🦴 Fossils as Evidence

What you’ll learn

1. What Is a Fossil?Define a fossil as the preserved remains or traces of ancient life, usually found in sedimentary rock.A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of a living thing from long ago, saved inside rock. Fossils are clues, not living animals. Most are found in sedimentary rock, which forms in layers. They let scientists study creatures that lived millions of years ago.
2. How Fossils FormDescribe how most fossils form, from quick burial to minerals turning remains to stone.Most fossils form when an animal is buried quickly, before it rots or is eaten. Layers of sediment pile on top and harden into rock, while minerals slowly turn the remains to stone. Later, weathering can expose the fossil. Some fossils, like insects in amber, form when sticky tree sap traps and hardens around them.
3. Reading the CluesTell body fossils from trace fossils and explain what each reveals about ancient life.Scientists sort fossils into body fossils — actual parts like bones, teeth, and shells — and trace fossils — marks left behind like footprints, burrows, and coprolites. Both kinds are evidence. Footprints reveal size, speed, and herd behaviour, while skeletons reveal how an animal ate and moved.

Questions this course answers

Grounded in trusted sources

• Natural History Museum
• Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
• American Museum of Natural History
• Britannica Kids

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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