By studying only fossil color

By heating fossils until they melt

By looking for fossils in active volcanoes

By comparing fossil evidence to modern organisms

The order in which the fossils were formed

The age of the rock in which the fossils were found

The decay of radioactive isotopes in the fossils

The chemical composition of the fossils

To determine how a fossil was formed

To estimate the age of fossils and the rocks that contain them

To locate the fossil’s original environment

To find out the species that ate the organism

Finding that fossils are very old

Measuring the fossil’s exact length

Concluding that an animal was a carnivore because its teeth were sharp and pointed

Observing that fossils are found in sedimentary rock

Exposure to oxygen and sunlight

Rapid decay in tropical rainforests

Quick burial in sediment without oxygen

Movement across dry land

They are too small to leave traces

They are not found in sedimentary rocks

They decompose too quickly

Fossil formation is a random process

Predict future climate patterns

Draw conclusions about past life forms using evidence

Collect fossils from different parts of the world

Measure the size and mass of rocks