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AwersomeUser wrote:

Asmolpidgeon wrote:What are some of the most important things to include about each fossil? Me and my partner have an entire list of info, but we want to know if there is anything we should have and are missing.

The most important thing to include about each fossil in my own opinion is probably the photos. At my competition every goes so fast that I didn’t have time to read the stuff I put in. (Because my partner and I spent way too much time just to find the pages to the right fossils. But that’s probaly because I only really started preparing like a week before my competition). Also put in illustrations of what an organism might’ve looked like because I was asked to identify them too. What have you put in so far?

Well, mostly just basic stuff (time period, diet, couple pictures, etc.) What difference is there between photos and illustrations?

Hi again! When I was doing genus bothriolepis (number 50 on the list) about its habitat. I found stuff that is a little bit different. So should I include both?

Found in freshwater sediments -> presumed to have spent most of its life in freshwater rivers and lakes, but was probably able to enter salt water as well, because its range appeared to have corresponded with the Devonian continental coastlines (from Wikipedia)

was a bottom-dweller inhabiting streams and lake (from britannica)

Asmolpidgeon wrote:

AwersomeUser wrote:

Asmolpidgeon wrote:What are some of the most important things to include about each fossil? Me and my partner have an entire list of info, but we want to know if there is anything we should have and are missing.

The most important thing to include about each fossil in my own opinion is probably the photos. At my competition every goes so fast that I didn’t have time to read the stuff I put in. (Because my partner and I spent way too much time just to find the pages to the right fossils. But that’s probaly because I only really started preparing like a week before my competition). Also put in illustrations of what an organism might’ve looked like because I was asked to identify them too. What have you put in so far?

Well, mostly just basic stuff (time period, diet, couple pictures, etc.) What difference is there between photos and illustrations?

A illustration (I call it a illustration but it is a photo too lol) is like this: https://img.purch.com/w/660/aHR0cDovL3d ... k3LmpwZw==

AwersomeUser wrote:Hi again! When I was doing genus bothriolepis (number 50 on the list) about its habitat. I found stuff that is a little bit different. So should I include both?

Found in freshwater sediments -> presumed to have spent most of its life in freshwater rivers and lakes, but was probably able to enter salt water as well, because its range appeared to have corresponded with the Devonian continental coastlines (from Wikipedia)

was a bottom-dweller inhabiting streams and lake (from britannica)

You could probably paraphrase and combine the info. It doesn't really clash. For example:

Presumed to spent most of its life on the bottom of freshwater rivers and lakes, but could probably enter saltwater as well, because its range appeared to have corresponded with the Devonian continental coastlines

AwersomeUser wrote:

Asmolpidgeon wrote:

AwersomeUser wrote:
The most important thing to include about each fossil in my own opinion is probably the photos. At my competition every goes so fast that I didn’t have time to read the stuff I put in. (Because my partner and I spent way too much time just to find the pages to the right fossils. But that’s probaly because I only really started preparing like a week before my competition). Also put in illustrations of what an organism might’ve looked like because I was asked to identify them too. What have you put in so far?

Well, mostly just basic stuff (time period, diet, couple pictures, etc.) What difference is there between photos and illustrations?

A illustration (I call it a illustration but it is a photo too lol) is like this: https://img.purch.com/w/660/aHR0cDovL3d ... k3LmpwZw==

Haha, okay I wasn't sure if you meant something other then a photo. We already have some, but we might have to add more.

Asmolpidgeon wrote:

AwersomeUser wrote:

Asmolpidgeon wrote: Well, mostly just basic stuff (time period, diet, couple pictures, etc.) What difference is there between photos and illustrations?

A illustration (I call it a illustration but it is a photo too lol) is like this: https://img.purch.com/w/660/aHR0cDovL3d ... k3LmpwZw==

Haha, okay I wasn't sure if you meant something other then a photo. We already have some, but we might have to add more.

Nitpick: I think that'd be considered an artist's rendition? You can't take a photo of a living dino sadly

UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F wrote:

Asmolpidgeon wrote:

AwersomeUser wrote:
A illustration (I call it a illustration but it is a photo too lol) is like this: https://img.purch.com/w/660/aHR0cDovL3d ... k3LmpwZw==

Haha, okay I wasn't sure if you meant something other then a photo. We already have some, but we might have to add more.

Nitpick: I think that'd be considered an artist's rendition? You can't take a photo of a living dino sadly

True. That is rather unfortunate.

How would you recommend going about problems on the test that you don't know or don't have notes on? What is the best way to handle this and get the best answer you can?

GurtYo wrote:How would you recommend going about problems on the test that you don't know or don't have notes on? What is the best way to handle this and get the best answer you can?

There's gonna be two cases of this:
1. It's some absolutely obscure bit of random info (in which case rip)
2. It's either conceptual or has enough info to give a good guess.

In the second case, try thinking back to the core fundamentals of paleontology. Often times you can build up to complex answers by only knowing the basics and then creating reasonable assumptions. For example, this is particularly useful in connecting morphology to function. If the question asks for a specific epoch or something, you can probably eliminate most epochs to increase your chances.

Either way though, if you're stuck on a question it's probably best to skip it and come back to it later if you have time.

AWildMudkip wrote:

GurtYo wrote:How would you recommend going about problems on the test that you don't know or don't have notes on? What is the best way to handle this and get the best answer you can?

There's gonna be two cases of this:
1. It's some absolutely obscure bit of random info (in which case rip)
2. It's either conceptual or has enough info to give a good guess.

In the second case, try thinking back to the core fundamentals of paleontology. Often times you can build up to complex answers by only knowing the basics and then creating reasonable assumptions. For example, this is particularly useful in connecting morphology to function. If the question asks for a specific epoch or something, you can probably eliminate most epochs to increase your chances.

Either way though, if you're stuck on a question it's probably best to skip it and come back to it later if you have time.

Yeah, and if they are asking for definitions or something similar, you can try to use word roots or other knowledge to try to figure it out. Also, often times each station will follow a theme and so you will be able to at least figure out the type of answer that is expected.