Fossils


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Fossils

Fossils:

These are the dead and decayed remains of organisms from the geological past, i.e. preserved traces of living organisms that lived millions of years ago. It is not always necessary that every part of a dead organism decomposes, e.g. a dead insect caught in a hot mud. The mud does not allow the insect to decompose quickly. On the contrary, the mud will eventually harden and retain the impression of the body parts of the insect. This provides us evidence about the presence of insect and also tells us about the structure of the insect. Imprints of leaves, stems, footprints, skin impressions and other traces provide indirect evidences of past life. In other words, fossils record helps us to analyse the connections between the Earth’s and life’s evolution. By this, we can reconstruct the patterns and trends that existed in the history of life. Science of fossils is known as paleontology.

Kinds of Fossils:

Fossils are of various kinds like tree trunk fossils, invertebrate fossils (Ammonite), fish fossils (Knightia) and dinosaur skull fossils (Rajasaurus recently found in Narmada valley) depending upon their differences in appearance and detail and mode of preservation. A fossil Archaeopteryx is the connecting link between birds and reptiles. This is because; it has feathered wings and beak like those of birds, but teeth and tail like those of reptiles. So, it is considered that birds have evolved from reptiles. Thus, fossils provide evidence that living beings (plants and animals) that exist today have originated from primitive organisms through the process of organic evolution.

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Sample Questions
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Question : 1

The age of the fossil can be determined by measuring the ratio of the different isotopes of carbon element in the fossil material and is known as ____________________.

Right Option : B
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Question : 2

Fossil records suggest the birds are closely related to ____________

Right Option : C
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Question : 3

___________________are the dead and decayed remains of organisms from the geological pas.

Right Option : A
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