K/T extinction event

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/kt-extinction-event

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the geological epoch boundary?Marks the transition from the Late Cretaceous epoch to the Paleogene epoch
2. What is the estimated impact energy?Equivalent to billions of tons of TNT, causing widespread devastation
3. What caused the dinosaurs to disappear?A huge asteroid hit Earth about 66 million years ago, creating a massive explosion that destroyed many animals and plants.
4. Where did the asteroid hit Earth?It crashed into the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, making the 180‑kilometer wide Chicxulub crater.

Cretaceous–Paleogene (K/T) Boundary: The geological stratum representing the time of the mass extinction event 66 million years ago.
Chicxulub Impactor: The asteroid or comet believed to have caused the K/T extinction event upon impact.
Impact Winter: A hypothesized period of prolonged global cooling and darkness following a major impact event.
Adaptive Radiation: The rapid diversification of a lineage into new forms to fill ecological niches.