Physiology of dinosaurs

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

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/physiology-of-dinosaurs

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 scientific name?Non-avian dinosaurs (various scientific classifications exist for individual species)
2. What is the diet?Varied widely, including herbivory (plants), carnivory (meat), and omnivory (both)
3. What does it mean when scientists say dinosaurs were endothermic?It means they were warm‑blooded or had a metabolism somewhere between cold‑blooded reptiles and warm‑blooded animals. Scientists think this because their bones grew quickly, like in warm‑blooded animals.
4. How did feathers help dinosaurs stay warm?Feathers acted like blankets, keeping dinosaurs cozy. They helped keep body heat from escaping, especially for smaller dinosaurs.

Physiology: The scientific study of the functions and mechanisms of living organisms and their parts.
Thermoregulation: The biological process that allows an organism to maintain its core internal temperature.
Ectothermic: An organism that relies on external environmental sources for thermal regulation (cold-blooded).
Endothermic: An organism that generates its own internal heat to maintain a stable body temperature (warm-blooded).