1. A synapsid was a group of “mammal-like reptiles” and were Earth’s first great dynasty of land vertebrates. Since they were once Earth’s dominant land vertebrates, their fossils are the most visible today, embedded in the rocks, and provide us with the best evidence as to what caused their extinction and how the Earth evolved. 2. The fungal spike was a moment in time when there was an elevated level of fungi all over the world (now seen in Permo-Triassic rocks), to decompose the vast amount of dead trees. One hypothesis as to how this happened is a possible asteroid impact. This would have sent billions of particles into the atmosphere, blocking the sun and immediately killing plants and most living organisms, triggering the fungal spike. 3. The three lines of evidence for an asteroid impact are the tiny quartz crystals marked with microscopic fractures in rocks from the time of extinction, the enormous 75-mile wide crater in Australia, and also the fungal spike - which proves the extinction of many plants due to the particle blockade of the sun. The meteorite is thought to have made impact below Australia and to be the size of 4.8 km wide. Furthermore, the effects of a meteorite impact would have been again the blockade of the sun by noxious gases, initial lowered temperatures and acid rain, and global warming from the mounting CO2 from fires and decaying organic matter after the clouds had cleared. 4. Focusing on the Earth’s systems, the meteor impact would have changed the course of Earth’s history. The Earth’s lithosphere has been scarred with tiny quartz crystals fracturing rocks that are still visible today. Furthermore, the impact itself left a huge mark through the form a crater 75 miles wide. The atmosphere would have been polluted with noxious gases, which would have also blocked out the sun. As the harmful chemicals lingered around, there