Assignment
Chapter 16 Homework
1. In paleontology, process is inferred from _____.
a. radiometric ages
b. pattern
c. homeothermy
d. extinction
2. The last interval of Cretaceous time is the _____.
a. Montian
b. Messinian
c. Missourian
d. Maastrichtian
3. Only late Maastrichtian dinosaur localities in _____ yield enough dinosaur fossils and have been collected and studied sufficiently to produce a detailed pattern of the distribution in geologic time of the last dinosaurs.
a. China
b. western Europe
c. western North America
d. Mongolia
4. The two conflicting patterns of diversity decline seen in the Maastrichtian dinosaurs of western North America result, in part, from _____.
a. differing identifications
b. different amounts of collecting
c. different locomotory patterns
d. a and b
5. Quartz grains with laminar deformations generated by high-speed shock in laboratories, at nuclear test sites, and near impact craters are called _____.
a. chert
b. muscovite
c. tektite
d. shocked quartz
6. The cause of dinosaur extinction was _____.
a. an asteroid impact
b. an ecological collapse
c. egg-eating mammals
d. a or b
7. True or False--The selectivity of the terminal Cretaceous extinction merits an explanation.
8. True or False-- Paleontologists do not fully agree on the pattern of the terminal Cretaceous extinction.
Key Terms: While reading Chapter 16 define the following key terms.
9. Ammonoid
10. Ecological Collapse
11. Egg-eating mammals
12. Foraminifera
13. Global catastrophe
14. Marsupial mammal
15. Pattern
16. Rudist
17. Selenium
18. Shocked Quartz
19. Supernova
20. Terminal Cretaceous extinction
Short Answer:
21. What are some popular ideas about the cause of dinosaur extinction and why are they not accepted by most paleontologists?
22. Distinguish a pattern from a process and explain how these concepts apply to paleontology.
23. How does the nature of the fossil record of Maastrichtian dinosaurs influence our understanding of dinosaur extinction?
24. What evidence indicates an asteroid impact with the earth 66 million years ago? What would be some of the possible effects of such an impact?