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Why did the dinosaurs die out?

A huge space rock hit Earth, and that is why the dinosaurs died out.

About 66 million years ago, a very big space rock hit Earth. It crashed near what is now Mexico and made a giant hole in the ground. The crash was so strong that dust, ash, and smoke filled the sky.

This cloud of dust blocked the sunlight for a long time. Plants could not grow without light, and the air got very cold. Animals that ate plants went hungry, and the meat-eating dinosaurs that ate them went hungry too.

The dinosaurs could not get used to this sudden change, and over time they all died. But small birds and some mammals survived. Scientists worked this out thanks to a special metal found in rocks and a huge hole in the ground.

Quick facts

The dinosaurs died out about 66 million years ago.
A huge space rock crashed into Earth.
The crash happened near what is now Mexico.
The sky filled with dust and ash, and sunlight got weaker.
When plants stopped growing, the food chain broke down.
Small birds and some mammals survived.

Check what you remember

4 questions — all of them come from the quick facts above. There is no score and no wrong turn.

1. What made the dinosaurs die out?

2. Where did the space rock crash?

3. What happened in the sky after the crash?

4. Which creatures survived from that time?

Where this comes from

1 britannica.com 75/100
Britannica
Gives trustworthy encyclopedia facts about dinosaurs and how they died out.
2 nasa.gov 70/100
NASA
Has reliable information about space rocks and crashes from space.

🌑

The Space Rock Hole

The mark left by the crash is a giant hole in Mexico called Chicxulub. The hole is so big you can even spot it on maps from space.

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Birds Survived

Scientists think birds actually came from small meat-eating dinosaurs. So the dinosaurs did not disappear completely — some of them became birds.

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What Is a Fossil?

We know about dinosaurs because of their bones, which turned into stone. These are called fossils. Fossils stay under the ground for millions of years and turn to stone.

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The Long Winter

After the crash, Earth stayed dark and cold for years. This is sometimes called an 'impact winter.' When plants could not grow, the whole food chain broke down.

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