Question

Dinosaurs dominated the earth about

• A. 10 million years ago
• B. 50 million years ago
• C. 180 million years ago
• D. 500 million years ago

Answer 1

The correct option is C 180 million years ago

The first small dinosaurs appeared during Triassic period (225 million years ago) of Mesozoic era. This makes option D incorrect as dinosaurs did not appear 500 million years ago.

Jurassic period (180 million years ago) is marked by diversification of dinosaurs; large dinosaurs dominated the earth. This makes option C correct.

The asteroid impact at the end of Cretaceous period around 60 million years ago caused mass extinction of dinosaurs thereby eliminating them. Asteroid hit increased the metal iridium concentration on earth. This makes options A and B incorrect as dinosaurs were extinct by 50 and 10 million years ago. Therefore, the correct answer is option C.