The End of the Dinosaurs
What do you already know about how the dinosaurs became extinct?
The dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago. It was a mass extinction where about 75% of all life on Earth died. It wasn’t the first time this had happened on Earth. But this time all the dinosaurs died.
If something becomes extinct it means that every single one of them has died and they will never be seen on Earth ever again. It is hard to be 100% certain why this happened…as we weren’t there! But scientists have tried to use evidence to work out what happened.
The main theory is that 66 million years ago a meteorite (a massive rock) crashed into Earth from space and caused lots of damage. It is thought is was over 6 miles wide! It is thought the crater that this massive rock created has been found off the coast of what is now Mexico. It is the second largest crater on Earth and about 112 miles wide!
By crashing into the planet it caused a huge dust cloud which blocked out the sun and made everything dark and freezing cold. This would have caused plants to die as they need sunlight to grow. Plant eating dinosaurs then would have then starved as they had nothing to eat. This then would have meant the meat eating dinosaurs didn’t have enough to eat either.
The impact also caused massive long lasting earthquakes, tsunamis and wild fires to happen. There was lots of volcanic activity at the same time, this meant that lots of volcanoes were erupting. Suddenly the world was a very unfriendly place for the dinosaurs to live.
The dinosaurs couldn’t survive all of this happening and died, never to be seen again. We don’t know exactly how long this took to happen, some dinosaurs would have died straight away, some in the weeks, months and years after the impact. It probably took thousands of years for all of the dinosaurs to finally become totally extinct. The only reason we know dinosaurs ever lived on this planet is by finding their fossils buried underground.
Did you know...
What we've learnt...
The dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago.
They died in a mass extinction event which killed about 75% of all creatures on Earth.
Many people think this was caused by a huge meteorite hitting the Earth.
The meteorite was so big it caused the sky to go dark, and there would have been many earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Plants and other food sources died.
The dinosaurs couldn’t survive the changes on Earth. Many would have died straight away or soon after the meteorite impact. It probably would have taken thousands of years for all the dinosaurs to all become extinct.
Test your knowledge...
The End of the Dinosaurs Quiz
If you click the correct answer the box will turn green. If its the wrong answer it will turn red and then show you what the correct answer was. Make sure you read/listen to the questions carefully!
#1. Where did the meteorite hit Earth?
#2. What is thought to have killed all the dinosaurs?
#3. What does it mean if a species becomes extinct?
#4. When did the dinosaurs become extinct?
#5. Did all the dinosaurs die instantly at the same time?
Results
I really hope you have enjoyed learning all about how the dinosaurs became extinct, with me Flash!
Question Time...
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The photos on this page are of dinosaur models and computer generated images. They are used to give you an idea of what the dinosaurs would have looked like, but I can’t guarantee they are 100% accurate!
Creative Commons Images, used with thanks…
Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops by Marcin Chady – CC BY 2.0
Other photos and illustrations on this page are Whizzbots, Shutterstock or Public Domain Images.