Define fossil Explain importance of fossils as proof of evolution
Answers
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the past.
Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they show that life on earth was once different from life found on earth today.
Usually only a portion of an organism is preserved as a fossil, such as body fossils (bones and exoskeletons ), trace fossils (feces and footprints), and chemofossils (biochemical signals).
Paleontologists can determine the age of fossils using methods like radiometric dating and categorize them to determine the evolutionary relationships between organisms.
Key Terms
biomarker: A substance used as an indicator of a biological state, most commonly disease.
trace fossil: A type of fossil reflecting the reworking of sediments and hard substrates by organisms including structures like burrows, trails, and impressions.
fossil record: All discovered and undiscovered fossils and their placement in rock formations and sedimentary layers.
strata: Layers of sedimentary rock.
fossiliferous: Containing fossils.
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Answer:
i. Remnants and impressions of organisms which get buried and remain preserved underground are called fossils. Study of fossils is an important aspect of study of evolution.
ii. Carbon consumption of animals and plants stop after death and since then, only the decaying process of C-14 occurs continuously.
iii. In case of dead bodies of plants and animals, the ratio of C-14: C-12 changes continuously instead of remaining constant as C-12 is non – radioactive.
iv. The time passed since the death of the plant or animal can be calculated by measuring the radioactivity of C -14 and the ratio of C-14 to C-12 present in their body.
v. This is carbon dating method. It is used in determining the age of human fossils and manuscripts.
vi. Once the age of the fossil is determined, it becomes easy to deduce information about the erstwhile organisms.
vii. It seems that vertebrates have slowly originated from invertebrates.
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