Mesozoic

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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/mesozoic

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?252.2 to 66 million years before present
2. What is the chronological periods?Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous
3. What was the Mesozoic Era?The Mesozoic Era was a 186‑million‑year period from about 252 to 66 million years ago when dinosaurs ruled the Earth and many new plants and animals appeared.
4. Why were dinosaurs the dominant animals?Dinosaurs became the dominant land animals during the Triassic and Jurassic periods, staying on top for about 135 to 150 million years.

Archosauria: A major clade of diapsid reptiles that includes crocodilians, birds, and their extinct relatives like dinosaurs.
Gymnosperm: A group of seed-producing plants whose seeds are not enclosed within an ovary (e.g., conifers, cycads, ginkgoes).
Angiosperm: Flowering plants, characterized by seeds enclosed within a fruit and the presence of flowers.
Pangaea: A supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.