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The Day the Mesozoic Died

Last updated over 6 years ago

14 questions

Note from the author:

 Ottawa High School Curriculum 2019 Biology textbook McDougal Littell ed 2008 

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Question 1

1.

Last Name, First Name

Question 2

2.

Class Period

Question 3

3.

What is the K-T boundary? Please use complete sentences to convey your answer.

Question 4

4.

If the rocks outside of Gubbio, Italy used to be at the bottom of an ocean, how are they now part of a mountain? Use complete sentences to answer this question.

Question 5

5.

Describe the differences scientists saw in the foraminifera found in rock layers above (after) and below (before) the K-T boundary. Use complete sentences as you answer this question.

Question 6

6.

Which of the following events are possible sources of high levels of iridium in sediments?

A) asteroid impact

B) rain

C) fossilized foraminifera

D) supernova

E) all of the answers are possible

Question 7

7.

Which of the following pieces of evidence prompted researchers to abandon the hypothesis that a supernova caused the high levels of iridium in the K-T layer?

a) coarse sediment mixed with uniform Cretaceous mud in Texas

b) differences in foraminifera fossils above and below the K-T boundary layer

c) high levels of iridium in the K-T boundary layer

d) lack of an isotope of plutonium in the K-T boundary layer

Question 8

8.

The entire scientific community accepted the asteroid hypothesis after Dr. Alvarez published his paper showing high iridium levels at the K-T boundary.

True

False

Question 9

9.

Explain why the scientific community was slow to accept the asteroid impact hypothesis. Use complete sentences as you answer this question.

Question 10

10.

Many different pieces of evidence lead to the formation of the asteroid hypothesis and provided support for the hypothesis. Place the following events in chronological order from earlier to later.

identifying spherules and shocked quartz in Haiti
finding high levels of iridium in the K-T boundary layer
discovering gravitational field anomalies on the Yucatan peninsula, from surveys done for oil exploration
determining that rocks taken from the Chicxulub crater are the same age as the K-T boundary
finding that an isotope of plutonium is not in the K-T boundary layer
observing differences in foraminifera fossils above and below the K-T boundary layer
finding tsunami deposits in the Brazos River Basin, Texas

Question 11

11.

How could an asteroid impact kill off so many different species?

a) debris from the impact orbiting around the Earth shields sunlight, halting photosynthesis

b) tsunamis, landslides,and earthquakes caused by the impact killed organisms near the site of impact

c) the impact was so extreme that life at ground zero was vaporized

d) A and C are possible

e) A, B, and C are possible

Question 12

12.

Why do we define the K-T event as a mass extinction event?

a) many species of foraminifera went extinct

b) a large proportion of species went extinct

c) the extinction occurred in many habitats around the world

d) Tyanosaur rex went extinct

e) all of the answers are correct

Question 13

13.

Which scientific disciplines contributed to the research that led to the impact hypothesis?

a) biology and geology

b) physics and geology and biology

c) economics and mathematics

d) religion and philosophy

Question 14

14.

What did Dr. Carroll mean at the end of the film when he said, "It's not always the survival of the fittest; sometimes it's the survival of the luckiest?" Be sure to write in complete sentences to convey your answer.