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sciencegeek100 wrote:
if u read the rule sheet you might notice the words "... NOT LIMITED TO..." that means everything and anything that has to with fossils can be included, and if its like my regionals last year, there are occasionally fossils not on the list...

there was a carnotorus... i for some reason expected the answer key to have one on the list and put allosaurus, i dont care now, i got first anyway, and first at state then even with all the Qs we didnt get to 7th at nationals... LOL

having to identify a carnotaurus is a little extreme for failing at the rules. You were right to guess allosaurus. The thing about identifying fossils not on the list is (hopefully) everyone else is in the same boat, haven't studied carnotauruses either. So no one really has an advantage...
With that being said...tests I've taken have been fairly straight forward. On my first test there was straying from the list, but they were still very connected as I later learned.

sciencegeek100 wrote:

lllazar wrote:

jazzy009 wrote:

if u read the rule sheet you might notice the words "... NOT LIMITED TO..." that means everything and anything that has to with fossils can be included, and if its like my regionals last year, there are occasionally fossils not on the list...

there was a carnotorus... i for some reason expected the answer key to have one on the list and put allosaurus, i dont care now, i got first anyway, and first at state then even with all the Qs we didnt get to 7th at nationals... LOL

I believe that each state can include up to 5 more specimens if they so desire, but it must be announced at least a month before the tournament (I think, that might have only been for rocks and minerals).

Otherwise, they can absolutely not ask you to ID fossils that are not on the list (up to genus, at least). They could give you a trilobite on the list and ask you to ID up to "Trilobita", but they cant ask the genus.

I'm really new at this, and so is my team....so I'm having a bit of trouble. What would be "Adaptations and morpholoic features of major fossil groups"? And where would you find that kind of info? Thanks everyone!

Justine wrote:I'm really new at this, and so is my team....so I'm having a bit of trouble. What would be "Adaptations and morpholoic features of major fossil groups"? And where would you find that kind of info? Thanks everyone!

Ahh my friend. If only it were that easy...i also struggled finding info on this section of fossils. Its not as easy as getting info on taxons and Pictures to ID them or environments/modes of life...

Adaptations are basically how certain animals (generally Phyla/class) evolved and how certain body parts helped them to survive...like for example, jawless fish were limited to food consumption...they could only filter feed and eat plants, and rarely animals. But the adaptation of jaws meant that they could become predators...jaws allowed them to widen their diet and this in turn allowed them to SURVIVE.

Morphology is basically the anatomy...body parts, etc...for example, a trilobites basic morphology would include: Cephalon, Thorax, and Pygidium.

To obtain this kind of info, ur gonna have to crack down on some in depth books and actually read and understand the crap...printing out pages of info and sticking it in ur binder wont help u much compared to KNOWING basic stuff off the top of ur head. U can also search on google but u wont always find the info u need in a neat little package, ull have to look around.

Me and my partner just got some new fossils, really nice.

lllazar wrote:

Justine wrote:I'm really new at this, and so is my team....so I'm having a bit of trouble. What would be "Adaptations and morpholoic features of major fossil groups"? And where would you find that kind of info? Thanks everyone!

Ahh my friend. If only it were that easy...i also struggled finding info on this section of fossils. Its not as easy as getting info on taxons and Pictures to ID them or environments/modes of life...

Adaptations are basically how certain animals (generally Phyla/class) evolved and how certain body parts helped them to survive...like for example, jawless fish were limited to food consumption...they could only filter feed and eat plants, and rarely animals. But the adaptation of jaws meant that they could become predators...jaws allowed them to widen their diet and this in turn allowed them to SURVIVE.

Morphology is basically the anatomy...body parts, etc...for example, a trilobites basic morphology would include: Cephalon, Thorax, and Pygidium.

To obtain this kind of info, ur gonna have to crack down on some in depth books and actually read and understand the crap...printing out pages of info and sticking it in ur binder wont help u much compared to KNOWING basic stuff off the top of ur head. U can also search on google but u wont always find the info u need in a neat little package, ull have to look around.

Thanks so much for the info! I just glad I have four years to fine-tune everything...this year was really hectic and I'm not really planning on going to States, or doing well for that matter. Everyone on here really knows their stuff!

How do you guys usually prepare for fossils?
Because i can identify them all easily, and im not sure how to prepare for my state competition which is in like 9 days /: Any suggestions?

sciencegirl23 wrote:How do you guys usually prepare for fossils?
Because i can identify them all easily, and im not sure how to prepare for my state competition which is in like 9 days /: Any suggestions?

U "study" by making a binder...the better u are at making it and organizing, the better u can "study"...

Also, read books on adaptations...it really helps, and it helps with ur logical thinking skills...like one of the questions at my regionals was:

"Create a hypothesis on what you think the Dimetrodon used its sail for"

Now i didn't actually KNOW this answer but i tried to use my thinking skills..

1. The sail is large and has a lot of surface area. Perhaps its used to absorb something...i thought it was to absorb sunlight.
2. Along with sunlight comes heat, and these creatures were cold blooded. Maybe this was a warming system?
3. Possibly used to heat themselves up early in the morning when the sun is kinda up, so that they can get a head start on their hunting...

After the comp, i checked wat it really was on the internet...it turns out it may have been a thermo-regulator. They apparently used it to wake up earlier and hunt while other animals were still sleeping/waking up.

lllazar wrote:
"Create a hypothesis on what you think the Dimetrodon used its sail for"

After the comp, i checked wat it really was on the internet...it turns out it may have been a thermo-regulator. They apparently used it to wake up earlier and hunt while other animals were still sleeping/waking up.

Also, possibly for mating...because everything always comes back to...sunlight.

It is generally accepted that the primary function of the sail of Dimetrodon was thermoregulation. This could be dissipating heat, or, more often, absorbing heat. There would be many veins and such near the surface of that skin. It could also have been used for display purposes. Just so you know, it is not universally accepted that Dimetrodon was cold-blooded I don't think.