Animals · Dinosaurs Study Notes — Family Quiz Playground

Tales from long, long ago — answers and explanations for all 100 questions. Cover the answer, have a guess first, then check the explanation. Want to play it as a quiz? Try it at the Quiz Playground!

Q. Which huge animals lived a very, very long time ago?

Options: Elephants · Dinosaurs · Mammoths · Whales

Answer: Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs lived on Earth long, long ago.

🦖 Q. Do dinosaurs still live on Earth today?

Options: Yes, lots of them · No, they're gone (extinct)

Answer: No, they're gone (extinct)

Dinosaurs went 'extinct' a very long time ago.

🥚 Q. How did dinosaurs have their babies?

Options: They gave birth live · They laid eggs

Answer: They laid eggs

Dinosaurs laid 'eggs'.

🦴 Q. What do we call the age when dinosaurs lived?

Options: The Mesozoic Era · The Cenozoic Era · The Stone Age · The Paleozoic Era

Answer: The Mesozoic Era

The age of dinosaurs is the 'Mesozoic Era'.

🦖 Q. Which sharp-toothed meat-eater is called the 'tyrant lizard king'?

Options: Stegosaurus · Tyrannosaurus · Triceratops · Brachiosaurus

Answer: Tyrannosaurus

The terrifying Tyrannosaurus (T. rex)!

🦕 Q. Which dinosaur had a very long neck for eating leaves high in the trees?

Options: Velociraptor · Brachiosaurus · Tyrannosaurus · Ankylosaurus

Answer: Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus, with a neck far longer than a giraffe's!

🦕 Q. Which plant-eater had three horns on its face and a big neck frill?

Options: Triceratops · Tyrannosaurus · Pteranodon · Spinosaurus

Answer: Triceratops

Triceratops — 'three horns'!

🦕 Q. Which dinosaur had big plates along its back and spikes on its tail?

Options: Brachiosaurus · Stegosaurus · Velociraptor · Triceratops

Answer: Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus, with those magnificent back plates!

🦕 Q. Which dinosaur was armored all over with a club on its tail?

Options: Ankylosaurus · Diplodocus · Pteranodon · Tyrannosaurus

Answer: Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus, a living tank!

🦖 Q. Which fast, clever meat-eater hunted in packs and is famous from movies?

Options: Triceratops · Stegosaurus · Brachiosaurus · Velociraptor

Answer: Velociraptor

Velociraptor, the speedy hunter!

🦖 Q. Which dinosaur had a sail on its back and caught fish by the water?

Options: Spinosaurus · Stegosaurus · Ankylosaurus · Triceratops

Answer: Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus, which was even bigger than T. rex!

🦕 Q. Which duck-billed dinosaur had a long trumpet-like crest on its head?

Options: Tyrannosaurus · Spinosaurus · Velociraptor · Parasaurolophus

Answer: Parasaurolophus

It may have made sounds with that crest!

🦕 Q. Which dinosaur had a super-hard head and probably head-butted?

Options: Diplodocus · Pachycephalosaurus · Triceratops · Brachiosaurus

Answer: Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus, with its thick domed head!

🦕 Q. Which very long plant-eater had a whip-like tail and neck?

Options: Tyrannosaurus · Diplodocus · Ankylosaurus · Velociraptor

Answer: Diplodocus

Diplodocus, as long as several buses in a row!

🦅 Q. Was the flying Pteranodon a dinosaur?

Options: It was a dinosaur · It wasn't a dinosaur (it was a flying reptile)

Answer: It wasn't a dinosaur (it was a flying reptile)

Pterosaurs are dinosaur cousins, but not dinosaurs!

🌊 Q. Was the sea-dwelling Mosasaurus a dinosaur?

Options: It wasn't a dinosaur (it was a sea reptile) · It was a dinosaur

Answer: It wasn't a dinosaur (it was a sea reptile)

Dinosaurs lived on land. Sea and sky reptiles are separate!

⏳ Q. What do we call the whole age when dinosaurs lived?

Options: The Mesozoic Era · The Ice Age · The Paleozoic Era · The Cenozoic Era

Answer: The Mesozoic Era

The Mesozoic — about 200 million to 66 million years ago!

⏳ Q. Of the three parts of the Mesozoic, when did dinosaurs first appear?

Options: The Ice Age · The Jurassic · The Cretaceous · The Triassic

Answer: The Triassic

The Triassic! The Mesozoic goes Triassic → Jurassic → Cretaceous, and the first dinosaurs were about the size of a dog.

⏳ Q. In which final period did Tyrannosaurus live?

Options: The Cenozoic · The Cretaceous · The Jurassic · The Triassic

Answer: The Cretaceous

The Cretaceous! At the end of it, a giant meteorite fell and the age of dinosaurs came to an end.

❌ Q. Did dinosaurs and people live at the same time?

Options: No — dinosaurs lived far earlier · Yes, they lived together

Answer: No — dinosaurs lived far earlier

People appeared long, long after the dinosaurs were gone!

☄️ Q. What's the best-known reason dinosaurs disappeared?

Options: People hunted them · A flood · A giant meteorite (asteroid) impact · A cold

Answer: A giant meteorite (asteroid) impact

About 66 million years ago, a huge impact changed the environment fast!

🦴 Q. Are dinosaurs still alive today?

Options: Yes · No (they went extinct)

Answer: No (they went extinct)

They disappeared a very long time ago.

🐦 Q. Which animals today are considered the descendants of dinosaurs?

Options: Birds · Crocodiles · Frogs · Lizards

Answer: Birds

Birds are the living descendants of dinosaurs!

🦣 Q. Which animal group thrived after dinosaurs disappeared?

Options: Mammals · Pterosaurs · Dinosaurs · Trilobites

Answer: Mammals

Mammals filled the empty space!

🦴 Q. What ancient traces left in stone let us learn about dinosaurs?

Options: Gems · Fossils · Ice · Glass

Answer: Fossils

Bones, footprints, and eggs remain as fossils!

🔬 Q. What do we call a scientist who studies dinosaurs?

Options: A paleontologist · An astronomer · A chef · A meteorologist

Answer: A paleontologist

A paleontologist digs up and studies fossils!

🦴 Q. Which can we NOT learn from dinosaur fossils?

Options: How they walked · What they ate · How big they were · What name they called themselves

Answer: What name they called themselves

Modern scientists made up the names!

🦷 Q. What can we learn from fossil dinosaur teeth?

Options: Their calls · Their color · Whether they ate meat or plants · Only their age

Answer: Whether they ate meat or plants

Sharp means meat-eater, flat means plant-eater!

👣 Q. What can we learn from fossil footprints?

Options: A dinosaur's smell · A dinosaur's thoughts · How it walked and whether it lived in groups · A dinosaur's color

Answer: How it walked and whether it lived in groups

Footprint fossils tell us how they moved!

🇰🇷 Q. Where are dinosaur footprints and egg fossils commonly found?

Options: Along coastlines and river beds · The middle of the desert · The North Pole · Only on mountaintops

Answer: Along coastlines and river beds

Places where mud and sand once settled preserve them well!

🌿 Q. What do we call a dinosaur that ate grass and leaves?

Options: A carnivorous dinosaur · A decomposer · An omnivorous dinosaur · A herbivorous dinosaur

Answer: A herbivorous dinosaur

Plant-eaters like Brachiosaurus!

🥩 Q. What do we call a dinosaur that ate other dinosaurs?

Options: A carnivorous dinosaur · A herbivorous dinosaur · A fish · An insect

Answer: A carnivorous dinosaur

Meat-eaters like Tyrannosaurus!

🦷 Q. What did a meat-eating dinosaur's teeth look like?

Options: It had none · Round · Wide and flat · Sharp and pointed

Answer: Sharp and pointed

Sharp, for tearing meat!

🦷 Q. What did a plant-eating dinosaur's teeth look like?

Options: Wide, for grinding leaves · Pointy like an awl · Thin like a knife · It had none

Answer: Wide, for grinding leaves

Good for grinding up tough plants!

🌳 Q. Why was it easy for long-necked plant-eaters to eat high leaves?

Options: They could fly · They knocked trees over · Their long necks reached way up · They jumped

Answer: Their long necks reached way up

A long neck was an advantage, just like a giraffe's!

🦖 Q. What were Tyrannosaurus's front legs like?

Options: They were wings · They were very long · They were flippers · They were tiny for its body

Answer: They were tiny for its body

A giant body with adorable little arms!

🦖 Q. Which is considered the biggest meat-eating dinosaur?

Options: Velociraptor · Compsognathus · Spinosaurus · Triceratops

Answer: Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus, which was bigger than T. rex!

🐔 Q. Some dinosaurs were tiny. Which was about the size of a chicken?

Options: Brachiosaurus · Stegosaurus · Compsognathus · Tyrannosaurus

Answer: Compsognathus

Not every dinosaur was big!

🪶 Q. Evidence shows some dinosaurs had feathers. What does that connect to?

Options: The link between birds and dinosaurs · They wore clothes when cold · It means they were fish · Only proof that dinosaurs flew

Answer: The link between birds and dinosaurs

Feathered dinosaur fossils show they were the ancestors of birds!

🪺 Q. Where did dinosaurs leave their eggs?

Options: On cave ceilings · In a nest (a dug-out spot on the ground) · In water · Up trees

Answer: In a nest (a dug-out spot on the ground)

They gathered their eggs in a nest!

🦕 Q. Why did some dinosaurs travel in groups?

Options: They didn't know the way · To dance · They were bored · Together they were safer from enemies

Answer: Together they were safer from enemies

Footprint fossils show us they lived in groups!

🛡️ Q. Which is NOT a way plant-eaters defended against big meat-eaters?

Options: They held out with armored bodies · They swung their tails · They blocked with their horns · They breathed fire

Answer: They breathed fire

Dinosaurs didn't breathe fire! That's the dragon of legend!

🦕 Q. What did Triceratops mainly use its horns and neck frill for?

Options: Fending off enemies and protecting itself · Flying · Making light · Swimming

Answer: Fending off enemies and protecting itself

Even the fearsome T. rex thought twice!

🦕 Q. What do we think Stegosaurus's back plates did?

Options: Worked as wings · Helped it swim · Controlled body temperature and showed off · Dug the ground

Answer: Controlled body temperature and showed off

They may have managed heat or made it look bigger!

🔨 Q. What did Ankylosaurus use its tail club for?

Options: Swimming · As a weapon to whack enemies · Making sound · Shaking trees

Answer: As a weapon to whack enemies

Whack! It drove off meat-eaters!

🔥 Q. Did dinosaurs breathe fire like dragons in cartoons?

Options: No, that's just imagination · Yes, they breathed fire

Answer: No, that's just imagination

Fire-breathing belongs to dragons in myths!

🎨 Q. Can we know a dinosaur's true colors for sure?

Options: They were all green · Photos still exist · Mostly it's hard to know for sure · They were all gray

Answer: Mostly it's hard to know for sure

Some feather fossils let us guess at colors!

🖼️ Q. Why might dinosaurs in movies and pictures look different from the real thing?

Options: Because photos exist · Because we imagine them from fossils alone · Because dinosaurs told us · Because we saw them

Answer: Because we imagine them from fossils alone

When new fossils turn up, the picture changes!

🦕 Q. What does the word 'dinosaur' mean?

Options: Big fish · Little insect · Terrible lizard · Flying bird

Answer: Terrible lizard

'Dinosaur' comes from Greek for 'terrible lizard'!

🚌 Q. How big were the largest dinosaurs (the sauropods)?

Options: As long as several buses in a row · The size of a person · The size of a puppy · The size of an ant

Answer: As long as several buses in a row

The biggest land animals in Earth's history!

🍌 Q. How big were Tyrannosaurus's teeth?

Options: As big as bananas · It had no teeth · The size of a hair · The size of a grain of rice

Answer: As big as bananas

Banana-sized teeth that crushed even bone!

⚖️ Q. How do we estimate a dinosaur's weight?

Options: We calculate from the size of its fossil bones · We put it on a scale · From the color of its footprints · From its call

Answer: We calculate from the size of its fossil bones

Bone size lets us estimate body weight!

🏃 Q. Which is closest to what we think was the fastest dinosaur?

Options: A long-necked dinosaur · A plated dinosaur · The ostrich-like ornithomimids · An armored dinosaur

Answer: The ostrich-like ornithomimids

Long legs and a slim body made it fast!

📢 Q. What should you do if you find a dinosaur fossil?

Options: Don't dig it up — tell an expert or a museum · Sell it · Take it home · Break it

Answer: Don't dig it up — tell an expert or a museum

Precious fossils must be protected together!

🏛️ Q. Where can you see dinosaurs?

Options: An aquarium · A zoo · A theme park snack bar · A natural history museum (fossils and models)

Answer: A natural history museum (fossils and models)

Meet dinosaur bones at the museum!

🦣 Q. Which of these is NOT a dinosaur?

Options: Triceratops · Tyrannosaurus · Mammoth · Stegosaurus

Answer: Mammoth

A mammoth isn't a dinosaur — it's an ancient elephant (a mammal)!

🦖 Q. Which of these is NOT a plant-eating dinosaur?

Options: Triceratops · Tyrannosaurus · Stegosaurus · Brachiosaurus

Answer: Tyrannosaurus

Tyrannosaurus! Brachiosaurus and Triceratops ate plants, but T. rex tore meat with saw-like teeth.

🦖 Q. Which of these IS a meat-eating dinosaur?

Options: Ankylosaurus · Brachiosaurus · Diplodocus · Velociraptor

Answer: Velociraptor

Velociraptor! Unlike in the movies it was about turkey-sized and probably had feathers, and it hunted with hooked claws.

🦎 Q. What does 'saurus', so common at the end of dinosaur names, mean?

Options: Friend · King · Monster · Lizard

Answer: Lizard

'Saurus' means lizard!

3️⃣ Q. What number does the 'tri' in 'Triceratops' mean?

Options: 5 · 10 · 1 · 3 (three horns)

Answer: 3 (three horns)

Tri = 3! It had three horns.

🥚 Q. Why are fossil dinosaur eggs so precious?

Options: You can eat them · They're pretty · They're light · They tell us how dinosaurs were born

Answer: They tell us how dinosaurs were born

Finding a whole nest is especially rare!

🦅 Q. What flew in the sky back when dinosaurs lived?

Options: Birds (modern ones) · Pterosaurs · Airplanes · Bats

Answer: Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs like Pteranodon soared overhead!

🌊 Q. Which big reptiles lived in the sea back when dinosaurs lived?

Options: Whales · Ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs · Dolphins · Only sharks

Answer: Ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs

Sea reptiles like Ichthyosaurus!

🦎 Q. What was a dinosaur's skin mostly covered with?

Options: Only feathers · Scales (some had feathers) · Fur · Smooth flesh

Answer: Scales (some had feathers)

They were reptiles, so scales! Some dinosaurs had feathers too.

⏳ Q. About when did the first dinosaurs appear?

Options: More than 200 million years ago · Last year · About 1,000 years ago · About 100 years ago

Answer: More than 200 million years ago

So long ago it's hard to imagine!

🎬 Q. Which famous dinosaur movie has 'Jurassic' in its title?

Options: Frozen · The Little Mermaid · Toy Story · Jurassic Park

Answer: Jurassic Park

The Jurassic is one of the periods of the age of dinosaurs!

🐦 Q. What do birds and dinosaurs have in common?

Options: They feed milk · They live underwater · They lay eggs · Their bodies are covered in fur

Answer: They lay eggs

Both lay eggs! Birds are the descendants of dinosaurs!

🌍 Q. What's good about learning about dinosaurs?

Options: You skip tests · You can see the future · You can raise a dinosaur · You learn what Earth was like long ago

Answer: You learn what Earth was like long ago

Fossils tell us Earth's old stories!

🦴 Q. What do we call dinosaur bones put together and set up?

Options: A mounted skeleton · A doll · A drawing · A photo

Answer: A mounted skeleton

The giant dinosaur skeletons at the museum!

🦴 Q. What does 'extinct' mean?

Options: Getting smaller · A whole kind disappearing completely · Moving house · Sleeping

Answer: A whole kind disappearing completely

Dinosaurs went extinct.