Fossil Preservation Activity Crossword Puzzle

QUESTIONS LIST:

• amber : fossilized tree resin that can trap and preserve organisms, often with their original soft tissues intact.
• carbonization : a type of fossil preservation where the organic material of an organism is reduced to a thin film of carbon.
• permineralization : a process of fossilization in which minerals dissolved in groundwater precipitate into the pore spaces of an organism's remains, increasing its density and durability.
• taphonomy : the branch of paleontology that studies the processes of fossilization, from the death of an organism to its preservation.
• internal mold : a fossil formed when sediment fills the inside of a hollow organism (like a shell) before it dissolves, preserving the shape of the internal cavity.
• replacement : a process of fossilization in which the original skeletal material of an organism is substituted molecule by molecule by a different mineral.
• coprolite : fossilized animal excrement; a type of trace fossil that can provide information about the diet of ancient organisms.
• trace fossil : evidence of the activity of prehistoric organisms, such as footprints, burrows, or coprolites, rather than the remains of their bodies.
• mold : an impression left in sediment after the original hard parts of an organism have dissolved.
• cast : a fossil formed when sediment fills a mold of a dissolved organism, creating a three-dimensional replica.
• calcite : a common and relatively stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (caco₃), found in the shells of many invertebrates and some microfossils. it fizzes when exposed to acid.
• gastrolith : a smooth, polished stone found in the digestive systems of some dinosaurs and crocodilians, believed to have aided in grinding food.
• recrystallization : a process of fossilization involving a change in the crystal structure of the original mineral in a fossil, often resulting in a loss of fine details but no change in chemical composition.
• unaltered fossil : the preserved remains of an organism with little to no change in its original composition, such as those frozen, dried out, trapped in amber, or consisting of original skeletal material.
• pseudo fossil : a natural geological formation or mineral structure that resembles a fossil but is not evidence of prehistoric life.
• chitin : a tough, protective polysaccharide related to cellulose that makes up the exoskeleton of some insects and arthropods.