The Properties of Fossils

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Why does one animal or plant become fossilized but millions of others do not?

62 Responses

  1. david says:

    Some animals were killed in or near water so that they then became fossils

    • david says:

      I claim that some animals and plants decomposed quicker than others. My evidence is that water with oxygen in it accelerates the decomposition process.

  2. Megan says:

    An animal or plant becomes fossilized because they have died off and there bones or stems haven’t decomposed.

    • Megan says:

      I claim that an animal or plant becomes a fossil because they have a hard time decomposing. My evidence is that plants or animals decompose faster when they are near or in water, and they decompose slowly when there are not by water.

  3. alec says:

    Fossils can be found to be many different things but in order to have or find a fossils the bones of a creature have to have been there for millions of years. And the fossils become surrounded in hard rock the becomes more solid.

    • alec says:

      I claim for things to fossilize the parts need to be buried in sediment for some years.My evidence is that with bones for them to decompose to become fossils you must wait a while for the decomposition to work.THen when that’s done the bare bone needs to be buried in sediment.

  4. trey says:

    In order for a plant or animal to become fossilized it needs to be covered rapidly and then have pressure on top. If an animal is not covered quickly it will not get fossilized and there will be no fossil record of that plant or animal. Not all animals get covered quickly so we only have some fossils. Plants or animals could get fossilized if they died near water where they would get covered or if they were buried in a mudslide or something.

    • Trey says:

      I claim that what determines if something will get fossilised or not is how and where it dies and what happens to it after that. My evidence is that the organism has to be buried in fine mud with no air for it to be fossilized. If it sits too long and decomposes than it will not be fossilized. That explains why we don’t have billions of fossils from many many years of animals dying. If it died close to or in water it could get pulled down into the mud and fossilize.

  5. caitlynn says:

    I think when an organism is buried quickly, there is less decay and the better the chance for it to be preserved. The hard parts of organisms like bones, shells, and teeth have a better chance of becoming fossils than do softer parts.

    • caitlynn says:

      I claim that the reason that some animals will fossilize and others don’t.
      My evidence is that fossilization will occur if an animal or plant dies and is quickly buried. This prevents the animal or plant from being eaten by other organisms or from natural decay through exposure to oxygen and bacteria. But not all parts fossilize only the hard parts of organisms like bones, shells, and teeth have a better chance of becoming fossils than do softer parts

  6. Dante says:

    I think it’s because of animals and plants not decomposing so they become fossilized.

    • Dante says:

      I claim that some animals decompose faster than others and so the don’t become fossils. My evidence is that when they land in mud that will slow down the decomposition process and if it lands in water it will decompose faster.

  7. alex says:

    I know that fossils are dead dinosaurs and other animals that are dead and that’s it and all I know

  8. Amadeo says:

    I claim that the reason that some parts of animals will fossilize and others don’t is that if an animal dies but isn’t buried quick enough it will be eaten and decayed but if it’s buried (like in a flood perhaps) it will take enough time decaying that it will be able to be fossilized. My evidence is that most of the places we find lots of fossils at seem to have been in or near water. Also, paleontologists find many fossils at the Labreya tar pits where many animals would get stuck in the tar and not be eaten and are in an environment where fossilization can take place.

    • Amadeo says:

      I claim that the reason that some parts of animals will fossilize and others don’t is that if an animal dies but isn’t buried quick enough it will be eaten and decayed but if it’s buried (like in a flood perhaps) it will take enough time decaying that it will be able to be fossilized. My evidence is that most of the places we find lots of fossils at seem to have been in or near water. Also, paleontologists find many fossils at the Labreya tar pits where many animals would get stuck in the tar and not be eaten and are in an environment where fossilization can take place.

  9. Raven says:

    I honestly don’t know much about fossils other than that they are preserved animal remains from like a long time ago so yeah I don’t know much about them or how they even become fossils I didn’t even know that you would have to be a certain type of animal to become a fossil, so yeah hopefully I know a lot more about fossils after this unit.

    • Raven says:

      I claim that only some plants and animals are able to fossilize my evidence is when an animal or plant does or is able to fossilize it’s usually like a bone or tooth because these objects decompose slower then say like hair or something softer. Also when a plant or animal fossilizes it usually fossilizes when it’s covered in sediment or clay, just something that can take away any air so that the plant or animal can decompose slower than it usually would.

  10. SAMUEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    Fossils are the hardened remains of dead, decayed animals that died millions of years ago. The become fossilized when years and years of sediment surround and bury the animal and as more sediment builds up, the weight squeezes out the stuff the animal had in its body and the minerals in the dirt enter the carcass and take the place of the other stuff the weight squeezed out.

    • SAMUEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

      I claim that certain animals and plants can be fossilized. My evidence is that it’s not very rare for a animal to fossilize, but it is rare for a slug to fossilize. This is because the softer tissues of animals and plants decay faster than bones, this is true because the softer parts have less density than that of a rock. When a animal is covered with sediment, it builds up and builds up so all that pressure pushes on the animal and minerals take the place of the other stuff.

  11. Jestin says:

    A animal dies and it’s bones stay there for a very very time sinking into the ground making the bones be underground

    • Jestin says:

      I claim that my evidence is it takes very special conditions for something to become a fossil.
      My evidence is that the fossils found are of the hard parts of organisms like bones, teeth, claws and shells. These take a long time to decompose. The soft parts of their bodies decompose quickly. The places where fossils are found tend to be where there is sediment being layered on top of the dead organism as it decomposes. For example a river delta has water and sediment that moves about to lay on top to make a fossil.

  12. adrianna says:

    I don’t really know anything about fossils but I think that fossils are bones or something that had been in a place with or by water for so long that they were pretty much imprinted into places on the ground or something with rock and didn’t decompose all the way and eventually became fossils.

  13. Damian says:

    I think that those animals and plants that are or have been fossilized may have been in a certain terrain or in a time that erosion has occurred and fossilized there. Other plants and animals may be in an area that erosion may not occur or in an area that hasn’t had any type of evolution, like the surface of the area may be still the same as it was back decades or even centuries ago, or the river or any source of water may have been dried up for years. Fossilization may or will occur when erosion or a type of change occurs, like a change or the area.

    • Damian says:

      I claim that those animals and plants have been fossilized in a certain terrain. My evidence is that the fossils are found in an area that could’ve been through erosion or changing of the area. The animals and plant that didn’t become fossils may have been in a different terrain that didn’t have any change of terrain or the terrain wasn’t a certain volume and value of ground.

  14. neal says:

    Fossils are made win and animal dies and they need need to be next to have enuf water so they can be preserved for many years. And so that miltel can get stuck on it so that to is made out of rocks that will make it stay longer.

    • neal says:

      I claim that fossils are made from minerals in the areas that replaces the bone into rock this is called fossilising. My evidence is where it will turn from a dead animal into a fossils. This process will make and traces of an animal into a fossil when it will leave a footprint will make a trace fossil because is has no body structure in the trace fossil. And animal stepped into some mud or clay and left a trace fossil. A body fossil has bones or a lef rimnis in it so win a animal dies it will leave a body part when it turns into bone. The rest will decay and not become a fossil like the flesh.

  15. Kylie says:

    The pressure of the Earth made the dinosaurs fossilized.

    • Kylie says:

      I claim that it takes very specific conditions for something to become a fossil.
      My evidence is that the fossils found are of the hard parts of an organisms like bones, teeth, claws and shells. These take a long time to decompose. The soft parts of their bodies decompose quickly. The places where fossils are found tend to be where there is sediment being layered on top of the dead organism as it decomposes. For example a river delta has water and sediment that moves about to lay on top to make a fossil.

  16. Sarah says:

    I claim that only some animals fossilize because of the time it takes for them to decay and go into mud or water. If an animal dies another could eat it so it wouldn’t be around long enough to turn into a fossil. The animal or plant would also have to be close enough to a source of water or mud.

  17. Carlos says:

    I believe that fossils are made when animals die and get buried in the ground causing them to become fossilized.

  18. Ryan says:

    I think fossils are animals that have died. Then their skeletons have been compressed into rock and it makes a fossil.

  19. Vera says:

    What I know is that in order for a plant or animal to actually become a fossil they need to decompose, so if they decompose fast enough and have things piling up on them like dirt or sand it’s more likely to fossilize. But when they don’t decompose fast enough that’s why they wouldn’t fossilize, or if they don’t have enough piling up on it. When it does that it causes a lot of pressure.

    • Vera says:

      I claim that some plants and animals fossilize while others don’t because of the conditions they are in. My evidence is that when a plant or animal is in water that has decomposed oxygen it’s more likely to fossilize. But when it’s in mud its a lot less likely to fossilize.

  20. isAAc says:

    All I know is that fossils need to be covered fast in order to fossilize and there needs to be pressure forced onto that dead plant or animal.

    • isaac says:

      I claim that fossils at different places will decompose/buried faster. My evidence is that well if it’s buried in sediment it takes a slower time to decompose and when in a river or a body of water where there is oxygen it will decompose faster I think.

  21. Caden says:

    One reason that some plants or animals are fossilized and others are is that they may have not been covered in silt and sediment which cause the fossilization process. This is also why you see a lot more sea creatures as fossils because they can easily be covered by silt and sediment. Also this why you see few worms and other soft tissue organisms because they do not fossilize well with no hard tissues.

    • Caden says:

      I claim that organisms covered in silt and sediment in water are fossilized easily. My evidence is that when an organism is covered in silt and sediment in water it is cut off from oxygenated water which slows decomposition. The slower decomposition the more likely it is to become fossilized.

  22. Matt says:

    I think that for something to be fossilized it has to be covered by dirt before it rots away. I also think that fossils have to be put under pressure because I think they’re found in rocks.

    • matt says:

      I claim that there are many ways to fossilize things. My evidence is that there have been fossiles stuck in amber. There has also been fossils that have been covered in sediment then were fossilized.

  23. Veronica says:

    I am not one-hundred percent sure why but I think it depends on if it get cover in layers quickly enough for it to compress and become a fossil. If it doesn’t the bones or stem or shell will just decompose and will leave no trace of it existence.

  24. cody says:

    Dinosaurs have fossils after the meteor impact years ago. paleontologists dig up fossils to complete skeletons and put them in museums.

    • cody says:

      I claim that creatures of the biosphere get buried below the surface and become fossils, but some don’t. My evidence is dinosaurs are biosphere creatures they got buried in the surface because they got hit by the meteor. Also some creatures didn’t fossilize because the animals decompose.

  25. Duran says:

    I’m not sure but I think that the animals that were fossilized were pressured onto the rock that it was on if the animal decomposed quick enough.

    • Duran says:

      I claim that it depended on where the animal died and how fast it decomposed. If it died underwater, it had a better chance of decomposing than it did on land.

  26. Pamela says:

    The plant or animal got fossilized because the animal or plant died and the stem or bones did not decompose.

    • Pamela says:

      l claim that only harder parts of organisms are easier to fossilize. My evidence is that the bones and shells are really hard so they decompose slowly. The softer the organism is the faster the organism decomposes. For an organism to decompose fast the weather has to be warm and water will be involved.

  27. Saze says:

    Animals and plants decompose more quickly when in contact with oxygen, which means animals and plants become fossilized due to the lack of oxygen when underground.

  28. MaKya says:

    I think animals and plants become fossils after they die because the soil is dense and there skin (if an animal) decomposes before there bones and the bones stay there until over time it starts to sink into the ground and when its fully covered the soil is so dense it preserves it. The plant maybe fell into the mud and got covered with it then it hardened and preserved it.

  29. Kendra says:

    Fossils are bones frozen in time in a rock state,I think rock formed around the bones.Buildings can’t be fossilized because they are not underground.

  30. Hailey says:

    Some plants and animals never fossilize because usually in order for a species to become a fossil, they need to be on earth for millions of years. Another reason is that usually fossils are formed when there by water or covered by sediment, if they’re not, then they may never fossilize. It also depends on what type of area or habitat that the plant or animal is in. For example, if the habitat is deeply dehydrated or is just not doing so well, then the decomposing species may never fossilize.

    • Hailey says:

      I claim that some animals or plants fossilize and some do not. My evidence is that because it depends on the climate, and if that species decomposes too fast or has no hard parts. Another reason would be that it depends on if other animals eat the decaying matter before it has time to fossilize. For example, most animals and plants fossilize when they’re buried by sediment, hardened, and lay there for millions of years, however, that’s a slow way. If the animal or plant is by or submerged in a body of water that has dissolved oxygen then it will have a better chance of becoming a fossil. Only parts of an animal or plant become a fossil though, for example, the mushy parts of an animal like flesh will decay faster because they have no strong support. A bone or shell would decay slower because they do have that strong structure. That’s why when you see an animal fossil, you usually see the teeth or bones and their imprints. However leaves are different, they usually only leave imprints and decay fast so that’s why there are not many leaf fossils. So that’s why some only some plants and animals become fossils.

  31. Kaylene says:

    I don’t know anything about fossils but I think fossils are formed or made because of animals that died by the water, they became fossils and also their bones got left behind and that also made fossils.

  32. michael says:

    I think fossils are a dead animal or something in the ground and It made a little inprint In the ground.

    • michael says:

      I claim a fossil is evidence of past like dinosaur fossils or fish fossils plus there made from minerals. But when it dies and go into the ground it decomposes

  33. Emily says:

    I claim fossils are made because they were near water because they need water to fossilize and then covered in many layers of dirt. They also need to decompose slowly otherwise they won’t fossilize. My evidence is when animals decompose slowly they are able to fossilize and they need dissolved oxygen in water to form.

  34. olivia says:

    I think it’s because some animals decompose more quickly or slowly the other animals do. Because if it isn’t buried quick enough it could be eaten or something. And if it is buried it can have time to decompose and be a fossile.

    • olivia says:

      I claim that an animal or plant becomes a fossil because they have a hard time decomposing. My evidence is that some animals and other stuff have a hard time decomposing because they may not be buried or put in a good place where they can decompose.

  35. Nevaeh says:

    It depends all on the way it is the texture and how fast they decay or persevere itself. Look at dead bodys they decay fast mainly the flesh because it doesn’t have the blood flow like it does when a human is alive the oxygen keeps the blood flowing but now that they are dead they don’t have the blood flow and they root. The bones are very solid and strong in which they hold up now plants will only leave an imprint at most they never really had a behavior so they didn’t leave the spot they are in. they have to be able to with hold the layer of dirt and pressure. A lot of them can’t mainly only bones are left from where it had once roamed.

  36. Carlos says:

    I claim that plants or animals fossilize when they don’t decompose fast enough. My evidence is that when a hard part on an animal or plant doesn’t decompose fast it gets fossilized.

  37. Sarah says:

    Organisms need to be under specific conditions the fossilize. If they have decomposed wrong or are even in the wrong substance to fossilize it won’t work.

  38. Mason says:

    fossils are formed by being buried by sediment and gently treated by the earth. when the sediment hardens an imprint will by there

  39. Kendra says:

    I Claim that an organism needs to Be near water and mud/Soil to be fossilized. My evidence is That Harder Material is easier to Fossilize than soft Material Because it decomposes slower

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