INFOGRAPHIC

Mass Extinctions

Use this infographic to explore Earth’s mass extinctions and to think critically about what caused mass extinctions in the past and what could be causing one now.

Grades

5 - 8

Subjects

Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Physical Geography

Loading ...

Idea for Use in the Classroom

Share the infographic with students and discuss what defines a mass extinction.

Divide the class into two groups. Assign one group to come up with reasons as to why we ARE experiencing a mass extinction and assign the other group to give reasons as to why we are NOT experiencing a mass extinction. Give them a quarter of the class time to come up with their arguments using information from the infographic on previous mass extinctions, and then lead a debate for half of the class. When both sides have given their cases and rebuttals, come back together as a class to discuss the controversies surrounding the issue and why it is in fact a difficult topic.Ask: Over what time scale have Earth’s previous mass extinctions taken place? Ask students to come up with possible causes for the sixth mass extinction given the sources of past extinctions. As a class, come up with a list of ideas to help prevent the extinctions of current species.

acidic

adjective

something with a pH less than seven.

algae

plural noun

(singular: alga) diverse group of aquatic organisms, the largest of which are seaweeds.

asteroid

noun

irregularly shaped planetary body, ranging from 6 meters (20 feet) to 933 kilometers (580 miles) in diameter, orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.

carbon dioxide

noun

greenhouse gas produced by animals during respiration and used by plants during photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also the byproduct of burning fossil fuels.

climate change

noun

gradual changes in all the interconnected weather elements on our planet.

comet

noun

celestial object made up of ice, gas, and dust that orbits the sun and leaves a tail of debris.

Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event

noun

(66 million years ago) (K-Pg extinction) relatively brief time period in which a “global winter” led to the extinction of about 75% of all life on Earth. Also called the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinction event.

Devonian

adjective

geologic period between Silurian and Mississippian.

dinosaur

noun

very large, extinct reptile chiefly from the Mesozoic Era, 251 million to 65 million years ago.

earthquake

noun

the sudden shaking of Earth's crust caused by the release of energy along fault lines or from volcanic activity.

extinction

noun

process of complete disappearance of a species from Earth.

fauna

noun

animals associated with an area or time period.

glaciation

noun

process of a glacier carving out a landscape.

global warming

noun

increase in the average temperature of the Earth's air and oceans.

greenhouse gas

noun

gas in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and ozone, that absorbs solar heat reflected by the surface of the Earth, warming the atmosphere.

habitat loss

noun

the reduction or destruction of an ecosystem, making it less able to support its native species.

Holocene

noun

having to do with the present geological time period. The Holocene Epoch began at the end of the last glacial period, about 10,000 years ago.

Jurassic

adjective

having to do with the time period between 190 million and 140 million years ago, characterized by an abundance of dinosaurs and ammonites.

mammal

noun

animal with hair that gives birth to live offspring. Female mammals produce milk to feed their offspring.

mass extinction

noun

extinction event in which a large number of species go extinct in a relatively short period of time.

methane

noun

chemical compound that is the basic ingredient of natural gas.

Ordovician

adjective

geologic period between Cambrian and Silurian.

oxygen

noun

chemical element with the symbol O, whose gas form is 21% of the Earth's atmosphere.

perish

verb

to die or be destroyed.

Permian

adjective

last geologic period of the Paleozoic Era.

sea level

noun

base level for measuring elevations. Sea level is determined by measurements taken over a 19-year cycle.

toxic

adjective

poisonous.

Triassic

adjective

start of the Mesozoic era when dinosaurs first emerged.

Triassic

adjective

start of the Mesozoic era when dinosaurs first emerged.

Credits

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

INFOGRAPHIC

INFOGRAPHIC

Mass Extinctions

Mass Extinctions

Grades

Subjects

Loading ...

Credits

Media Credits

Director

Author

Production Managers

Program Specialists

other

Last Updated

User Permissions

Media

Text

Interactives

Related Resources