Fossils As Evidence
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3rd Grade Science › Fossils As Evidence
Researchers were digging in the desert when they came across a fossilized cactus leaf buried in the sand.
Environments can change over time. Some places stay the same. What might this environment have been in the past?
The environment has not changed since the fossil was formed.
The environment used to be a tropical island.
The environment used to be underwater.
The environment used to be a grassland.
Explanation
Many environments change over time, and fossils tell researchers what those changes are. In this example, the scientists are digging in the desert and found a cactus leaf. A cactus would most likely be found in the desert, so the environment has not changed over time. If a seashell were found or an aquatic plant, researchers would know there had been a shift over the years from a wet area to very dry.
Gordon Hubbell and a crew of fossil hunters were digging holes in the desert of Peru in 1988. This desert is one of the driest places on Earth. It gets almost no rain. Hubbel was digging and found jawbones and more than 200 sharp teeth. He is an expert in fossilized sharks, so he recognized the teeth right away. They were shaped like triangles and came to a very sharp point. They belonged to a distant relative of the great white shark!
How could Hubbell "prove" that these teeth were from a relative of the great white shark?
Show a fossilized tooth and a great white shark tooth next to each other so people can see the similarities.
There is no way to prove where these teeth came from, so he can only make a claim.
Hubbell can dig for other fossilized teeth and show people how many there are in this area.
Hubbell can compare the tooth to all of the fossils ever found and show people that this one is different.
Explanation
Hubbell is an expert in fossilized sharks, so he recognized the similarities between his find and great white shark teeth, but others may need "proof" before they would believe him. If Hubbell placed a great white shark's tooth next to his fossil, the similarities and differences could be noted. By comparing the teeth, it would allow scientists to determine what creature it belonged to with certainty.
How does a fossil tell us about an organism that lived in the past?
A fossil provides evidence about the approximate size of an organism, its living location, and the conditions that an organism lived in.
A fossil can tell us the color of an organism, its favorite food, and the age of the organism.
A fossil cannot tell us anything about an organism that lived in the past. We would need to see the plant or animal to make any decisions about it.
A fossil can tell us the approximate size of an organism, its favorite food, and how many offspring it had.
Explanation
Fossils are a rich source of information to learn about organisms of the past. A fossil can tell us the size of an organism or at least its bones. We can also study where the organisms lived based on where the fossil is found. Scientists can explore what the conditions of that area were, so we know if the organism was an aquatic plant, a land-dwelling creature, or something that needed warm weather.
Gordon Hubbell and a crew of fossil hunters were digging holes in the desert of Peru in 1988. This desert is one of the driest places on Earth. It gets almost no rain. Hubbel was digging and found jawbones and more than 200 sharp teeth. He is an expert in fossilized sharks, so he recognized the teeth right away. They were shaped like triangles and came to a very sharp point. They belonged to a distant relative of the great white shark!
Why is Hubbell's discovery surprising?
The crew was digging in the desert and found shark teeth. This means the desert of Peru had water with sharks living in it at some point.
The crew was digging in the desert and found shark teeth. This means that sharks had, at one point, lived on land rather than in the water.
There is nothing surprising about Hubbell's discovery. Scientists find fossils in deserts all the time so there isn't anything special about this finding.
None of the answer choices are correct.
Explanation
These fossils were a surprising find for Hubbell's team and scientists in general. Finding shark teeth in what is now a desert tells researchers that this environment has changed over the years. For sharks to live there, it would have been underwater during their period. Scientists can now study how, when, and why the area is now a desert. What is currently a dry, hot desert was once an ocean, sea, or large body of water. This is a surprising find and development.
Researchers were digging in the desert when they came across a fossilized cactus leaf buried in the sand.
Environments can change over time. Some places stay the same. What might this environment have been in the past?
The environment has not changed since the fossil was formed.
The environment used to be a tropical island.
The environment used to be underwater.
The environment used to be a grassland.
Explanation
Many environments change over time, and fossils tell researchers what those changes are. In this example, the scientists are digging in the desert and found a cactus leaf. A cactus would most likely be found in the desert, so the environment has not changed over time. If a seashell were found or an aquatic plant, researchers would know there had been a shift over the years from a wet area to very dry.
Gordon Hubbell and a crew of fossil hunters were digging holes in the desert of Peru in 1988. This desert is one of the driest places on Earth. It gets almost no rain. Hubbel was digging and found jawbones and more than 200 sharp teeth. He is an expert in fossilized sharks, so he recognized the teeth right away. They were shaped like triangles and came to a very sharp point. They belonged to a distant relative of the great white shark!
Why is Hubbell's discovery surprising?
The crew was digging in the desert and found shark teeth. This means the desert of Peru had water with sharks living in it at some point.
The crew was digging in the desert and found shark teeth. This means that sharks had, at one point, lived on land rather than in the water.
There is nothing surprising about Hubbell's discovery. Scientists find fossils in deserts all the time so there isn't anything special about this finding.
None of the answer choices are correct.
Explanation
These fossils were a surprising find for Hubbell's team and scientists in general. Finding shark teeth in what is now a desert tells researchers that this environment has changed over the years. For sharks to live there, it would have been underwater during their period. Scientists can now study how, when, and why the area is now a desert. What is currently a dry, hot desert was once an ocean, sea, or large body of water. This is a surprising find and development.
How does a fossil tell us about an organism that lived in the past?
A fossil provides evidence about the approximate size of an organism, its living location, and the conditions that an organism lived in.
A fossil can tell us the color of an organism, its favorite food, and the age of the organism.
A fossil cannot tell us anything about an organism that lived in the past. We would need to see the plant or animal to make any decisions about it.
A fossil can tell us the approximate size of an organism, its favorite food, and how many offspring it had.
Explanation
Fossils are a rich source of information to learn about organisms of the past. A fossil can tell us the size of an organism or at least its bones. We can also study where the organisms lived based on where the fossil is found. Scientists can explore what the conditions of that area were, so we know if the organism was an aquatic plant, a land-dwelling creature, or something that needed warm weather.
Gordon Hubbell and a crew of fossil hunters were digging holes in the desert of Peru in 1988. This desert is one of the driest places on Earth. It gets almost no rain. Hubbel was digging and found jawbones and more than 200 sharp teeth. He is an expert in fossilized sharks, so he recognized the teeth right away. They were shaped like triangles and came to a very sharp point. They belonged to a distant relative of the great white shark!
How could Hubbell "prove" that these teeth were from a relative of the great white shark?
Show a fossilized tooth and a great white shark tooth next to each other so people can see the similarities.
There is no way to prove where these teeth came from, so he can only make a claim.
Hubbell can dig for other fossilized teeth and show people how many there are in this area.
Hubbell can compare the tooth to all of the fossils ever found and show people that this one is different.
Explanation
Hubbell is an expert in fossilized sharks, so he recognized the similarities between his find and great white shark teeth, but others may need "proof" before they would believe him. If Hubbell placed a great white shark's tooth next to his fossil, the similarities and differences could be noted. By comparing the teeth, it would allow scientists to determine what creature it belonged to with certainty.
Fossils can provide evidence about organisms. Which statement is something fossils CANNOT tell us about a plant or animal?
Fossils can tell what an organism looked like.
Fossils can tell how organisms have changed over time.
Fossils can tell us when the organism lived on Earth.
Fossils can tell us what the organisms liked or disliked.
Explanation
Fossils seem simple, but they contain a vast amount of information for researchers and scientists to study. Fossils can give us a general idea of what an organism looked like, how it has changed or evolved, where and when it lived on Earth, and even what it might have eaten. Fossils cannot tell us what an organism liked or disliked. These are personal preferences that an organism would have, and that cannot be determined from a fossil.
What is an organism? Example: Fossils can be used to learn about organisms that lived during a time humans were not around to study them.
An individual plant, animal, or single-cell life form
A species of dinosaurs from the Jurrasic period
An early version of humans that are extinct now
Groups of cells that form tissue and perform a function in the body
Explanation
Organisms are a term for a plant, animal, or single-cell life form. "Organism" encompasses all living things, including humans. In the example above, humans are using the fossils of these previously living things to study and learn more about them.