Clues in the Rock: teacher key

Fossils, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. Fossils are what is left of plants and animals from long ago. See how fossils form, how scientists date them and what they show.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Where was Tiktaalik found?
   • In the Arctic, in Nunavut, Canada (answer)
   • In Germany
   • On Mount Everest
2. What can scientists use like a clock to work out how old rock is?
   • Layers of silt
   • Radioactive atoms in the rock (answer)
   • Water full of minerals
3. What do trace fossils, such as tracks, tell us about?
   • What an animal did (answer)
   • What color it was
   • How big its eggs were
4. Which fossils are older: those from tiny living things in the sea in Australia, or Tiktaalik fossils?
   • Tiktaalik fossils
   • They are the same age
   • The fossils from tiny living things (answer)
5. What does limestone mean?
   • Kind of rock (answer)
   • Forked bone
   • Fine mud

Words

• silt: fine mud
• minerals: rock bits
• limestone: kind of rock
• wishbone: forked bone