- Exam
- NEET
- Subject
- Zoology
- Chapter
- Evolution
NEET · Zoology · Evolution
What is the significance of studying extinct organisms, such as...
Options
- AThey help understand the present climate
- BThey provide insight into past life-forms and evolutionary changes
- CThey show current life-forms’ similarities to ancient ones
- DThey predict future life-forms
Correct answer
B. They provide insight into past life-forms and evolutionary changes
Step-by-step solution
Fossils in various layers indicate that certain life-forms are restricted to specific geological periods, showing changes over time.A study of fossils in different sedimentary layers indicates the geological period in which they existed. The study showed that life-forms varied over time and certain life forms are restricted to certain geological time- spans. Hence, new forms of life have arisen at different times in the history of earth. All this is called paleontological evidence. Studying extinct organisms like dinosaurs through fossils helps understand past life-forms and evolutionary changes over time.Fossils are described as the remains of the hard parts of life-forms found in rocks.Rocks form sediments and a cross-section of earth's crust indicates the arrangement of sediments one over the other during the long history of earth. Different-aged rock sediments contain fossils of different life-forms who probably died during the formation of the particular sediment.