If a geologist found two fossils of different species buried next to each other in a rock layer, he or she might hypothezise that the two organisms may have been alive during the same period. true or false

This would be true.

The reason why this answer would be true is because a fossil's position in the rock layers determine how long they died and were preserved. If the fossils were right next to each other, then that means both organisms were preserved at the same time.