Rocket into JMSS Science Success 2026 – Unleash Your Inner Scientist!

Paleontology centers on evidence of ancient life preserved in the rocks. What paleontologists study are fossils—the preserved remains or traces of organisms from the past. By examining fossils, they learn what extinct plants and animals looked like, how they lived, what they ate, how they moved, and how they interacted with their environments. Fossils also help scientists place organisms in time using dating methods, revealing how life changed over millions of years. The other options describe current weather, living oceans, or genetic information, which aren’t the primary focus of paleontology. Fossils are the key clue that lets paleontologists reconstruct the history of life on Earth.