Multiple Choice
Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1.
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What natural preservative have scientists discovered fossils inside of ?
a. | tar | c. | ice or frozen ground | b. | amber | d. | all of these |
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2.
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Trace fossils are
a. | silhouettes of the orignal organism | c. | fossilized footprints, tail drags,
or other evidence of an organism | b. | fossils that are traced in
rock | d. | fossils scientists use
to determine the age of rocks around it |
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3.
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What can scientists learn from fossils?
a. | when did plants and animals first live on land | c. | when some organisms become
extinct | b. | how long has life been on Earth | d. | all of these are
correct |
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4.
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Why do many organisms leave carbon films as evidence of their lives?
a. | because most living things contain carbon | c. | because the tissues of most
organisms are made of nitrogen compounds | b. | because the bones and tissues of most organisms
do not contain carbon | d. | most
organisms that change into fossils actually burn up leaving behind
carbon |
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5.
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What is a carbon film?
a. | a cast of the orginal organism made of
carbon residue | c. | a silhouette of the original organism made
of a thin film of carbon | b. | a mold of the orignal organism made of carbon
residue | d. | a silhoutte of the
orignal organism made of a thin film of nitrogen |
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6.
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What are index fossils?
a. | the footprints of an extinct organism | c. | fossils that have tiny numbers
engraved upon them | b. | the shape of a fossil found in
rocks | d. | fossils that we know
when they existed and were found all over the world |
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7.
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Which of these is the most important whether or not an organism will become a
fossil?
a. | the type of soil it is buried in | c. | its chemical
makeup | b. | how well it is protected from scavengers, decomposers, and physical agents that break
things down | d. | the weather
conditions at the time of death |
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8.
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How is sediment transformed into rock?
a. | compaction and cementation | c. | heat and
pressure | b. | cementation | d. | compaction |
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9.
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When an organism gets buried, its body will disappear leaving behind its shape
inside the rock. This hollow shape is called..
a. | the mold | c. | the cast | b. | a trace fossil | d. | carbon film |
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10.
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Which of these does NOT affect how a fossil is formed?
a. | activities of microorganisms | c. | having hard
parts | b. | quick burial by sediments | d. | being protected from scavengers |
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11.
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What kind of rock are most fossils found in?
a. | gravel | c. | sedimentary | b. | igneous | d. | metamorphic |
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12.
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What does a paleontologist study?
a. | life | c. | plants | b. | dinosaurs | d. | fossils |
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