Fossils Reveal Ancient Environments

Science · Dinosaurs & Paleontology · ages 7-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

You find fossils of ferns and swamp plants in a place that is now a dry desert. What does that tell you?
- Ferns can grow in deserts today
- That area was once wet, like a swamp
- The fossils are fake
Scientists digging on a dry hill find fossils of little water snails and pond weeds. What does this tell them?
- The hill was once covered by water
- Snails used to live on dry hills
- Someone left the fossils there
Fossils can only tell us about the animal or plant that died. They can never tell us about the place it lived in.
Circle one: True False
Which fossil find would best show that a place was once a thick forest?
- Fossilized tree trunks and leaves
- Fossilized fish bones
- Fossilized seashells
A hiker finds seashell fossils high on a mountain. Which is the best explanation?
- The sea washed the shells up there last year
- Someone dropped their shell collection
- The mountain used to be under the ocean, and the land was pushed up over millions of years
Finding camel fossils in a place that is now covered in snow could mean the area was once much warmer and drier.
Circle one: True False
A scientist finds fish fossils, seashell fossils, and coral fossils all in the same rock layer on dry land. What is the best conclusion?
- The fossils are unrelated to each other
- This area was always dry land
- This area was once covered by the ocean
Mia says, "Finding shark tooth fossils in a desert just means someone lost their tooth collection there." What is wrong with her idea?
- Mia is right, that is the best explanation
- The teeth show the desert was once covered by an ocean, not that someone lost a collection
- Shark teeth cannot become fossils

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Fossils Reveal Ancient Environments W1-mt_fKwgN61ttR-s1

That area was once wet, like a swamp · Ferns need wet ground to grow, so their fossils show the desert used to be a swamp.
The hill was once covered by water · Water snails and pond weeds only live in water, so finding their fossils on a dry hill shows the hill was once covered by water.
False · Fossils also show what the ancient environment was like, not just facts about the creature itself.
Fossilized tree trunks and leaves · Tree trunks and leaves only come from forests, so their fossils point to a forest environment.
The mountain used to be under the ocean, and the land was pushed up over millions of years · Land can slowly rise over huge amounts of time, lifting old sea fossils up with it.
True · Camels live in warm, dry places, so their fossils show the area's environment used to be very different.
This area was once covered by the ocean · Three different sea creatures found together in one place make an ancient ocean the best explanation.
The teeth show the desert was once covered by an ocean, not that someone lost a collection · Shark teeth only come from sharks living in the sea, so the simplest explanation is an ancient ocean, not a lost collection.