Rocks, Fossils, and Time
Grade 4 - Science - Building Confidence
Evidence: shell fossils are found high in a desert cliff. Which claim is best supported?
- the area may once have been covered by water
- the rock records an environment that was once watery
- water or wind once moved sediment in a repeating pattern
- water once moved stones through the area
What can leaf fossils in a rock layer help scientists infer?
- animals walked across soft mud that later hardened
- the rock records an environment that was once watery
- plants lived there before later ash covered them
- the area may once have been covered by water
In an undisturbed stack of rock layers, the fossil layer is usually what?
- the same age as every layer
- older than rock deposited on top
- always the newest layer
- evidence with no time pattern
Which evidence would weaken the claim "fish lived on dry mountain peaks"?
- dinosaur tracks are preserved in hardened mudstone
- fish fossils are found in a mountain rock layer
- shell fossils are found high in a desert cliff
- rounded river stones are cemented inside a rock layer
Which question belongs in a rocks, fossils, and time investigation?
- What color should the fossil display label be?
- Can evidence be ignored if a rock is hard?
- Which claim can be made without looking at the layer?
- What past environment is suggested by fish fossils?
Evidence: fish fossils are found in a mountain rock layer. Which claim is best supported?
- the rock records an environment that was once watery
- water once moved stones through the area
- the area may once have been covered by water
- plants lived there before later ash covered them
What can rounded stones in a rock layer help scientists infer?
- plants lived there before later ash covered them
- water once moved stones through the area
- water or wind once moved sediment in a repeating pattern
- wind never affected the landscape
In an undisturbed stack of rock layers, the middle rock layer is usually what?
- evidence with no time pattern
- younger than the layer below it
- always the newest layer
- the same age as every layer
Which evidence would weaken the claim "the tracks were carved yesterday"?
- ripple marks appear in sandstone
- dinosaur tracks are preserved in hardened mudstone
- shell fossils are found high in a desert cliff
- rounded river stones are cemented inside a rock layer
Which question belongs in a rocks, fossils, and time investigation?
- Can evidence be ignored if a rock is hard?
- What color should the fossil display label be?
- What past environment is suggested by rounded stones?
- Which claim can be made without looking at the layer?