Download Getting Into the Fossil Record

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/fossil/
Getting Into the Fossil Record
Directions: As you navigate through, Getting Into the Fossil Record, answer the following
questions.
1. Find two questions that the fossil record can help us answer.
2. Find and name five kinds of trace fossils.
3. Find the walnut. What process made it into a fossil?
4. Find the mammoth. What happened to it?
5. Find the mouse and the jellyfish. Why are these two animals being compared?
6. Find the rainforest. Why is it difficult for an organism living there to become a fossil?
7. Find three reasons why many organisms never become part of the fossil record.
8. Find two ways that geologic processes can destroy a fossil.
9. Find the igneous rock. Why isn’t this a good place to look for fossils?
10. Find the map of Montana. What do the colors and letters represent?
Bonus: One day in the future you find yourself working as a paleontologist at a fossil dig site in
the Gobi Desert. You have the good fortune to find a site filled with many fossilized leaves,
teeth, bones, eggs and even footprints from a variety of creatures. Amidst this treasure trove of
ancient plants and animals you find no trace of insects. Your research partner concludes that no
insects lived here at that time. What do you need to explain to your partner?
5/6/2017