Old And New Species

Question 1

What is the best evidence on the history of life on Earth?

Answer 1

Fossils

Question 2

What are fossils?

Answer 2

They are the remains of organisms from many thousands or millions of years ago preserved in rocks, ice and other places.

Question 3

What are the ways that fossils can be made?

Answer 3

• From hard parts of animals not decayed e.g. Bones, claws.
• The lack of conditions for animals or plants to decay: no oxygen, poisonous gases kill off the bacteria that cause decay, low temperature. Hey are then preserved in ice.
• When harder parts of animals or plants are replaced by other materials over long periods of time (most common fossils).
• Some are traces of things left behind e.g. Footprint

Question 4

What can fossils preserved in ice show us?

Answer 4

• Clear insight of what an animal looked like.
• Can tell what the animal had been eating or the colour of a long-extinct flower.
• DNA can even be extracted and it can be compared to modern organisms.

Question 5

When do most scientists think that all life began on earth?

Answer 5

Between 3 to 4 billion years ago.