Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction Event quiz

More questions about Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction Event

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1. 1 Easy

   What percentage of species died in the dinosaur extinction event?

   Answer: 75 percent

   Why: Counted by genus rather than by species the loss drops to about half, and the crisis at the end of the Permian was far worse still.

2. 2 Medium

   How did the K-Pg asteroid impact trigger a global deep-freeze?

   Answer: Dust and soot blocked the sun

   Why: Micrometre-sized silicate dust could have stayed airborne for up to 15 years, cooling Earth's surface by as much as 15 °C (Senel et al., 2023).

3. 3 Hard

   At what angle did the Chicxulub asteroid likely hit Earth?

   Answer: 60 degrees

   Why: Asymmetries buried in the crater point to a strike from the northeast, and that steep angle was among the deadliest, lofting debris high into the atmosphere.

4. 4 Easy

   Which animals alive today are technically dinosaurs?

   Answer: Birds

   Why: Archosaurs split into a bird line and a crocodile line over 200 million years ago, so crocodiles are cousins of dinosaurs rather than dinosaurs.

5. 5 Medium

   What massive volcanic activity coincided with the dinosaur extinction?

   Answer: Deccan Traps

   Why: About 70% of the 500,000-plus cubic kilometres of basalt erupted after a surge that began within roughly 50,000 years of the impact.

6. 6 Hard

   What glass-like beads formed from molten rock cooled in the atmosphere?

   Answer: Microtektites

   Why: Any tektite under a millimetre across counts as one, and the boundary beds around the Gulf of Mexico are packed with them.