Some scientists believe that 65 million years ago an asteroid struck what is now the Yucatán Peninsula, thereby causi...

Skylar on April 12, 2020

@jingjingxiao11111@gmail.com, happy to help!

We are asked to resolve the discrepancy between scientists' belief that an asteroid strike caused the extinction of dinosaurs and their findings that the asteroid-related debris would have settled within enough time to prevent plants from disappearing and dinosaurs from freezing.

It sounds like you chose (D): "The asteroid was at least 9.6 km in diameter, large enough for many dinosaurs to be killed by the strike itself and by subsequent tidal waves." This answer choice is incorrect because of the word "most." We are looking for an explanation that will account for all dinosaurs dying, and (D) only accounts for most.

Answer choice (E) states that "dinosaurs were susceptible to fatal respiratory problems caused by contamination of the air by asteroid debris." This suggests that all dinosaurs are susceptible to these problems, which could explain the extinction of the entire species. (E) is also a better choice than (D) because it describes air contamination that seems to impact a more widespread area than does the original strike/tidal waves of the asteroid.

Does that make sense? Please let us know if you have any additional questions!

JosephRocco on December 26, 2023

Could someone please tell me what is the right answer for this question? I chose "B". The result is highlighted in red, yet when reading the rationale, it's worded as if it is the correct answer listing a Key Takeaway like correct answers highlighted in green. Answer choice "E" is highlighted in green yet is explained as a wrong answer choice. Explanation would be greatly appreciated.

JohnSummers on May 16 at 07:34PM

I am with Joseph, the explanation for this problem is on the wrong answer choice, so I do not know why the correct answer is correct.

Emil-Kunkin on May 17 at 03:15AM

Good catch, apologies, it looks like the answer explanations for B and E are switched. I notified the devs but in short, E is right because it gives us another pathway for the scientists for be right in the idea that the asteroid killed the Dinos, it was through pollution rather than lack of light.

B is wrong because it would make the paradox more stark: it would make it harder to explain how the asteroid was responsible.