Which of the Following is Least Likely to Be Preserved

Question

Which of the following is least likely to be preserved as a fossil?
A) a leaf or stem
B) a bone or shell
C) an organ like an eye or lung
D) a complete large organism
E) an organism that died on land

Accepted Answer

Soft tissues, like organs, typically decay too fast to become fossilized. The others (leaves/stems, bones/shells, complete large organisms) are all commonly found as fossils. While organisms that die on land may be less likely to be preserved in some environments, they can still become fossils under certain conditions (e.g. if buried quickly by sediment).