Chapter 11
Mesozoic World
Chapter Outline:
I.
Triassic Period
a. Triassic Marine Life
b. Terrestrial Life of the Triassic
II.
Jurassic Period
a. Early-Middle Mesozoic Tectonic Events
b. Jurassic Marine Life
c. Terrestrial Life of the Jurassic
d. Dinosaurs: Ruler of the Land
e. Origin of Birds
III. Cretaceous Period
a. Cretaceous Tectonics and Ocean History
b. Cretaceous Marine Life
c. Terrestrial Life of the Cretaceous
d. End-Cretaceous Extinction
Key Terms:
plesiosaurs
icthyosaurs
archosaurs
Nevadan orogeny
dinosaurs
saurischian dinosaurs
ornithischian dinosaurs
theropods
endothermic
ectothermic
sevier orogeny
laramide orogeny
oxygen-minimum zone
diatoms
chalk
rudists
ammonites
angiosperms
coevolution
shocked quartz
In-Class Activities:
Instructor Notes for In-Class Activity 1
Title:
Birds: Ancestors of the Dinosaurs.
Time:
5-10 minutes prep; 40– 60 minutes in class (or can assign research
between class periods)
Materials:
Internet required. Print worksheets as handouts.
Handouts:
A list of questions for students to research and discuss. Information
pertaining to the evolution of birds from dinosaurs can be found in the
section titled “Origin of Birds” from Chapter 11 in the textbook.
Additional information pertaining to this topic can be found by watching
the following video clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_9qmAj5k8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjZy1tPoOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PeK_eKghkg&feature=related
Procedures:
A list of questions for students to research and discuss using
recommended websites.
First, have the students read the section in their textbook titled “Origin of
Birds” to become familiar with the evidence for the evolution of birds
from dinosaurs.
Next, have the students watch the following three videos in their usual
groups of 3-4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_9qmAj5k8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjZy1tPoOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PeK_eKghkg&feature=related
Using the textbook and the above listed website references, have the
students answer the following questions in groups of 3-4.
1) Describe the physical characteristics of “Velociraptor”. Was it a
dinosaur or a bird?
2) What features do modern birds share with predatory dinosaurs?
3) Was “Velociraptor” an herbivore or a carnivore? How do we
know this?
4) Both Pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and Birds dominated the skies of
the late Mesozoic Era. How were they different in terms of
getting off the ground (launching into the air)?
5) What advantage did small birds have over large Pterosaurs?
6) Insects, birds and pterosaurs all developed wings; what type of
evolution does this represent? Why?
7) How did birds evolve to have feathers?
8) What features did “Archaeopteryx” have in common with modern
birds? What features does it share with its non-avian dinosaur
ancestors?
9) Why was the discovery of “Gansus” important in studying the
evolution of birds? How was it different from “Archaeopteryx”?
10) What forces, according to the third film, caused land-based
dinosaurs to evolve to fly (in a slow transitional manner)?
Student
Instructions: See above.
Specific
Suggestions:
Objectives:
The instructor should emphasize that students should become familiar
with the importance of did “Archaeopteryx” and “Gansus” in studying
the evolution of birds from dinosaurs.
Students should be able to:
List both the bird-like and non-avian dinosaur-like features of
“Archaeopteryx”.
Describe the physical differences between pterosaurs and birds.
Describe the advantages that small birds have over large pterosaurs.
Describe how Gansus represents a further step in the evolution of birds.
Describe the hypothesis, as contained within the viewed film clip, of how
and why birds developed the ability to fly.
In-Class Activity 1: Handout
Something happened about 65 million years ago and the reign of the dinosaurs ended forever.
No dinosaurs survived this catastrophe. For a long time this is what most paleontologists
believed. However, most paleontologists believe that birds evolved from non-avian therapod
dinosaurs during the Jurassic Period. In other words, the next time you sit down to a chicken
dinner, you might be dining on a member of a derived group of dinosaurs.
The purpose of today’s in-class exercise is to learn more about how birds evolved from dinosaurs
during the Mesozoic Era.
Next, in groups of 3-4, watch the following videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_9qmAj5k8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjZy1tPoOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PeK_eKghkg&feature=related
to answer the following ten questions:
1) 1) Describe the physical characteristics of “Velociraptor”. Was it a dinosaur or a
bird?
2) What features do modern birds share with predatory dinosaurs?
3) Was “Velociraptor” an herbivore or a carnivore? How do we know this?
4) Both Pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and Birds dominated the skies of the late Mesozoic
Era. How were they different in terms of getting off the ground (launching into the
air)?
5) What advantage did small birds have over large Pterosaurs?
6) Insects, birds and pterosaurs all developed wings, what type of evolution does this
represent? Why?
7) How did birds evolve to have feathers?
8) What features did “Archaeopteryx” have in common with modern birds? What
features does it share with its non-avian dinosaur ancestors?
9) Why was the discovery of “Gansus” important in studying the evolution of birds?
How was it different from “Archaeopteryx”?
10) What forces, according to the third film, caused land-based dinosaurs to evolve to fly
(in a slow transitional manner)?
Submit your answers to the nine questions to your instructor for grading. Your graded answers
will be handed back to you next week. Carefully go over your graded in-class exercise next
week to prepare for a test in the near future.
Instructor Notes for In-Class Activity 2
Title:
The extinction of the Dinosaurs: Was it caused by a meteorite impact?
Time:
5 – 10 Minutes prep; 35 – 50 minutes in class (or can assign research
between class periods)
Materials:
Print instruction sheets as handouts.
Handouts:
A list of questions for students to answer and discuss and recommended
websites. Information pertaining to the extinction of the dinosaurs can be
found at the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EyDd7rZWnE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrpsMp-Xx-o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaZqhOcUCZg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kELurZcdmY&feature=related
The section on “End-Cretaceous Extinction” in the textbook is also an
excellent reference for completing the questions contained within this inclass exercise.
Procedures:
Hand out instruction sheets to students. Using the websites listed above
and the textbook to answer the following questions.
1. When did the dinosaurs become extinct? What is the K-T
boundary?
2. What evidence is there for a tidal wave that hit the Brazos River,
in Texas? What relationship might it have with the Chixalub
crater in Mexico?
3. What might the concentration of the rare element Iridium in K-T
boundary rocks tell us about what happened at the end of the
reign of the dinosaurs?
4. List five lines of evidence to support the asteroid impact theory
for the extinction of the dinosaurs.
5. Describe the “Strangelove Ocean” as explained by the scientist
Dr. Kenneth Hsu?
6. What type of rocks were found when researchers drilled into the
Chixalub crater rocks? What do these indicate?
7. Since the Chixalub crater is located more than 1 km underground,
how did scientists discover it?
8. What evidence does scientist Dr. Jans Smit have for a tsunami
formed by a meteorite impact at the end of the reign of the
dinosaurs?
9. Other scientists have found holes in Dr. Jans Smit’s theory, what
are these holes? Why would these holes indicate that there were
two impacts instead of one?
10. How does Dr. Smit respond to the critics of his theory?
Afterwards, have the students the evolutionary importance of the
Edicaran fauna for paleontologists.
Student
Instructions: See above
Specific
Suggestions:
Objectives:
If possible, the students should be shown examples of Edicaran fossils at
a local museum. If this is not possible, than the instructor should show
photos of Edicaran Fauna fossils from internet sources.
Students should be able to:
Describe the evolutionary significance of the “Edicaran Fauna”.
List the morphologies and relationships with modern organisms for the
“Edicaran Fauna”.
State when Edicaran organisms lived.
Recognize that the soft-bodied Edicaran fauna suffered little from
predation.
In-Class Activity 2: Handout
In 1980 Dr. Luis Alvarez and his son proposed that an asteroid struck the Earth at the end of the
Mesozoic, and that this impact resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other types of
organisms. Since that time, many other researchers, including Dr. Alan Hildebrand, have found
additional evidence for the impact. The crater for the impact is also thought to have been found
buried under 1 kilometer of rock in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, near the town of Chixalub.
However, there has been some debate recently as to whether there were one or two asteroid
impacts. The purpose of this in-class exercise is to examine the evidence for the impact that may
have resulted in the end of the reign of the dinosaurs, and the current debate that centers on the
possibility of a second impact.
First, individually read the section of your textbook entitled “End Cretaceous Extinction” in
Chapter 11 of your textbook. Next, in your groups of 3-4 watch the following videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EyDd7rZWnE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrpsMp-Xx-o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaZqhOcUCZg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kELurZcdmY&feature=related
Using the above references, answer the following questions.
1) When did the dinosaurs become extinct? What is the K-T boundary?
2) What evidence is there for a tidal wave that hit the Brazos River, in Texas? What
relationship might it have with the Chixalub crater in Mexico?
3) What might the concentration of the rare element Iridium in K-T boundary rocks tell us
about what happened at the end of the reign of the dinosaurs?
4) List five lines of evidence to support the asteroid impact theory for the extinction of the
dinosaurs.
5) Describe the “Strangelove Ocean” as explained by the scientist Dr. Kenneth Hsu?
6) What type of rocks were found when researchers drilled into the Chixalub crater rocks?
What do these indicate?
7) Since the Chixalub crater is located more than 1 km underground, how did scientists
discover it?
8) What evidence does scientist Dr. Jans Smit have for a tsunami formed by a meteorite
impact at the end of the reign of the dinosaurs?
9) Other scientists have found holes in Dr. Jans Smit’s theory, what are these holes? Why
would these holes indicate that there were two impacts instead of one?
10) How does Dr. Smit respond to the critics of his theory?
By answering these questions, you will be preparing for a future quiz and/or test.