GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Fossils are preserved by three main methods: unaltered soft or hard parts, altered hard parts, and trace fossils.

Detailed explanation-2: -Once fossils are formed, they might be washed away by streams, moved by glaciers, carried by scavengers, or caught in rockslides. Weathering by wind, water, and sun can destroy a fossil by wearing it away.

Detailed explanation-3: -Fossils form in five ways: preservation of original remains, permineralization, molds and casts, replacement, and compression.

Detailed explanation-4: -All scientists agree that items made by humans, such as buildings, paintings, books, pottery and coins, are not fossils. These artefacts are studied by archaeologists, not paleontologists.