Scientist, discover, fossilized bones from two different animals. The scientist consult the fossil record to learn more about the fossils which question will the fossil record best answer. Would it be what killed the animals? How are the animals related to modern animals which animals is better equipped to survive, or which animal is older.
The fossil record would best answer the question of which animal is older. By studying the layers of rock and sediment in which the fossils are found, scientists can determine the relative age of different fossils. They can also use various dating techniques, such as radiometric dating, to obtain more precise estimates of the ages of the fossils.
Determining the age of the fossils is important because it helps scientists understand the timeline of evolutionary history. By knowing the age of different fossils, scientists can piece together the sequence of species that lived at different points in time and how they were related to each other.
On the other hand, the fossil record may not directly answer the questions of what killed the animals or which animals are better equipped to survive. The cause of death of individual animals is generally not preserved in the fossil record unless there are exceptional circumstances like fossils with clear signs of injury or predation. Furthermore, the adaptation and survival capabilities of species can be inferred from their anatomical features in the fossils, but the fossil record alone may not provide a complete understanding of these aspects. Additional information and analysis, such as comparison with living relatives and ecological studies, are often needed to answer those questions.