Download Essential Questions: Fossils and Adaptations What qualifies an

Essential Questions:
Fossils and Adaptations
1. What qualifies an organism as extinct?
All members of a species are no longer living.
Endangered?
Only a few members of a species are still living and
are likely going to become extinct.
2.
List natural vs. man-made causes of extinction.
Natural CausesLack of sunlight/ Kills off producers (food source)
Changes in climate
Lowering of sea-level/Habitat destruction for Marine
life
Natural Disasters
Flooding
Plate Tectonics
Predation
Natural Selection/Lack of adaptation
Disease
5.
Compare/Contrast relative and absolute ages of
fossils. How do scientists determine each (methods
of each)?
Relative Age
Absolute Age
Age in comparison Both used
The number of
to the age of other for dating
years since the
things.
rock and
rock or
fossils.
organism
formed.
METHOD: Uses
METHOD: Uses
principle of
amount of
superposition.
Carbon (in
once-living
things).
6.
What defines a species?
Groups of organisms that are similar and are able to
reproduce.
7.
Describe the process of natural selection v.
Lamarck’s theory of evolution.
Man-made CausesPollution
Deforestation
Habitat destruction
Oil Spills
Hunting
Fishing
Littering
3.
4.
Describe how each of the 6 types of fossils are
formed.
Mold Fossil- A cavity in the rock when the hard part
decayed or dissolved.
Cast Fossil– When sediment fills the cavity and
produces a copy of the original object.
Petrified/ Permineralized Fossil- Fossils in which the
spaces inside are filled with minerals from
groundwater.
Preserved Fossil/ Original Remains – When original
soft parts of organisms are preserved.
Carbonized Fossil– A thin film of carbon residue if
left, forming a silhouette of the original organism.
Trace Fossil– Fossilized tracks and other evidence of
activity of organisms.
What is the law of superposition?
In undisturbed layers of rock, the oldest layers are
found on the bottom and the youngest on the top.
Natural Selection (Accepted by scientists today):
Darwin believed in variations among a species
occurring naturally due to mutations. Organisms
with variations best suited for their environment
have a better chance of surviving and reproducing.
The variation best suited (genetic trait) is passed on
to the offspring.
Lamarcks Theory of Acquired Traits (Abandoned
Theory):
Lamarck believed frequent and vigorous use of a
body part led to a slight increase in its size (acquired
trait). Ex: Muscles, wings, tails, necks, etc. That
acquired trait is passed on to the offspring.
8.
Compare/Contrast behavioral and structural
adaptations. Explain the examples for each.
Behavioral
Structural
Adaptations
Adaptations
Inherited,
Both are traits
Affects the way
instinctive
which help an
an organism
traits an
organism meet
looks (body
organism does its basic needs
parts) or the
to survive.
and survive in
way it is
its environment. colored.
Ex: Migration,
Ex:
Carrying
Camouflage,
Young, Night
Pouch, Sturdy
Vision, etc.
beak, etc.
Geologic Time
9. Longest time span to shortest: Eon, Era, Period, and Epoch
10. Phanerozoic Eon, Jurassic Period, Paleozoic Era, Holocene
Epoch
11. Appearance/Disappearance of organisms/species in the
fossil record.
12. Paleozoic-Marine life/mostly water, MesozoicDinosaurs/Pangaea broke, Cenozoic- Mountains/Humans,
Precambrian- Bacteria/Ended with Cambrian Explosion
13. Mass Extinction due to: Meteorite Strike, Mass Volcanic
Eruption
14. Diversity in landforms and life has increased throughout
Geologic Time. In Precambrian Time, there were mainly
single-celled organisms, then Paleozoic introduced more
aquatic life, such as coral, trilobites, mollusks and fish. In the
Mesozoic Era, reptiles and dinosaurs became dominant and
the earth’s continent (Pangea) began to split into several
different continents. Finally, the Cenozoic era introduced
large mammals, including Humans. The landforms such as
mountain ranges, trenches, volcanoes, etc. you see today
have all come about in this Era.
15. A paleontologist studies fossils.