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Fossils

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of ancient plants and animals. They are formed when an organism dies and is buried in sediment, which hardens over time. Different dating methods, like carbon-14 dating, are used to determine the age of fossils. Fossils provide evidence of life from hundreds of millions of years ago, including cyanobacteria from 3.5 billion years ago, and help scientists understand how life on Earth has changed over time. Fossils are important for understanding the history and evolution of life.

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Juan Paulo Linzagan
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12 views

Fossils

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of ancient plants and animals. They are formed when an organism dies and is buried in sediment, which hardens over time. Different dating methods, like carbon-14 dating, are used to determine the age of fossils. Fossils provide evidence of life from hundreds of millions of years ago, including cyanobacteria from 3.5 billion years ago, and help scientists understand how life on Earth has changed over time. Fossils are important for understanding the history and evolution of life.

Uploaded by

Juan Paulo Linzagan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FOSSILS

What are fossils?


 The word “fossil” comes from the Latin word “fossus”, which means “dug up”. A fossil is the
naturally preserved remains or traces of animals or plants that lived in the geologic past.

How fossils are formed?

 Fossils are formed in a number of different ways, but most are formed when a plant or animal
dies in a watery environment and is buried in mud and silt. Soft tissues quickly decompose
leaving the hard bones or shells behind. Overtime, sediments build over the top and harden
into a rock.

The process of dating a fossil


 Carbon - 14 dating, which we also just call carbon dating, is a form of radiometric dating. And all
it is is measuring the decay of a certain type of atom found in a once living organism to
determine when it was last alive.
Fossils Unearthed
1. Cyanobacteria-3.5 billion years ago
2. Ctenophores-700 million years ago
3. Coelacanths-65 million years ago
4. Elephant Sharks-420 million years ago
5. Horse Shoe crab-450 million years ago
6. Gingko Biloba-135 to 210 million years
7. Cycads-65 to 230 million years
8. Nautilus-500 million years
Importance of Fossils
 Fossils are traces of ancient life. Fossils are important in understanding the history of the world
because they provide physical evidence of animals and plants that lived in the past
 Fossils represent the remains of once living organisms.
 The kinds of fossils found in rocks of different ages differ because life on earth has change
through time.

FOSSILS HAVE RICHER STORIES TO TELL

Juan Paulo Linzagan, LAE301-CON2 (EARTH SCIENCE) Ma’am Abdallah

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