Rocks, Fossils, and Time
Grade 4 - Science - Challenge Me
Evidence: leaf fossils appear between layers of volcanic ash. Which claim is best supported?
- water once moved stones through the area
- no plants ever lived in the area
- plants lived there before later ash covered them
- animals walked across soft mud that later hardened
What can fish fossils in a rock layer help scientists infer?
- fish lived on dry mountain peaks
- the rock records an environment that was once watery
- water once moved stones through the area
- animals walked across soft mud that later hardened
In an undisturbed stack of rock layers, the bottom rock layer is usually what?
- always the newest layer
- older than the top layer
- the same age as every layer
- evidence with no time pattern
Which evidence would weaken the claim "rocks cannot preserve evidence of past environments"?
- shell fossils are found high in a desert cliff
- dinosaur tracks are preserved in hardened mudstone
- leaf fossils appear between layers of volcanic ash
- ripple marks appear in sandstone
Which question belongs in a rocks, fossils, and time investigation?
- Which claim can be made without looking at the layer?
- What past environment is suggested by dinosaur tracks?
- What color should the fossil display label be?
- Can evidence be ignored if a rock is hard?
Evidence: ripple marks appear in sandstone. Which claim is best supported?
- the area may once have been covered by water
- animals walked across soft mud that later hardened
- plants lived there before later ash covered them
- water or wind once moved sediment in a repeating pattern
What can shell fossils in a rock layer help scientists infer?
- water or wind once moved sediment in a repeating pattern
- the area may once have been covered by water
- the rock records an environment that was once watery
- animals walked across soft mud that later hardened
In an undisturbed stack of rock layers, the track layer is usually what?
- evidence with no time pattern
- always the newest layer
- the same age as every layer
- older than sediment that later covered it
Which evidence would weaken the claim "no plants ever lived in the area"?
- leaf fossils appear between layers of volcanic ash
- fish fossils are found in a mountain rock layer
- shell fossils are found high in a desert cliff
- dinosaur tracks are preserved in hardened mudstone
Which question belongs in a rocks, fossils, and time investigation?
- Can evidence be ignored if a rock is hard?
- What past environment is suggested by rounded stones?
- Which claim can be made without looking at the layer?
- What color should the fossil display label be?