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Fossils
Cornell Notes pg. 137
What is a
Fossil?
• Preserved remains or
traces of plants, animals,
and other organisms.
Types of
Fossils:
1. mold fossils (an
impression made in the
rock- like a footprint in
sand)
2. cast fossils (formed
when a mold is filled in)
3. trace fossils =
(fossilized nests,
burrows, footprints, etc.)
4. true form fossils (fossils
of the actual animal or
animal part).
Where are
fossils
found?
• Almost always in
Sedimentary Rocks as
rocks layers are uplifted
to the surface.
• Ice, amber
The Fossil
Record
• Totality of fossils
(discovered and
undiscovered) and their
placement in the rock
layers
• Used to show ancestral
relationships between
organisms
• Used to tell us about the
history of the Earth
How do we
know the
age of a
Fossil?
• Position in rocks layerswhere are the oldest
layers?
• Radioactive DatingRadiocarbon Dating: uses
proportion of Carbon-14
to Carbon-12 to determine
age of organic material.