BHP Lesson 19: The Extinction of the Dinosaurs

Driving Question: How can we prove an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs?

• We’ve got a scientific murder mystery on our hands today. Here’s what we know. 66 million years ago, three pretty colossal events occurred: 1) 75% of all plant and animal species went extinct; 2) an enormous asteroid crashed into Mexico; and 3) a massive volcano erupted in India. It’s time for you to put your claim testers to the test. What killed the dinosaurs? Was it a massive asteroid? Or maybe volcanoes? You are the jury. You decide!

Word of the Day: Hypothesis

• Definition: A proposed explanation or idea made on the basis of some evidence as a starting point for further study or investigation. 
• For a long time, scientists agreed upon this hypothesis: the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid. This was a starting point for what today has materialized into a healthy debate! Maybe volcanoes had something to do with it...

Lesson

• Go to Khan Academy and watch the video, How We Proved An Asteroid Wiped Out The Dinosaurs.
• In this video, geologist Walter Alvarez walks us through the leading scientific theory on the extinction of the dinosaurs. Use your claim testers to keep track of the claims that he makes: authority, evidence, intuition, and logic.

Historian’s Journal Prompt

• Is the spread of coronavirus slowed by warm weather? Is it worse in polluted areas?

• Form a hypothesis related to these questions about the spread of COVID-19. Do some research and use your claim testers to generate an explanation. Start with your intuition and logic, and then track down an authority you trust to collect some evidence.