Bio Quiz 2

Question 1

What is a fossil?

Answer 1

Any evidence of a once-living organism.

Question 2

Give some examples of things that are considered fossils.

Answer 2

casts, molds, footprints, track ways and feeding traces.

Question 3

Ordinarily, which parts of the organisms are preserved?

Answer 3

The hard parts (shells, bones, teeth)

Question 4

What is one of the keys of preservation?

Answer 4

The absence of oxygen and the presence of water.

Question 5

Can you date dirt?

Answer 5

No

Question 6

Can you date volcanic ash?

Answer 6

Yes, using potassium/argon

Question 7

Can you date fossils?

Answer 7

Seldom

Question 8

What is unaltered remain?

Answer 8

RARE fossils with little or no change in structure and composition.

Question 9

Why are unaltered remains rare?

Answer 9

Because the conditions to form seldom occur.

Question 10

What are the 3 types of unaltered remains?

Answer 10

Encrustations, amber entombment, refrigeration

Question 11

What are the 2 versions of body fossils?

Answer 11

Unaltered, altered.

Question 12

What are encrustations?

Answer 12

When dissolved minerals in water form a thin crust on whatever it lies on.

Question 13

What do you get when you dissolve away the encrustation?

Answer 13

Original material (usually bones/shells)

Question 14

What can encrustations tell us?

Answer 14

How organisms grew when alive.

Question 15

What is amber entombment?

Answer 15

When insects are trapped in resin, which hardens into amber.

Question 16

What do you get from amber entombment?

Answer 16

Original cellular material, at least partial DNA.

Question 17

When would you be able to get blood or DNA from a dinosaur in an amber entombment?

Answer 17

If the insect had bitten a dinosaur.

Question 18

What is refrigeration?

Answer 18

When animals are trapped in ice from the ice age.

Question 19

What can we retrieve from refrigeration?

Answer 19

Lots of cellular materials, at least partial DNA samples.

Question 20

What are altered remains?

Answer 20

Sediments compressed by overlying sediments and undergo lithification.

Question 21

What is lithification?

Answer 21

The process of turning to stone

Question 22

What are the 4 types of altered remains?

Answer 22

permineralization, replacement, recrystallization, carbonization

Question 23

What is permineralization?

Answer 23

When the pores in bones/shells/plantstems are filled with mineral deposits.

Question 24

What can you see from permineralization?

Answer 24

The general structure (especially bones and hand tissue), no original material, no DNA, bad detail.

Question 25

What is replacement?

Answer 25

When acidic groundwater dissolves a hard structure in an organism that is trapped in sediments. A mineral is deposited in its place.

Question 26

What can we find from replacement?

Answer 26

Lots of detail (even their last meal, feathers).

Question 27

What is recrystallization?

Answer 27

The conversion of the fossil to new mineral (coarser crystals of the original material).

Question 28

What can we get from recrystallization?

Answer 28

No DNA, bad detail.

Question 29

Where do the crystals often form?

Answer 29

Inside shells and hollow bones.

Question 30

What is carbonization?

Answer 30

When the liquid/gaseous components are forced out leaving only a film of carbon.

Question 31

When does carbonization occur?

Answer 31

When the volatile is under pressure.

Question 32

What can we get from carbonization?

Answer 32

No cell fragments, outside surface details..

Question 33

What organisms are these fossils usually of? (carbonization)

Answer 33

Plants

Question 34

What are the 3 types of trace fossils?

Answer 34

Animal tracks, gastroliths, coprolites.

Question 35

What can animal tracks show?

Answer 35

The stride, how the animal moves, speed.

Question 36

What can gastroliths show?

Answer 36

The type of plant matter eaten.

Question 37

What are gastroliths?

Answer 37

smooth, polished stones that helped herbivore dinosaurs break down vegetable matter in their stomachs.

Question 38

What part of the gastrolith shows the type of plant matter eaten?

Answer 38

The surface scratches.

Question 39

What are coprolites?

Answer 39

Fossilized excrement.

Question 40

What can you find in carnivore coprolites?

Answer 40

Bones of its prey.

Question 41

What can you find in herbivore coprolites?

Answer 41

Seed and plant fibres.

Question 42

Older things are buried...

Answer 42

Deeper.

Question 43

Why are older things buried deeper?

Answer 43

Sediments are deposited over time by erosion.

Question 44

What are radio isotopes?

Answer 44

Atoms that decay with a set halflife.

Question 45

What is a halflife?

Answer 45

The time required for 1/2 of the parental isotope to decay to a daughter isotope.