Why the fossil record has gaps, and what fossils say about past environments

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   a shell on a sea floor being covered by mud. What two things most raise the odds that remains become a fossil, by Ari's reading (NPS)?

   • Warm air and bright sunlight
   • Lying on the surface for years
   • Rapid burial and hard parts
   • Slow burial and soft parts
2. 2.

   A footprint in rock is which kind of fossil, by Jun's reading (NPS)?

   • A trace fossil
   • A body fossil, since a foot made it
   • A piece of amber
   • A preserved remain of the foot
3. 3.

   A shell pressed into mud leaves a hollow, three-dimensional print. What is that print called, by Luz's reading (NPS)?

   • A trace fossil, since no body is there
   • A cast
   • A mold
   • A steinkern
4. 4.

   Sediment later fills that hollow print and hardens into the shell's shape. What is the filling called, by Milo's reading (NPS)?

   • A mold
   • A burrow, which is a trace fossil
   • A cast
   • An amber fossil
5. 5.

   Fossil reef animals, such as brachiopods and crinoids, are found in limestone high in the Guadalupe Mountains (NPS). What does this show, by Noah's reading?

   • Sea animals once lived on mountaintops
   • The animals climbed the mountain
   • The rock formed in a sea and was later lifted up
   • The fossils formed in the last 100 years
6. 6.

   Most fossils are found in which kind of rock, by Pia's reading (NPS)?

   • Sedimentary rock
   • Igneous rock cooled from deep magma
   • Rock from deep in the mantle
   • Metamorphic rock baked deep underground
7. 7.

   A layer holds fossil fish and clams. Where did the layer most likely form, by Ren's reading?

   • Under water, such as a lake or sea
   • Inside a volcano
   • In a desert dune field
   • On a dry mountaintop
8. 8.

   Why does the fossil record have gaps, by Tala's reading (NPS)?

   • Few remains are buried fast enough to become fossils
   • Gaps mark times when the oceans dried up
   • Gaps mean no life existed at those times
   • Scientists have already found each fossil there is
9. 9.

   Which living things leave fossils more often, by Zee's reading (NPS)?

   • Flying insects
   • Sea animals with shells
   • Animals of high mountains
   • Jellyfish with no hard parts
10. 10.

    the middle one has no Q fossils. In one model layer, no fossils of animal Q appear, though layers above and below have them. What is the most careful reading, by Esme's reading?

    • Q may have lived then but left no fossils here
    • The middle layer must be younger than both
    • Q vanished and later came back
    • Q did not exist at that time