Fossil Stromatolites and Microfossils Are Used as Evidence in Studies

question 68

Multiple Choice

Fossil stromatolites and microfossils are used as evidence in studies of early life on Earth. What is a disadvantage of using these rock formations in these types of studies?

• A) Paleontologists have to dig deep into Earth's crust to find them.
• B) Abiotic processes lead to the formation of stromatolite-like structures or objects that resemble microfossils.
• C) They must be destroyed in order to obtain samples for analysis.
• D) Their analysis requires expensive and inconvenient radioisotope detection.
• E) They are extremely fragile when exposed to air.

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Definitions:

Standard Deviation

A way of measuring how much variety or distribution exists among numerical values.

Expected Value

In probability theory, a weighted average of all possible values of a random variable, reflecting its anticipated outcome.

Sample Proportion

A statistic that estimates the fraction of the population that has a certain trait, characteristic or behavior, calculated as the number of observations in the sample with that trait over the total sample size.

Probability

A measure of the likelihood that a particular event will occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1.