) but i think you should just give up with your entire life like i did and dont worry it all ended up good for me
Why are index Fossil helpful for performing relative dating?
Because they give us the best estimate of how old all the other fossils are in that sedimentary layer.
Are there any fossils found in Nevada?
Yes, fossils have been found in Nevada, particularly in areas with sedimentary rock formations like the Great Basin and the Las Vegas Valley. Fossils of prehistoric animals such as mammoths, sloths, and ancient marine creatures have been unearthed in the state.
How does amber preserve insects?
Amber originates as resin (gum) dripping from a tree. Perchance, occasionally, a new drop will fall upon an insect unfortunate enough to be exploring previous deposits of resin. It is thus encapsulated in a very sticky material, and escape is unlikely. Hence the 'preserved insect.
What is the method used to estimate age after something died?
The dating method used to estimate age after something died is the carbon dating method. The carbon dating method measures the half-life of the carbon in the organism.
How does the fossil record support natural selection?
It shows how organisms change slowly overtime.
For example, examination of the inner ear bones of whales show how it changed from being able to hear well on land to being able to hear well in water as it evolved from a land mammal to a mammal that lived both on land and in the water, to one that only lives in the water.
This shows support of natural selection because it would be advantageous for an animal who was spending more and more time in the water to have hearing adapted to hearing in the water.
a.
interpreting past environments
b.
indicating when the rock formed
c.
matching rocks of the same age found in different places
d.
all of the above it would be D
How do the characteristics of an index fossil is useful to geologists?
Index fossils are fossilized remains of organisms that serve as convenient reference points to geologists because they were very widely distributed during a very short period. This means that, if a geologist is trying to figure out how old a certain segment of rock is, the presence of an index fossil will give him a very good idea to a pretty high level of certainty.
Most index fossils are aquatic, especially mollusks. This is because (a) mollusks had shells, which are easily preserved, and (b) marine organisms generally fossilize easily because they often live on sand and so turn into sedimentary rock, which forms without volcanic activity (like igneous) or intense pressure (like metamorphic).
One good example of an index fossil is Paradoxides, a species of trilobite that was distributed in seas all over the world, but only for a very small amount of time during the Cambrian Period, about 540 million years ago.
What prerequisites must be met for most organisms to be fossilized?
Most of the fossils we find were buried in flood sediments. Thus, rapid burial (preferably in an anoxic environment) aids in fossilization. Most of the fossils that ever existed were subsequently eroded away and obliterated by the same river systems where they were created. A second requirement, therefore, tends to be climate change, or some environmental disturbance (such as an earthquake or volcanic eruption) that changes the course of a river system, or gently uplifts a mountain range.
Some fossils, especially insects, are encased in amber. These are exquisitely well preserved, but it requires millenia for tree sap to harden into stone.
Second, for us to find the fossils, they must again erode close to the surface where fossil hunters can stumble across them and recognize them for what they are. Many fossils have been destroyed by people who did not recognize these strange things eroding out of the earth had any value.
There are three types of fossils. There are impressions, such as footprints or body parts molded in clay which subsequently hardened into stone. There is infilling, where calcium carbonate or some other substance fills in the spaces left by decaying organic matter. Both of these types of fossils can be created quite quickly. The last, mineralization, is the replacement of organic material with inorganic material. This replacement occurs over many thousands of years. It is an extremely slow process.
