palaentology

Question 1

what is palentology

Answer 1

-study of plant and animal fossils

Question 2

what are fossils

Answer 2

-Fossils are complete organisms or the remains, imprints or traces/ tracks of organisms, usually preserved in rocks.

Question 3

what are the four different types of fossils

Answer 3

-body fossils
-moulds
-cast fossils
-trace fossils

Question 4

explain body fossils

Answer 4

-fossil is preserved in resin

Question 5

explain moulds

Answer 5

-hard parts of an organism trapped into sediment

Question 6

explain cast fossils

Answer 6

-when the mould is filled with minerals

Question 7

explain trace fossils

Answer 7

-signs that the organisms were once living
-usually filled with clay or sand

Question 8

what are the ideal conditions for fossilisation

Answer 8

1. plant or animal dies and is covered with sediment
2. soft tissues decay
3. hard parts remain in tact
4. sediment covers and it’s cemented together
5. sedimentary rock is formed such as shale, sandstone or limestone
6. fossils are incased in rocks and eventually brought up due to erosion or human activities
7. it gets studied by palaeontologists

Question 9

what is the geological timescale

Answer 9

-representing a timeline of line on earth from the origin of the earth

Question 10

what are the three main eras and their years

Answer 10

-Palaenozoic (570-250 mya)
-Mesozoic (250-65 mya)
-Cenozoic (65-2 mya)

Question 11

what are the three eras main events

Answer 11

-Palaenozoic -age of ancient life
-Mesozoic -age of reptiles
-Cenozoic -age of mammals

Question 12

what was the cambrian explosion

Answer 12

-the formation of most animal groups

Question 13

what are the two dates most important mass extinctions

Answer 13

-end of permian period (250 mya)
-biggest mass extinction in history
-reptiles replaced amphibians
-end of permian period (250 mya)
-biggest mass extinction in history
-reptiles replaced amphibians

Question 14

explain the geographical events

Answer 14

-up until 200 million years ago all the continents were fused and formed one giant continent called the Pangea
-the pangea broke into two
:Laurasia in the north
:Gondwanaland in the south
-120 mya those two continents broke up further forming the current continents

Question 15

what are the two methods of dating

Answer 15

-radiometric dating (based on radioactivity)
-relative dating (based on older fossils)