...piece detonating about 34 km above the surface, and a second, much larger piece detonating at an altitude of approximately 21 km” (Tagliaferri, 1998). Scientists were lucky to record this data via satellite to study the force an asteroid can have when impacting firsthand. There is evidence of asteroid impacts covering the surface of the earth and other surrounding planets in space. There are also many theories involving asteroid impacts causing mass extinctions on Earth, the most common being the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago (deGrasse Tyson, 2005). Most of the impact evidence shows that the earth has been attacked by these asteroids since its formation billions of years ago. Evidence all around us tells us that the Earth will be struck, and another major asteroid impact will occur. The most common and highly argued impact event is the one that may have wiped out the dinosaurs. This event in itself has many theories, but the one common element in most sound dinosaur extinction theories is that a major impact event occurred around the same time the dinosaurs stopped roaming the Earth. Most of the scientific community agrees that an asteroid impact did destroy the dinosaurs. Some scientists; however, claim that the dinosaurs were dying off well before the asteroid strike, due to climate changes, and that the impact only “finished them off” (Archibald, 2005). This very well could be...
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...“A massive piece of rock hit the Earth 65 million years ago, which set off the events that wiped out the dinosaurs” (R. Cowen, 2007). This rock that killed off the dinosaurs could have been an asteroid or comet. “In 1980, Alvarez and colleagues proposed that, in the transition period between the Cretaceous to Paleogene periods, a large impactor collided with the Earth being the cause of the mass extinction occurred at the K/Pg boundary.” (Hector Javier Durand-Manterola et al., 2014). The K/Pg boundary stands for Cretaceous and Paleogene periods. “In 1991, an international group of researchers proposed that a circular structure between 180 and 200 km, buried under the Tertiary deposits in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, was the crater formed...
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...Noah Young English 1302 Ms. Ryan April 23, 2015 Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, and Meteors, Oh my! The dinosaurs, the dominant forms of life on land for 300 million years, went extinct 65 million years ago in an event known as the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction. The event was caused by many devastating events coinciding with each other. A mass extinction is an event where many species of life go extinct at the same time from, presumably, the same causes. There have been five major mass extinctions in Earth’s history, the most devastating being the one that occurred at the end of the Permian when 80% of all life on Earth went extinct. Each of these extinctions coincided with drastic changes in Earth’s ecology. For example, the Permian extinction possibly...
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...Are Homo Sapiens really the smartest species on Earth, and if so, is this sufficient to ensure its long‐ term survival? Submitted by: Andrew Jara Submitted to: Heidi White Course: AST 251H1 Due Date: March 12, 2013 1 As time passes, the Earth and all its inhabitants grow older, one must ask that as the number of inhabitants are increasing and the amount of resources decreasing, whether or not the human race will be able to withstand extinction. The parameters of human intelligence can be used to define and determine the possibility of this outcome. Humans are believed to have the title of being the most dominant and intelligent species on the face of the Earth, but there is much competition for that title today and arguments arise within the scientific community. Humans believe that they are separated from all other species based on the concept of intelligence and how they have used intelligence to their advantage to create language, technology and many other things to ultimately establish themselves as a successful species. In order to actually prove that humans rightfully deserve that title, one must delve into the debate of intelligence to clarify the meaning and understanding of intelligence. This will provide evidence to the argument on whether or not the human species will be viable in the long-term. In the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, intelligence is defined as the ability to collect and apply certain knowledge and information from the external environment...
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...oxygen in our atmosphere. Through Eukaryotes, natural selection was possible, due to genetic variation. During the Paleozoic era, which occurred 543 million years ago, there was an explosion of life, which led to the wide variation of life that we see today. Throughout this period there was a significant outburst in marine life. As time evolved, skeletons had evolved structurally, which allowed for larger bodied organisms to grow. Their chemical composition includes the minerals calcium and phosphate. Although evolution allowed for new adaptations, they weren’t significant enough to withstand the first extinction on Earth, which wiped out 70% of species, known as the ice age. After the ice age, plants, from green algae, developed on land. The marine life diversified, developing placoderms, acanthodians and osteoderms. This did not last for long, for a second massive extinction...
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...Review the theories put forward in the literature that attempt to explain why there was a mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. You should aim to outline the main theories, the claims they make, briefly explain any supporting evidence, and compare and contrast the rival theories. Reasons for the Cretaceous mass extinction have been hotly debated for more than 200 years, since the founding days of geology. Cretaceous mass extinction is referred to the mass extinction that happened in the period of Cretaceous (just after Jurassic), more than 100 million years ago. Many creatures, especially dinosaurs, disappeared in the end of Cretaceous. K-T layer which marks the boundary between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary becomes the key point for the solutions. Till now, four main theories which are gradualism, supernova, volcanism and cosmic impact, have been put forward to solve the scientific problem. And, the last three models belong to catastrophism in favor of sudden extinctions, opposite to gradualism. However, this essay will attempt to argue that cosmic impact should be the most reasonable explanation due to evidence that have been found up to now. In order to demonstrate it, this essay will analyze these different theories separately paragraph by paragraph, along with corresponding findings. In addition, it will compare rival theories. In the ‘gradualistic’ view (theory of gradualism), the Earth was a slowly evolving word and the turnover of living species...
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...will read one passage and answer questions about it. In a real test, you would have 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions. Candidates with disabilities may request a time extension. Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century, large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of sediment deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped...
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...The Permian period existed from 299 to 251 million years ago. It was the last period of the Paleozoic Era. The distinction between the Paleozoic and the Mesozoic Era is made at the end of the Permian Period in recognition of the largest mass extinction ever recorded in the history of life on Earth. It affected many groups of living things in many different environments, but it affected ocean life the most by far, causing the extinction of most of the ocean life of the time. Some groups survived the Permian Period’s mass extinction in greatly diminished numbers, but they never again reached the ecological dominance they once had, clearing the way for another group of ocean life. On land, a relatively smaller extinction of animals cleared...
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...scientific mystery has involved the comet that caused extinction of dinosaurs and mass destruction to food chain that has existed. Although the modern world has advanced significantly in technology and science, there is still much more mystery to be discovered about the early earth and the events that took place for the extinction of many species. Many scientists have created multiple theories on how the dinosaurs and other species went extinct. Walter Alvarez, a Berkeley scientist, investigates the giant impact and writes “T. rex and the Crater of Doom,” which explains a giant extraterrestrial impact that brought destruction to many of the plant and animal species, including dinosaurs, sixty five million years ago. Alvarez...
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...The Jurassic era is one of the most interesting eras on the Geologic Time Scale, it is home to wide array of organisms, so much so that it is called the “Era Of Dinosaurs”, and is notable for the first birds as well. The Jurassic era falls after the Triassic and before the Cretaceous, they are all part of the Mesozoic Era. It begins after the mass extinction event that ended the Triassic, but the earth would recover as this era showed off the most diverse organisms to that point during the Jurassic era. All organisms resided on the supercontinent of Pangea as it slowly moved toward division throughout the early middle, and late Jurassic Era, and even started to divide. Some places such as the southern half of Alabama were submerged in water including several modern counties. This era last about 55 million years, from about 199.6 to 145.5, and is the middle period of the Mesozoic....
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...ASSIGNMENT #10 – Print this sheet off and turn it in with your lab next week. This sheet of paper goes on top (then the lab). 1) The cretaceous extinction happened when? A) 25 million years ago B) 65 million years ago C) 100 million years ago D) 225 million years ago E) 300 million years ago 2) A fossil is found that is 400 million years old; which era did it come from? A) Paleozoic B) Mesozoic C) Cenozoic D) Precambrian 3) A fossil is found that has 25% of the original amount of carbon-14. How old is the fossil? A) 2,800 years old B) 5,600 years old C) 11, 200 years old D) 15, 780 years old 4) Which of the following is the best example of a population? A) 3 beer cans, a fish, and a piece of dental floss B) All the birds in Costa Rica C) All the insects in the Wildlife Sanctuary D) All the fleas on my two dogs E) All the rocks in my backyard 5) Which of the following is the best example of a geographical barrier to reproduction? A) A small stream between two groups of frogs B) A mountain between two kinds of plants C) Two groups of squirrels, one comes out at night and other during the day. D) Two kinds of lizards that reproduce, but their offspring are not fertile E) Two kinds of turtles whose reproductive parts do not fit properly. 6) Which Era was the longest in time? 7) What is the Cambrian explosion (internet)? 8) What species is “Lucy” and when did she live (internet or book)? 9) What are some theories as to...
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...form. In essence, everything relates back to the Wilson Cycle, as evidenced in the following pages. Geologic Background: PALEOZOIC: The Paleozoic era was is the earliest of the three geologic eras and spans from about 542 to 251 million years ago. Numerous events that significantly impacted the overall structure of the earth took place during this time period. The Paleozoic Era is divided into six different subcategories which include: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian. Early in the Paleozoic the continents were far apart but moving tectonic plates caused continents to move together into one large continent called Pangaea. Some of the significant geologic events that occurred during the Paleozoic era includes the evolution of a large number of animals, some of which are distant ancestors to modern organisms, between 530 and 520 million years ago. Also during this time period, there was an introduction to animals without backbones (invertebrates). Organisms such as corals, brachiopods, mollusks, and arthropods populated the early and middle parts of the Paleozoic era. A massive extinction event known as “The Great Dying” marked the end of the Paleozoic era. During this mass extinction, as many...
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...dinosaurs disappeared from the world altogether. Did they meet a quick and catastrophic end, or did they fade away gradually? What happened 65 million years ago? In the search for answers to what killed the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period in the Mesozoic Era, scientists have looked beyond fossils. Geological evidence also holds clues and has led to many hypotheses, working explanations, of how dinosaurs may have become extinct. The extinction mystery is far from a simple “whodunit.” The same piece of evidence is sometimes subject to multiple interpretations. And, as yet, there is no obvious answer, no piece of evidence that strongly supports only one hypothesis while showing that all others are incorrect. So what do we know about dinosaur extinction, and how do we know it. Evidence: Scientific evidence and observations are the building blocks of hypotheses. At first the same evidence and observations may support different hypotheses. As more evidence becomes available, some hypotheses are proven, others are disproved, and new ones are formed. Hypotheses: A dinosaur extinction hypothesis is a testable statement describing factors that may have played a part in the dinosaur’s extinction and how long the process may have taken. Evidence, observations, and experimentation can serve to support or disprove a hypothesis. Regardless of its acceptance or rejection, through, a good hypothesis provides direction for future scientific...
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...will read one passage and answer questions about it. In a real test, you would have 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions. Candidates with disabilities may request a time extension. Meteorite Impact and Dinosaur Extinction There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. Twice in the twentieth century, large meteorite objects are known to have collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of sediment deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped...
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... Geology 10X Allosaurus: A Brief History Name: Emily Ailafo Scanlan Date: 6 November 2017 Professor: Britt Brooks The Jurassic Period of the world was dominated by distinct reptiles otherwise known as dinosaurs. Some of the largest dinosaurs existed during the Jurassic including massive herbivores such as Brachiosaurus. On the other hand, large predators and carnivorous dinosaurs also prowled the land. One of the most common meat-eaters of the Late Jurassic period was the Allosaurus. While Allosaurus was not as deadly or as large as other carnivores, it still proved to be a common and successful dinosaur of its time. The first fossil of Allosaurus was originally described as a “petrified horse hoof” by Ferdinand Vampeer Hayden in 1869. This fossil was found in Middle Park in Colorado [1]. A partial skeleton of Allosaurus was found in Canon City, Colorado due to the Bone Wars between Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope and other geologists (Figure 1). Figure 1 One of the quarries a part of the bone wars. The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry is in Emery County, Utah and has been home to the densest collection of Jurassic fossils yet found. Moreover, many of the fossils found in the quarry are of Allosaurus dinosaurs. Extensive work on the quarry did not begin until 1960, and in a time span of about five years, thousands of bones were recovered. Another important landmark for Allosaurus came from the “Big Al” discoveries in...
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