Scientists can learn all of the following by studying fossils EXCEPT: a. How life forms have changed over time b. How the environment has changed over time c. How the Earth’s surface has changed over time d. How the surrounding rock layers have changed over time
Answer (1)
The correct answer is D. How the surrounding rock layers have changed over time.Fossils provide information about past life forms (a), environmental conditions when those organisms lived (b), and indirectly about changes in the Earth’s surface such as shifts in habitats or landforms (c). However, fossils themselves do not directly tell scientists how the surrounding rock layers have changed over time—that is studied through geology and stratigraphy, not the fossils inside them. Fossils are found within rock layers, but they don’t reveal the history of the rock layers' physical changes directly.
