Australian Dinosaur Story

Solutions to student activities

Student activity 1 ~ A quick quiz

Student activity 2 ~ Create your own geological timeline

Answer: 1 million years.

Student activity 3 ~ Interpreting ancient scenes

1. The fossils are from the Jurassic Period.
2. The animals would probably have lived on land (terrestrial). Scientists think this because modern ferns and large plant-eating animals are found on land today.
3. The medium-sized animal was probably a plant eater (herbivore) because its flat teeth were used for grinding up plants.
4. The large animal foot probably belonged to a huge carnivore because it had claws to help it catch smaller animals to eat, and sharp pointed teeth to tear up flesh. Modern-day carnivores have sharp claws and teeth.
5. Animals that lived on land were unlikely to have been buried in sediment before parts of them decayed away, and before scavenging animals ate their flesh and scattered their bones. This would be similar to the present day. For example, if a cow or a sheep dies, scavenging birds and animals would be likely to eat a lot of the body, and some of the bones would rot away before the remains could be buried to become fossils.

Student activity 4 ~ Australian dinosaur cross-offs

The message reads: Lark Quarry records the world’s only known dinosaur stampede.

Student activity 10 ~ Picture graph