Fossil Evidence

Question 0

Fossils may consist of a whole organisms, preserved in:

Answer 0

Ice
Amber
Bogs
Rocks

Question 1

Fossils are:

Answer 1

Any form preserved remains from a living organism

Question 2

Fossils may also consist of:

Answer 2

Imprints such as footprints and trails, part of the organism of fossilised faecal pellets

Question 3

Fossilisation is rare as:

Answer 3

Most organisms usually decompose or get eaten by a scavenger

Not a perfect fossil record showing all stages in the evolution of many species, e.g. Humans

Question 4

Even when fossilisation does occur:

Answer 4

Soft part may decompose. An impression of the organism may remain on fine-grained sediments or hard parts may be trapped in sediments

Question 5

3 types of dating:

Answer 5

Stratigraphy
Carbon dating
Potassium-argon dating

Question 6

Stratigraphy is the study of?

Answer 6

Layers in the rock

Question 7

How to date in stratigraphy?

Answer 7

New rock forms on top of old

So the lower down a fossil the older it is

Question 8

A skilled geologist is needed to date fossils by stratigraphy as:

Answer 8

Earthquakes, fault lines and volcanic eruption may split the rocks or bend and tilt them

Causing older rocks to be above new rocks

Question 9

Carbon dating is used to?

Answer 9

Date organic materials

Question 10

Carbon dating involves measuring the?

Answer 10

Ratio of carbon-14 and carbon-12 in rocks and fossils that contain carbon

Question 11

Carbon has a fast rate of decay making it suitable for dating rocks and fossils less than:

Answer 11

60,000 years old

40-50,000

Question 12

Potassium-argon dating involves?

Answer 12

Measuring the ration of potassium-40 and argon-40 in rocks

Question 13

Potassium-40 is found on many sedimentary rocks and slowly decays to argon-40 over time so the relative amount of argon-40 will?

Answer 13

Increase

Question 14

Potassium has a slow rate of decay, making it suitable for?

Answer 14

Dating rocks over 100,000 years old