Skip to main content

What really killed the dinosaurs? (It wasn’t just the asteroid) - Sean P. S. Gulick

230,395 Views

3,323 Questions Answered

Earth School

Let’s Begin…

Sixty-six million years ago, near what’s now the Yucatán Peninsula, a juvenile sauropod feasted on horsetail plants on a riverbank. Earth was a tropical planet. Behemoth and tiny dinosaurs alike soared its skies and roamed its lands while reptiles and tentacled ammonites swept its seas. But, in an instant, everything would change. Sean P. S. Gulick details one of Earth's most devastating periods.

How many kilometers in diameter was the asteroid that struck the Yucatán Peninsula?

Watch the video and finish the Think section to complete the lesson.

About Earth School

We can save the world. Speed and Scale shows us how to unlock a cleaner, healthier and safer future by laying out a roadmap that will get us to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. How’s it going to work? We need to electrify transportation, decarbonize the grid, fix food, protect nature, clean up industry and remove carbon. To learn how we’re going to do all that - and to learn how you can take action now - explore this page.

Meet The Creators

  • Video created by TED-Ed
  • Lesson Plan created by TED Ed

More from Earth School