Write down the questions and answers in your notebook or classroom task.

1. Extinction of dinosaurs:
1.1) Why did dinosaurs become extinct?
One of my theories is that an asteroid collided into the Earth, more specifically
Yucatán, creating a change in the environment, creating a lot of ash that made
the plants unable to photosynthesize, causing the herbivores to not be able to
eat and immediately dying.
Another can be that some scientists said that a virus or a series of epidemics
could have extinct dinosaurs.

1. 2) How do we know it if there was no one there as a witness?

They found iridium next to the fossils in the same layer, suggesting that it was
very likely from the meteorite.

Iridium is easy to find on satellites but not on the earth, which also seemed
strange too.

1. 3) What were the consequences of the extinction of the dinosaurs?

The incident caused the variety and development of species, including

mammals and birds. Plant diversity also increased. Because all the creatures
who had been eaten for a long period would have a longer life expectancy and
be able to adapt, leading to their diversification, in the absence of dominating
animals, the dinosaurs. It greatly benefited mammals.

2. Other mass extinctions:

2.1) What other mass extinctions have there been? Draw a timeline and
indicate them.

Information: https://earthhow.com/mass-extinctions/

2.2) What have been the causes of each one? Did the Earth freeze over?
Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (about 443 million years ago)

Possible Causes: The primary factors include glaciation and a drop in sea
levels. These changes in climate may have been influenced by variations in
Earth's orbit.
Late Devonian Extinction (about 360 million years ago):

Possible Causes: The exact causes are uncertain, but hypotheses include
climate change, possibly related to volcanic activity, and asteroid impacts.
Oxygen depletion in the oceans may have also played a role.

Permian-Triassic Extinction (about 252 million years ago):

Possible Causes: The most significant mass extinction event, likely caused by
a combination of factors. The leading hypotheses include massive volcanic
activity in the Siberian Traps, leading to climate change, ocean acidification,
and a drop in oxygen levels. Additionally, an asteroid impact has been
suggested but is less well-supported.

Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (about 201 million years ago):

Possible Causes: Potential causes include volcanic activity, climate change,

and asteroid impacts. The breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea and
associated environmental changes may have played a role.

Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (about 66 million years ago):

Possible Cause: The leading hypothesis is that a massive asteroid impact in

the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, caused widespread environmental disruption.

2.3) Do some of them been extinct by humans? When did they become
extinct?

The humans occurred millions of years before the emergence of Homo

sapiens. So it was impossible for humans to make these catastrophes.
But if we are talking about nowadays, yes, we have a lot of pollution and some
species can survive and die, so some of them like polar bears.

2.4) Is man causing the sixth extinction? Why do we say that? Has there
been or is there a special extinction of species now?

The difference between the other extinction and this one is that the others
were caused by natural catastrophes, but this one is caused by humans.
Because all the use of water and energy makes climate change.
Nowadays, as I said before, many species are in danger of extinction because
of that phenomena so we have to protect them so they don't become extinct.
 3. Vocabulary:
When you start researching the extinction of the dinosaurs, you will see some terms
that you may not be familiar with. Find out what the next terms mean:
Cretaceous period (geological periods)

■ Fossil
■ Geologic layers
■ Geologic timeline
■ Other words you need