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The answer sheet for the worksheet The end of the dinosaurs. Each answer comes with the reason, so it can be used to mark or to go over the questions with the class.

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KS2 · Ages 7 to 11 (Years 3 to 6)Answer sheet for teachers

Answers: The end of the dinosaurs

  1. A: About three quartersAround three quarters of all kinds of plants and animals died out, but many survived.
  2. A: About 180 kilometresThe buried Chicxulub crater is about 180 kilometres wide.
  3. A: A crater of the right ageIf an asteroid had hit, it should have left a crater about 66 million years old, so they looked for one.
  4. B: Months or yearsDust and gas high in the sky blocked sunlight for months or years, cooling the climate.
  5. False: the right answer is About 230 million years agoEach metre is 10 million years, so 23 metres is 23 × 10 million = 230 million years.
  6. False: the right answer is Iridium is rare in Earth's crust but commoner in asteroidsIridium is rare in Earth's crust, so a layer rich in it suggested dust from a giant asteroid.
  7. 5,000 years is tiny next to millions of years (accept any answer with the same meaning)On a scale of 1 metre for 10 million years, 5,000 years is a tiny sliver, about half a millimetre.
  8. The big dinosaurs were gone (accept any answer with the same meaning)With the big dinosaurs gone, mammals spread and changed over millions of years.

Task

Answers will vary. The task comes from the lesson: Make the timeline from the worked example with a long piece of string or a corridor: 1 metre stands for 10 million years. Peg up cards for today, the Chicxulub impact (6.6 m), the first dinosaurs (about 23 m) and, if you have space, the formation of Earth (about 454 m away, which is a very long walk!).

Look for work that uses the key words correctly and gives a reason for each point.

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