what is a fossil?

Question

im doin a areport on fossils what type of fosils should i do {i know nothin on fossils}

Answer 1

Fossils are the remains of creatures which existed long ago. Fossils range from thousands of years to many millions of years in age. The earliest fossils date from around 600 million years ago, however recent reports suggest bacteria may have existed up to 3 billion years earlier. To put this in context, the dinosaurs became extinct just 65 million years ago.



Not all former life was preserved as fossils, in fact the vast majority simply vanished without trace. The most likely materials to survive fossilisation are the hard parts such as shells and objects which in life were constructed from resistant materials, such as Coral. In order for softer materials to survive, the conditions must be extremely favourable.



Fossils come in a variety of sizes, from minute traces to large skeletons. Trace fossils are clues to former life, they result from the activities or presence of creatures and plants. Examples of these traces include footprints, burrows and root tunnels. At the larger end of the scale, fossils also include bones, the largest of which belong to the dinosaurs, which existed between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods.

Answer 2

fossils are rocks with a print on it from a while back (a print can be an animal, a leaf, practacally anything)

here is what i found on wikipedia:

Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally "having been dug up") are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. The totality of fossils and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record. The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the evolutionary relationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most important functions of the science of paleontology.

While most fossils are several thousands to several billions of years old, there is no minimum age for a fossil. Fossils vary in size from microscopic, such as single cells, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs. A fossil normally preserves only a portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates, or the chitinous exoskeletons of invertebrates. Preservation of soft tissues is exquisitely rare in the fossil record. Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as the footprint or feces of a reptile. These types of fossil are called trace fossils (or ichnofossils) as opposed to body fossils. Finally, past life leaves some markers that cannot be seen but can be detected in the form of biochemical signals; these are known as chemical fossils or biomarkers.

Answer 3

A fossil is the naturally preserved remains or traces of animals or plants that lived in the geologic past. There are two main types of fossils; body and trace. Body fossils include the remains of organisms that were once living and trace fossilsare the signs that organisms were present (i.e. footprints, tracks, trails, and burrows).
Two different modes of preservation include; preservation without alteration and preservation with alteration. Examples of the modes of preservation without alteration include: freezing, mummification and unaltered shell remains. Examples of modes of preservation with alteration include: permineralization which is the result of a chemical precipitating into the pore space; replacement which occurs when there is actual molecular exchange of substances that were once part of an organism with minerals carried in by percolating water solutions; and carbonization which occurs when soft tissues are preserved as films of carbon. Casts and molds are another type of fossilization where the physical characteristics of organisms are impressed in to the sediment prior to the formation of a rock. Molds are produced when shell material is progressively removed by leaching so at to leave a void in the rock bearing the surficial features of the original shell. Casts are produced when the void between the internal and external mold is filled with mineral matter; a cast becomes a model or replica of the organism.
aource: imnh.isu.edu
watch a video about fossils

Answer 4

Fossils are imprints and evidense of past life (such as planets and animals/dinosaurs), whether it be from millions/thouands or hundreds of years ago. They can either be a mould,a cast or they can be petrified or carbonised. Fossils are usually found in sedimentary rock because they cant survive in areas that has extreme amounts of heat and pressure (such as metomorphic rocks and igneous rocks), so places such as in the bottom of the ocean. I really feel for you, i once had to do a fossil project at school and it wasnt the funnest thing i ever did lol!!! Hope this helps!!

Answer 5

A fossil is a specimen (rock) that has a print or indent of something that existed on it.

Example:
A rock could have indents of a dinosaur that stepped on it a looooooong time ago

Answer 6

They are traces or remains of long dead animals. I like hominid fossils, those related to humans. Look up hominid fossil on google and go from there.

Answer 7

i am learning about them
they are the remains of an orginism or a print of some kind
lyk dinosaurs
they have fossils in the rocks and leaves
they leave prints in the cement

Answer 8

fossils are remais of animals or plants that have been buried under the ground for hundreds of years.. the most famous remains that have been found out was the remains of the dinosaurs in australia and the remains of Lucy, the known to be ancestor of humans...

Answer 9

A fossil is a bone that's very old.

Answer 10

Fossils are imprints in rock left by really, really, REALLY old plants or animals. (We're talking diosaurs, here.) And This would go into paleantology, I believe.