A favored theory to explain

Answer choices

1. A

   No Impact1% picked this

   Large concentrations of dinosaur nests with fossil eggs found in Alberta indicate that at least some species of dinosaurs congregated in large groups

   This is an incredibly weak statement .. "at least one species congregated in large groups at least once during their life". That weak idea isn't going to have any impact on us solving whether asteroids, volcanos, or both cause all the dinosaurs to go extinct.

   1%
2. B

   Unclear Impact22% picked this

   Dinosaur remains indicate that some species of dinosaur could have migrated in herds over wide ranges, so that they could have traveled to escape

   This somewhat helps us argue that dinosaurs wouldn't have gone extinct from the asteroid, because they could "travel to escape the local effects of certain catastrophes". But the answer only says "some" (i.e. at least one species of dinosaur) could have migrated like this. Assuming those species weren't incinerated by the asteroid on impact, they might have been able to migrate away from the area the asteroid ruined, in which case we might need some other explanation for why the migrating dinos went extinct. But this is a very sketchy story on thin legs. We don't know if "asteroid impact" even qualifies as one of the "certain catastrophes" that you can avoid by migrating away.

   22%
3. C

   No Impact1% picked this

   Legends from many cultures, such as the Greek legend that Cadmus raised an army by sowing dragons’ teeth in the ground, show that various

   The fact that various ancient peoples learned via fossils that dinosaurs existed tells us nothing about what caused dinosaurs to go extinct: asteroid? volcanos? both? neither?

   1%
4. D

   No Impact10% picked this

   In the Gobi desert in China, where now only small animals can eke out an existence, fossil dinosaur skeletons 27 feet long were found

   Finding large dinosaur fossils in dry climates does not provide any information about the cause of their extinction or contradict the asteroid hypothesis.

   10%
5. E

   Correct67% picked this

   The fossil record in Montana from below the layer of extraterrestrial dust shows a diminution over time in dinosaur species from 35 to 13,

   Why this is right

   This answer is making it seem like something was already killing dinosaurs before the asteroid arrived, and makes it seem like there were still dinosaurs alive after the asteroid had come. The layer of extraterrestrial dust is the calling card of the asteroid, so that layer corresponds to the year the asteroid came. This is saying before that asteroid even showed up, dinosaur species were dying off. We went from 35 species down to 13, before the asteroid arrived. So clearly the asteroid isn't telling the whole story of what was eradicating the dinosaurs. And then for bonus points, the asteroid only seems to take it from 13 species left to 5 species left, so again there must be more to the story, because something else needs to kill off those last five species.

   Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   67%