Paleontology

Question 1

Paleontology

Answer 1

Paleontology is the study of the history of life on Earth via fossil record.

Question 2

fossil

Answer 2

remains of an organism or evidence of them preserved in rock. usually found in sedimentary rock.

Question 3

Fossilization

Answer 3

Process of an organism’s body or other evidence of their life is preserved (typically in rock).

Question 4

Stages of fossilization

Answer 4

Death
Burial
Preservation
Uplift/Erosion
Discovery/Recovery

Question 5

Death

Answer 5

organism must die.
soft body parts are decomposed leaving only hard body parts, such as bones and shells.

Question 6

Burial

Answer 6

Buried by sediments
The faster this step occurs, the more likely it will be that the remains will undergo fossilization
More detail is preserved if it is buried in smaller sediments (e.g., clay, silt,)

Question 7

Preservation

Answer 7

silica, preserving their shape, Hollow cavity

Question 8

Uplift/Erosion

Answer 8

Uplift: Rocks that were previously underground or underwater can be brought up to surface by the action of tectonic plates.
By lifting layers of sedimentary rocks, fossils can be exposed.
Erosion by wind and water can remove sedimentary rock, exposing rock layers and the fossils they contain.

Question 9

Discovery/Recovery

Answer 9

Fossils can be found on the surface or evidence of a fossil can be seen via familiar shapes and patterns in rock indicating they may be there.

Question 10

Original Remains

Answer 10

The organism’s original tissue makes up all or part of the fossil.
Examples of original remains are bodies of animals, plants and even humans frozen in glaciers.

Question 11

Molds Fossils

Answer 11

Original organism are replaced with minerals from the groundwater.
The replaced remains dissolve and leave behind a mold, which later minerals may fill to create a cast of the original organism.

Question 12

Trace Fossils

Answer 12

No actual part of the organism is left in a trace fossil.
Trace fossils can give information about the location and behaviour of organisms.
Examples include tracks, footprints, bite marks, burrows and feces.

Question 13

Trail and Burrow Fossils

Answer 13

Created by ancient animals moving around on soft material known as trails fossils.
Burrowing animals created hollow underground structures that filled with sediment over time. These hollow structures are known as burrow fossils.

Question 14

Evolution

Answer 14

Fossils provide a detailed, but incomplete, record of life on Earth over billions of years.
Comparisons of fossils from different periods of time provide direct evidence for the evolution of species.

Question 15

Relative Dating

Answer 15

Determining which layers are younger and which ones are older based on their positions

Question 16

stratigraphic sequence.

Answer 16

A series of rock layers found together

Question 17

Index Fossils

Answer 17

well preserved organisms, that lived large areas during specific time periods

Question 18

Paleoclimatology

Answer 18

the study of past climates.
- examing the physical characteristics of plants
-how they are distributed in various climates around the world today, plant fossils allow scientists to make inferences about climates in the past.

Question 19

Radiometric Dating

Answer 19

technique used to determine the absolute age of many geological samples including organic materials, volcanic rock layers and meteorites.

Question 20

Radioactive Decay

Answer 20

Radiometric dating relies on radioactive decay.
a process which an isotope of an element undergoes a nuclear reaction to form an isotope of a different element.
1.The initial element undergoing decay is known as the parent element.
2.The element produced in the decay is known as the daughter element.

Question 21

Isotopes

Answer 21

version of an element with a different number of protons and neutrons than normal.

Question 22

Radioactive Dating Using Carbon-14

Answer 22

taken into plants through photosynthesis and into animals through food chains. When an organism dies, stops incorporating new carbon-14 atoms into its body.

Scientists can estimate the age of an organism’s remains by measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in a sample of the remains.

Question 23

Half-Life

Answer 23

The half-life of a radioisotope is the time it takes for half of the atoms to undergo radioactive decay.