Mr and Mrs Smith's Life Science Name _______________ Period _____
Clams, Fish, and Insects
Read the following material,examine the data, line graph the data, and answer the
questions that follow.
An area of sedimentary rock was being examined for fossils. The area was once believed to be inhabited by many forms of sea creatures. The geologists believed the area was between 100 million and 150 million years old. Below find a chart containing the data based on their findings. The layers are recorded from the top most to the lowest. The uppermost layer is the youngest of the layers based on geologic time.
Depth of the layer in meters. |
Number of clam fossils |
Number of fish fossils |
Number of insect fossils |
0 to 1.5 |
3 |
2 |
27 |
3 |
15 |
12 |
9 |
3.5 |
30 |
35 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
34 |
3 |
7 |
1 |
50 |
0 |
Use graph paper and make a line graph of the data.
1. What is the being tested? ___________________________________________.
2. At what level did they find the most insects? __________________________.
3. Was the area water or land at 3.5 meters? ____________________________________________.
4. At what depth did insects become the most numerous fossil? _________________________
5. Was the water level increasing or decreasing from 7 to 0 meters? _____________.
6. Why do you think there were few clam and insect fossils found at 5-7 meters?
________________________________________________________________________
7. Do you think this was the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, or the
Cenozoic Era?____________________
8. Were the scientists correct in thinking that the area was once a sea? ______