The Alverez hypothesis suggests that a meteor impact that occurred about 65 million years ago caused a mass extinction of approximately 75% of life on Earth, including most of the dinosaurs. Support of the hypothesis stems from the high levels of the element iridium that are present around impact craters found around the world. Scientists have noted that iridium is usually rare in Earths crust, but it is present in high levels in meteors. Which of the following statements correctly identifies the role of the Alverez hypothesis in the study of Earths history?

EARTH SCIENCE

Please wait while the activity loads.
If this activity does not load, try refreshing your browser. Also, this page requires javascript. Please visit using a browser with javascript enabled.

If loading fails, click here to try again

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]

The Alverez hypothesis suggests that a meteor impact that occurred about 65 million years ago caused a mass extinction of approximately 75% of life on Earth, including most of the dinosaurs. Support of the hypothesis stems from the high levels of the element iridium that are present around impact craters found around the world. Scientists have noted that iridium is usually rare in Earth’s crust, but it is present in high levels in meteors. Which of the following statements correctly identifies the role of the Alverez hypothesis in the study of Earth’s history?

A	The Alverez hypothesis is not testable because scientists are not able to collect data about space objects.
B	The Alverez hypothesis is currently supported due to data that geologists have collected from Earth’s crust.
C	The Alverez hypothesis is not relevant because it does not provide a reasonable explanation for the mass extinction.
D	The Alverez hypothesis was proven to be correct due to the presence of iridium in Earth’s crust around the impact crater.

Explanation:

Detailed explanation-1: -The Alvarez hypothesis posits that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and many other living things during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Alvarez hypothesis was initially controversial, but it is now the most widely accepted theory for the mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic Era. Paul says, ‘An asteroid impact is supported by really good evidence because we’ve identified the crater.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Younger Dryas (YD) impact hypothesis is a recent theory that suggests that a cometary or meteoritic body or bodies hit and/or exploded over North America 12, 900 years ago, causing the YD climate episode, extinction of Pleistocene megafauna, demise of the Clovis archeological culture, and a range of other effects.

Detailed explanation-4: -On December 3, a scientific deep drilling projects starts on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico into the Chicxulub crater that was formed some 65 million years ago by the impact of an asteroid, which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and other species.

There is 1 question to complete.