A cliff shows four flat rock layers that have never been disturbed. Which layer was deposited first?

In an undisturbed cliff, a layer holding fern fossils lies below a layer holding ocean shell fossils. What does this order tell you about the landscape?

Why can scientists say a fossil in a lower rock layer is older than a fossil in a higher layer, when the layers have not been disturbed?

Two different kinds of animal fossils are found in the same undisturbed rock layer. What is the best conclusion?

Hikers find fossil fish inside rock layers near the top of a tall mountain. What does this evidence show about that place?

How do rock layers usually form at the bottom of a lake or an ocean over a long time?

In undisturbed rock, a layer holding swamp plant fossils is covered by a layer of dry desert sand with no fossils. What change does this order show?

A road cut shows rock layers that have been tilted and cracked by an earthquake. What must scientists do before putting those layers in order?

Two cliffs many miles apart each have a rock layer holding the same kind of shell fossil. What does this evidence suggest?

A fish dies and sinks to the muddy bottom of a lake. What must happen next for it to become a fossil in a rock layer?

In undisturbed rock, a thin layer of volcanic ash sits between two rock layers full of leaf fossils. What does the ash layer show?

Scientists want to know whether a dry valley was once a lake. Which evidence would help them most?

A rock layer in a cold northern place holds fossils of tropical palm leaves. This is evidence that the climate there was once much warmer than it is today.

A river cutting down through rock for a very long time can uncover rock layers in the walls of a canyon.

The rock in this cliff is made of many stacked layers that look a little different from each other. What is the best explanation for the different layers?

In this undisturbed rock, every layer from bottom to top holds fossils of ocean animals such as shells and coral. What does this pattern tell you about the place?

True or False: Fossils are most often found in sedimentary rock.

A fossil fish is found in a rock layer far from the ocean. What is the best inference?

This rock has three undisturbed layers, and each layer holds a different plant fossil. Which fossil is the youngest?

In undisturbed rock, a lower layer holds fossils of warm-water coral, and the layer above it holds fossils of cold-water clams. What does this order suggest happened at that place?