How do fossils provide evidence for evolution?
In this lesson, we are going to learn how fossils are formed and how they provide evidence for the theory of evolution. We will learn what the fossil record is and why there are parts missing from the record. In this lesson,
How do fossils provide evidence for evolution?
In this lesson, we are going to learn how fossils are formed and how they provide evidence for the theory of evolution. We will learn what the fossil record is and why there are parts missing from the record. In this lesson,
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- What a fossil is and how it is made
- What fossils show us about changes in species over time
- Why fossils do not give us a complete record of past organisms
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7 Questions
For all of the questions below choose a word to complete the sentence.
Q2.
Not all individuals of a species are exactly the ________. There are variations between them.
best
opposite
Q3.
The individuals of a species who are best ___________ to their environment are most likely to survive.
hunters
known
Q4.
These individuals are more likely reproduce and pass their useful adaptations onto their _____________.
environment
prey
Q5.
Individuals that were poorly adapted are less likely to __________.
be happy
Q6.
Over time, the characteristic that make survival more likely become more common and a species gradually __________.
stays the same
Q7.
Given enough time, these small changes can add up to the extent that a new _________ can evolve altogether.
set of characteristics
4 Questions
Q1.
Which of these is the last step in the fossilisation process?
An animals skeleton is buried by sediment
The skeleton dissolves and a mould is formed
Q2.
What is the fossil record?
a characteristic that helps an organisms to survive in its environment
the process by which living things gradually change over time
Q3.
If fossils are deeper down in rock are the newer or older fossils?
newer fossils
Q4.
Which of these is NOT a reason that parts of the fossil record are missing.
In the rock cycle some rocks that contain fossils are destroyed.
Some organisms decompose before they are covered by sediment.