Fossils | Study Cards
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What is the purpose of Paleobiology
To help discover, desrcibe, and name new fossil species
What is the purpose of a fossil record?
Is the primary source of data about evolutionary history & is the physical proof that these beings once existed.
Fossils found in the highest strata are the ___
most recent
Fossils found in the lowest strata are the ___
oldest
Give examples of a hard structure:
Shells Teeth Bones Wood Leaves
What happens to soft remains?
They are eaten by scavengers or decompose
What are some drawbacks of fossils?
Provides an incomplete portrait of the past as there are only 300,000 fossil species
List the 4 most common fossils:
• 1) Hard bodied • 2) Have to wide spread • 3) Abudant Organisms • 4) Lived near swamps & shallow seas with sedimanetaion
How can fossils be deformed?
by the pressure of rocks & destroyed by geological disturbances
What is Relative Dating
Give a relative age based on the position of strata layers
List the 3 cons of Relative Dating
• 1) Not always deposited in horizontal fashion • 2) Provide no information in age in yrs • 3) Can be large gaps in the geological record
What is Absolute Dating
Uses isotopes & Radioactive decay
What are the 5 pieces of information that fossils provide?
1) Can estimate the size & appearence of ancient plants & animals 2) Can reconstruct what the vegetation/ecosystem was 3) Weather prediction 4) How structures were modified & the extinction of evolutionary lineages 5) Geographic distribution of ancient organsims