Dinosaurs: Facts vs. Fiction
Explore dinosaur discoveries, surprising facts, and movie myths. See what fossils can—and cannot—tell us.
Preview
Questions with solutions-
1. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
How was the real past different?
A movie shows people running away from a living T. rex.
- T. rex lived long before humans appeared.
- Early humans hunted T. rex with simple tools.
- T. rex disappeared shortly after the first humans appeared.
Show solution
- T. rex lived long before humans appeared.
Movies sometimes mix time periods. T. rex died out millions of years before humans appeared.
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2. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What did Triceratops mainly eat?
Triceratops had three horns, a large head, and a sharp beak.
- Other dinosaurs
- Plants
- Fish
Show solution
- Plants
Its horns did not make it a meat eater. Its beak cut plants, and its teeth broke them into smaller pieces.
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3. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
Which animals belong to the dinosaur group that survives today?
Most dinosaur groups died out long ago, but one group is still alive.
- Lizards
- Crocodiles
- Birds
Show solution
- Birds
Birds developed from small meat-eating dinosaurs. A sparrow is part of the dinosaur family tree.
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4. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What were pterosaurs?
Pterosaurs had wings and lived at the same time as many dinosaurs.
- Flying reptiles related to dinosaurs
- Dinosaurs with wings made of feathers
- Early birds with unusually large beaks
Living at the same time does not make animals members of the same group.
Show solution
- Flying reptiles related to dinosaurs
Pterosaurs were a separate group. Their wings were made of skin rather than feathers.
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5. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What do fossils tell us about the real animal's height?
Movies often show a Velociraptor standing as tall as an adult.
- It was much taller than an adult.
- It was about as tall as an adult.
- It was much shorter than an adult.
Show solution
- It was much shorter than an adult.
A real Velociraptor stood roughly knee-high. Its long tail made it much longer than it was tall.
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6. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
Which picture of dinosaur life fits these discoveries?
Dinosaur fossils occur in rocks formed in ancient deserts as well as forests.
- All dinosaurs lived in wet swamps.
- Different dinosaurs lived in different environments.
- Dinosaurs could live only beside the ocean.
Show solution
- Different dinosaurs lived in different environments.
Movie jungles show only one possible setting. Dinosaurs lived in many kinds of places.
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7. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What does this discovery tell us about feathers?
A fossil of a small dinosaur shows that it had feathers, but its arms were too short for flight.
- Having feathers did not always mean an animal could fly.
- Every dinosaur with feathers could fly.
- Feathers appeared only after dinosaurs died out.
Show solution
- Having feathers did not always mean an animal could fly.
Feathers can also help keep an animal warm. Flight is not their only use.
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8. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
Could these two dinosaurs have met in the wild?
Stegosaurus lived in the Jurassic period. T. rex lived much later, in the Cretaceous period.
- Yes, because all dinosaurs lived at the same time.
- Yes, if they lived beside the same river.
- No, because they lived at different times.
Compare the time periods, not the places.
Show solution
- No, because they lived at different times.
The dinosaur age lasted a very long time. Many famous dinosaurs never shared the same world.
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9. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
Which event does this evidence support?
Scientists found a huge impact crater in Mexico and material from the impact in a rock layer found around the world.
- A long ice age dug out the crater.
- A large asteroid hit Earth.
- A series of volcanoes formed the impact crater.
Show solution
- A large asteroid hit Earth.
The impact sent dust into the sky. Less sunlight killed off plants and helped cause a mass extinction.
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10. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
How do many buried bones become fossils?
Many dinosaur fossils feel more like rock than fresh bone.
- Minerals fill spaces or replace material in the bones.
- Heat melts the bones into new rock.
- The bones dry out and remain completely unchanged.
Show solution
- Minerals fill spaces or replace material in the bones.
Water underground can carry minerals into buried bones. This process can preserve their shape for millions of years.
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11. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What does this fossil show about the dinosaur's teeth?
A dinosaur jaw has a small new tooth growing below an older tooth.
- It had only one set of teeth for its whole life.
- It was losing all its teeth permanently.
- New teeth could replace older teeth.
Show solution
- New teeth could replace older teeth.
Many dinosaurs replaced their teeth throughout their lives. People normally have only two sets.
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12. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
How did these dinosaurs probably hold their tails while walking?
Many sets of dinosaur tracks show clear footprints but no marks from a tail.
- They dragged their tails behind them.
- They held their tails off the ground.
- They rested their weight on their tails with each step.
Think about what would leave a mark between the footprints.
Show solution
- They held their tails off the ground.
Old pictures often show dinosaurs dragging their tails. A raised tail could help a two-legged dinosaur balance.
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13. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What can these rings help scientists estimate?
Some dinosaur bones contain growth rings, a little like the rings inside tree trunks.
- How old the animal was when it died
- How many meals the animal ate
- How many eggs the animal laid
Show solution
- How old the animal was when it died
Growth can slow during part of the year, leaving a line inside the bone.
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14. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What do these marks show on their own?
Scientists found T. rex tooth marks on the bones of a plant-eating dinosaur.
- The T. rex must have killed this animal itself.
- T. rex only ate animals that were already dead.
- The T. rex may have bitten it before or after it died.
A bite mark does not tell us exactly when the bite happened.
Show solution
- The T. rex may have bitten it before or after it died.
Many meat-eating animals both hunt and eat animals they find already dead. Bite marks alone cannot tell those behaviors apart.
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15. 정답을 선택해 주세요。
What do scientists know about how a T. rex really sounded?
A movie gives a T. rex a deep, lion-like roar.
- Its size proves that it roared like a lion.
- What it actually sounded like is still unknown.
- Its teeth tell us exactly how its roar sounded.
Show solution
- What it actually sounded like is still unknown.
Living relatives, such as birds and crocodiles, offer clues about possible sounds. A movie roar is still a creative choice.