Fossil Records CW 1
Across
- 4. A scientist that studies the fossil record to better understand life on Earth.
- 5. time when much of Earth’s surface is covered by glaciers
- 7. A fossil that provides evidence for organisms transitioning from living in water to land.
- 8. oldest era of the Phanerozoic eon
- 9. similar cells that work together and perform a function
- 14. longest unit of geologic time
- 17. Groundwater fills pore spaces in animal or plant remains and deposits minerals. Most dinosaur body fossils are formed this way.
- 20. species that existed on Earth for a short length of time, was abundant, and inhabited many locations
- 22. middle era of the Phanerozoic eon
- 24. most recent epoch, which began 10,000 years ago
- 26. youngest era of the Phanerozoic eon
- 30. dominant Mesozoic vertebrate that walked with legs positioned directly below its hips
- 31. Evidence that organisms have changed over long periods of time.
- 34. Hollow space left in a rock by animal or plant remains that have dissolved.
- 37. study of similarities and differences among structures of living species
- 38. refers to a side or a sideways direction
- 39. Impression or other preserved sign of activity such as feeding, scratching, burrowing, walking, or resting.
Down
- 1. subdivision of an era
- 2. Preserved remains or traces of ancient plant and animal life.
- 3. atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons
- 6. body part found in multiple species that performs a similar function but differs in structure
- 10. numerical age of a rock or other object
- 11. preserved remains or evidence of ancient living organisms
- 12. Layers of sedimentary rock that compile and compress over time that can trap fossils within them.
- 13. process by which an unstable element naturally changes into another stable element
- 15. first epoch of the Quaternary period
- 16. subdivision of a period
- 18. Preserved remains of the plant or animal itself, or the preserved parts of the animal or plant like bones, teeth, and shells, or the imprint of parts of the animal or plant.
- 19. body part found in multiple species that is similar in structure and position but different in function
- 21. set of all the fossils ever discovered on Earth
- 23. fossil copy of an organism in a rock
- 25. chart that divides Earth’s history into different time units
- 27. process of matching rocks and fossils from separate locations
- 28. scientist who studies fossils
- 29. fossilized carbon outline that forms when pressure drives off the gases and liquids from a buried organism
- 32. the age of rocks and geologic features with respect to other rocks and features nearby
- 33. when all individuals of a species have died
- 35. subdivision of an eon
- 36. time required for half of the parent isotopes to decay into daughter isotopes