Factors that do affect fossilization include
the presence or absence of hard parts
, whether the environment is depositing sediment or eroding it, whether the chemistry of the environment is such that it would dissolve the materials being fossilized or not, the speed of burial, and many, many more.
How does the environment affect fossilization?
The environment can also affect where the fossil is found. For example,
river currents
can carry a body away from the site of death before it is buried. Drier environments, such as land, are more susceptible to the effects of erosion and so it is more difficult to preserve the organism before it decays.
What are 4 conditions required for fossilization of an organism?
What conditions favor the formation of fossils? How might this cause the fossil record to be biased? The organism generally must have hard parts such as shell, bone, teeth, or wood tissue;
the remains must escape destruction after death
; and the remains must be buried rapidly to stop decomposition.
What are the 2 conditions that favor fossilization?
High pressure to promote mineralisation
of remains (i.e. turn hard body parts into fossilised rocks) Anoxic (low oxygen) conditions to protect against oxygen damage and prevent decomposition by saprotrophs.
What are the three necessary conditions for Fossilisation?
Preservation of remains
(protection against scavenging, erosion and environmental damage) High pressure to promote mineralisation of remains (i.e. turn hard body parts into fossilised rocks) Anoxic (low oxygen) conditions to protect against oxygen damage and prevent decomposition by saprotrophs.
Which conditions are worst for fossil formation?
Environments such as
rainforests teeming with life and in a hot and moist climate
are also poor places for fossils to form as a carcass can decay quickly and not have time to be buried. Similarly a rocky mountaintop is a poor place for fossils to form with no fine sediments being laid down.
Which conditions are needed to form fossils quizlet?
Fossils usually form when
sediment buries a dead organism
. As sediment piles up, the organism's remains are subjected to pressure and heat. These conditions force gases and liquids from the body. A thin film of carbon residue is left, forming a silhouette of the original organism called a carbon film.
Which is the most difficult to fossilize?
The hard shell of a clam
is more likely to fossilize because it is more resistant to biological and environmental destruction. For this reason, teeth, bones and other hard parts of organisms are much more numerous in the fossil record than soft tissues.
What increases chance of fossilization?
The hard parts of organisms, such as bones, shells, and teeth
have a better chance of becoming fossils than do softer parts. One reason for this is that scavengers generally do not eat these parts. Hard parts also decay more slowly than soft parts, giving more time for them to be buried.
What are two ways that geologic processes can destroy a fossil?
What are two ways that geologic processes can destroy a fossil?
A fossil can be destroyed or altered when it is melted, crushed, moved or eroded
.
What are the best conditions for fossilization?
The best fossilization occurs when there is
rapid burial and anoxic conditions
to prevent scavenging, no reworking by currents, and diagentic alteration which preserves a fossil rather than destroy it. These conditions are what is expected in models of the Flood.
How did petrification happen in the tree fossil?
Petrified wood is a fossil. It
forms when plant material is buried by sediment and protected from decay due to oxygen and organisms
. Then, groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment, replacing the original plant material with silica, calcite, pyrite, or another inorganic material such as opal.
What are the two best environments to look for fossils?
It is often found in deserts, beaches, and other sandy environments. Shale is formed from particles of mud. Good places to find fossils are
outcrops
. An outcrop is a place where old rock is exposed by wind and water erosion and by other people's digging.
What are the 5 stages of fossilisation?
Fossils form in five ways:
preservation of original remains, permineralization, molds and casts, replacement, and compression
.
What is the process of fossilisation?
Fossilisation. A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of a dead organism. The process by which a fossil is formed is called fossilisation. … Minerals in the water
replace the bone, leaving a rock replica of the original bone
called a fossil.
Where is fossilization most likely to occur?
Fossilization usually occur in
organisms with hard, bony body parts, such as skeletons, teeth, or shells
. Soft-bodied organisms, such as worms, are rarely fossilized. Sometimes, however, the sticky resin of a tree can become fossilized.
