Mass Extinctions Research Task
Mass Extinctions
What is the biological significance of mass extinctions?
PART A
You are living in the 23rd century. All knowledge of scientific things have been hidden from the human race by evil dictators during the last 2 generations of humans. One brilliant scientist, Albert Einstein the 16th, has rebelled against the dictators. He has devised a time machine and is asking for volunteers to go back in time and bring back important scientific discoveries. Your assignment is to go back to the 21st century and bring back everything you can find about the history of the earth’s animals and create a timeline of the events to include species and why extinctions happened.
You will be divided into five groups, and assigned one of the following extinction events to research:
1) Late Ordovician
2) Late Devonian
3) End-Permian (sometimes called “Permian-Triassic”)
4) End-Triassic
5) End-Cretaceous (also known as “Cretaceous-Tertiary” or “K-T”)
Guiding questions for research:
When did this extinction take place?
Describe the extent of the extinction. How many kinds of organisms lived on Earth before the extinction? What percentage were lost during the extinction? Did new kinds of organisms evolve after this extinction?
What did Earth look like at that time? Were the continents in the same locations they’re in today? If not, how were they arranged?
How do scientists know what they know about the event? What evidence have they used to support their ideas?
What are some of the kinds of organisms that went extinct during the extinction?
What explanations have scientists put forth to explain why so many groups of organisms disappeared during this extinction?
Species that could be useful include:
Tiktaalik
Cloudina
Wattieza
Coelophysis
Ammonites
Rhynia
Eutherians
Archaeopteryx
Spriggina
Lystroaurus
Use https://www.officetimeline.com/ to help you draw a timeline
PART B
Evidence suggests that five mass extinctions have occurred throughout the history of the
What is the biological significance of mass extinctions?
PART A
You are living in the 23rd century. All knowledge of scientific things have been hidden from the human race by evil dictators during the last 2 generations of humans. One brilliant scientist, Albert Einstein the 16th, has rebelled against the dictators. He has devised a time machine and is asking for volunteers to go back in time and bring back important scientific discoveries. Your assignment is to go back to the 21st century and bring back everything you can find about the history of the earth’s animals and create a timeline of the events to include species and why extinctions happened.
You will be divided into five groups, and assigned one of the following extinction events to research:
1) Late Ordovician
2) Late Devonian
3) End-Permian (sometimes called “Permian-Triassic”)
4) End-Triassic
5) End-Cretaceous (also known as “Cretaceous-Tertiary” or “K-T”)
Guiding questions for research:
When did this extinction take place?
Describe the extent of the extinction. How many kinds of organisms lived on Earth before the extinction? What percentage were lost during the extinction? Did new kinds of organisms evolve after this extinction?
What did Earth look like at that time? Were the continents in the same locations they’re in today? If not, how were they arranged?
How do scientists know what they know about the event? What evidence have they used to support their ideas?
What are some of the kinds of organisms that went extinct during the extinction?
What explanations have scientists put forth to explain why so many groups of organisms disappeared during this extinction?
Species that could be useful include:
Tiktaalik
Cloudina
Wattieza
Coelophysis
Ammonites
Rhynia
Eutherians
Archaeopteryx
Spriggina
Lystroaurus
Use https://www.officetimeline.com/ to help you draw a timeline
PART B
Evidence suggests that five mass extinctions have occurred throughout the history of the