Fossils are the remains or evidence of prehistoric plants and animals that have fossilized.

Fossils were used as markers when building up the geologic time scale. The names of most of
the eons and eras end in “zoic”, because these time periods were recognized by the animal
life present at the time. Rocks formed during the Proterozoic Eon have fossil evidence of
simple organisms, such as bacteria, algae, and wormlike animals. In the Phanerozoic Eon, the
rocks formed have fossils of animals and plants such as dinosaurs, mammals, and trees.

And with that, geologists have developed the geological time scale, which divides the Earth’s
history into eons that are subdivided into eras, which are further divided into periods and then
into epochs. The geologic time scale is the “calendar” for events in Earth’s history. It
subdivides all time since the end of the Earth’s formative period as a planet (nearly 4 billion
years ago) into named units of abstract time: in descending order of duration, which are eons,
eras, periods, and epochs.
The geologic time scale provides a system of chronologic measurement relating stratigraphy
to time that is used by geologists, paleontologists, and other Earth scientists to describe the
timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth.
The detailed studies made of rocks throughout the world have allowed geologists to correlate
rock units globally, and break them into time units. The result is the Geologic Time Scale,
usually presented in a chart

Review the vocabulary words and complete the activity on the other side of this worksheet.
1. Fossils – remains of ancient life that have been turned to stone
2. Body Fossils – actual parts of plants and animals that have been turned to stone (i.e.
bone, shells, leaves)
3. Coprolite – fossilized dinosaur dung (scat)
4. Fossilization – process by which the remains of ancient living things are turned to
rock
5. Paleontologist – a scientist who studies fossils and ancient life
6. Sedimentary Rock – rock made of layers of tightly packed sand and clay
7. Sandstone – a type of sedimentary rock that is made of sand
8. Trace Fossil – a fossilized sign that a plant or animal once lived in an area (i.e.
footprints, coprolite)
9. Porous – full of tiny holes that water, air, and light can pass through
10.Mineralization – to convert into a mineral substance; to fill with a mineral substance
 The Story of Fossils by Patti Hutchison
Imagine you are hiking in the woods. As you walk up a steep hill, you find a fossil. It is a mold
of many tiny seashells. What would seashells be doing in the middle of the woods?
Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. These rocks form on the surface of the earth.
They record the processes that have happened on the surface, including life. Scientists are
able to arrange fossils according to age. This is called the fossil record. By studying the fossil
record, scientists have found that the earth and its life forms have gone through many
changes in the past.
Fossils have taught us how and when rock layers have formed. They have also helped
scientists learn about life forms that have come and gone. Fossils have even taught us about
the climate of the earth long ago.
The Geologic Time Scale is divided into huge blocks of time called eras. Eras are defined by
major changes in the fossils found in the sedimentary rock layers that were formed during
those time spans.
Activity 1
Directions: Read the story entitled “The Story of Fossil” by Patti Hutchison. Answer the
guide questions stated below.

1. In what type of rocks are FOSSILS made of?

3. How did fossils help and teach scientist about the history of the earth?

4. Aside from geological aspect, what other aspects can be predicted by guide fossils?
How? (climatic, organismic etc.)

Activity 2
Read and analyze the statements below. Write T if the statement is TRUE and F if the
statement is FALSE.
_______ 1. Scientists determine when an era begins and when it ends through geological
timeline.
_______ 2. Dinosaurs exist at the same time as humans.
_______ 3. The purpose of making a geological timeline is to identify age of organism
through its fossils.
________ 4. Quaternary period of geological time has humans evolved on Earth.
_______ 5. Triassic Period of geological time have the dinosaurs existed on Earth.

Activity 3
Directions: Write the division and period of the listed organism below. Refer to geological
time scale.
Era Period
1. first vascular land plants ____________ ____________
2. jawed fish diversity ____________ ____________
3. evolution of humans ____________ ____________
4. first chordates ____________ ____________
5. mammals diversify ____________ ____________
6. first primates ____________ ____________
7. dinosaurs’ diversity ____________ ____________
8. major extinctions of reptiles’ diversity ____________ ____________
9. sudden diversification of metazoan families ____________ ____________
10. first flowering plants ____________ ____________

Activity 4
Fill in the blanks. Read and analyze the statements below. Write the word that will complete
the sentence/paragraph.

1. __________________ are the remains or evidence of prehistoric plants and animals that
have fossilized.
2. Fossils were used as markers when building up the geologic time scale. The names of
most of the eons and eras end in “zoic” because these time periods were recognized
by the __________________ present at the time.
3. The geologic time scale is the “calendar” for events in Earth’s history. It subdivides all
time since the end of the Earth’s formative period as a planet (nearly 4 billion years
 ago) into named units of abstract time: in descending order of duration, which are
_________, __________, _________ and ___________.
4. The __________________ provides a system of chronologic measurement relating
stratigraphy to time that is used by geologists, paleontologists and other Earth
scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred
during the history of the Earth.
5. The Geologic Time Scale is divided into huge blocks of time called eras. Eras are
defined by major changes in the fossils found in the __________________ rock layers that
were formed during those time spans.

Activity 5
Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.
1. Why do most of the eons and eras end in “zoic”?
A. because these time periods were recognized by the animal life present at that
time
B. because these time periods were recognized by the plants present at that time
C. A and B
D. none of the above

2. Which of the following marine animals are bivalves with two symmetrical shells – the
shells are mirror images of each other?
A. crinoids
B. fossil clam
C. gastropods
D. trilobites

3. How were the scientists able to arrange the fossils they gathered?
A. They were able to arrange the fossils according to age.
B. They were able to arrange the fossils according to structure.
C. They were able to arrange the fossils according to chemical content.
D. They were able to arrange the fossils according to place of discovery.

4. What do you call the marine arthropods that were made of chitin, like some insects and
other organisms like lobsters?
A. crinoids
B. fossil clam
C. gastropods
D. trilobites
5. What do you call the process by which the remains of ancient living things are turned
into rock?
A. fertilization
B. fossilization
C. fragmentation
D. metamorphosis
6. In what phylum do crinoids belong?
A. arthropods
B. echinoderms
C. gastropods
D. mollusks
7. What do you call the person who studies fossils and ancient life?
 A. anthropologist
B. archeologist
C. biologist
D. paleontologist
8. Which of the following marine animals lived inside their shells, taking up the whole
inside of the long shell?
A. echinoderms
B. gastropods
C. mollusks
D. sea arthropods
9. In what type of rocks are fossils made of?
A. igneous rock
B. metamorphic rock
C. sedimentary rock
D. all of the above
10.In Paleozoic Era, in what period did the first vascular land planet exist?
A. Cambrian
B. Devonian
C. Ordovician
D. Silurian
11.In what period the first mammals and dinosaurs existed?
A. Cretaceous
B. Jurassic
C. Permian
D. Triassic
12.What do you call the remains or evidence used as markers when building up the
geologic time scale?
A. fossil
B. minerals
C. piles of rock
D. sandstone
13.In what era did the first skeletal elements, soft-bodies metazoans, and animal traces
exist?
A. Cenozoic Era
B. Late Proterozoic
C. Mesozoic Era
D. Paleozoic Era
14.Which of the following does NOT belong to Paleozoic Era?
A. Cambrian
B. Devonian
C. Jurassic
D. Silurian
15.In what era did the rocks with fossils of animals and plants such as dinosaurs,
mammals and trees form?
A. Cenozoic Era
B. Mesozoic Era
C. Paleozoic Era
D. Phanerozoic Era