Earth Science 3.4

Looking at Fossils

1. Describe five ways that different types of fossils form.

2. List three types of fossils that are not part of organisms.

3. Explain how fossils can be used to determine the history of changes in environments and organisms.

4. Explain how index fossils can be used to date rock layers.

Objectives:

FossilThe trace or remains of an organism that lived

long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock.Most often preserved in sedimentary rock, but other

materials can also preserve evidence of past life.

Fossils in RocksWhen an organism dies, it either begins to decay

or is consumed by other organisms. Sometimes dead organisms are quickly buried by sediment, which slows down decay.Shells and bones are more resistant to decay than soft

tissues, so when sediments become rock, the harder structures are more commonly preserved.

Fossilized Organisms

Fossils in Amber Organisms occasionally become trapped in soft,

sticky tree sap, which hardens and becomes amber.Insect fossils have often been preserved in this way,

but frogs and lizards have also been found in amber.Petrifaction

Process in which minerals replace and organism’s tissues.

PermineralizationProcess in which the pore space in an organism’s hard

tissue is filled up with mineral.Replacement

Process in which an organism’s tissues are completely replaced by minerals.

Fossils in Asphalt There are places where asphalt wells up at the

Earth’s surface. These thick, sticky pools can trap and preserve organisms.

Frozen FossilsSince cold temperatures slow down decay, many

types of fossils have been found preserved in ice.

Trace FossilsNaturally preserved evidence of animal activityExamples:

Preserved animal tracksPreserved burrows or shelters that were made by

animalsCoprolite, which is preserved animal dung.

Molds and Casts are two more examples of fossils.Mold

mark or cavity made in a sedimentary surface by a shell or other body.

Cast type of fossil that forms when sediments fill the cavity left

by a decomposed organism.

Other Types of Fossils

The Information in the Fossil RecordOffers only a rough sketch of the history of life on

Earth. Incomplete because most organisms never became

fossils.Scientists know more information about organisms that had

hard body parts and that lived in environments that favored fossilization.

History of Environmental ChangesThe fossil record reveals changes in an area’s climate

over time.By using the fossils of plants and land animals, scientists

can reconstruct past climates.

History of Changing OrganismsBy studying the relationships between fossils,

scientists can interpret how life has changed over time.

Using Fossils to Interpret the Past

Scientists have learned that particular types of fossils appear only in certain layers of rock.

By dating the rock layers above and below these fossilsScientists can determine the time span in which the

organisms that formed the fossils lived.If a type of organism existed for only a short

period of time, its fossils would show up in a limited range of rock layers.These fossils are called index fossils.

Index fossils Found in the rock layers of only one geologic age,

and can be used to establish the age of the rock layers.

Using Fossils to Date Rocks

Ammonites Tropites, a marine mollusk similar to a modern

squid, lived between 230 million and 208 million years ago.

Trilobites Fossils of a genus of trilobites called Phacops are

another example of an index fossil.Trilobites are extinct and lived approximately

400 million years ago.When scientists find Phacops in a rock, they assume

that the rock is approximately 400 million years old.