Dinosaurs for Dummies Multiple Choice Quiz | 10 Questions

Answer: Tyrannosaurus rex

As a full grown female Tyrannosaurus rex, the larger of the sexes, measured around 40 feet (over 12 metres) in length from the top of her powerful head to the end of her tail and weighed 7 to 8 tons (7,250 kg), this were one of the bigger dinosaurs. There were several types of Tyrannosaurus.

Answer: Three-horned face

The Triceratops had three horns on its face and a frill around its neck/back of the head. This 30 foot (9 metre) species was a plant eater.

Answer: Feathers

These feathered creatures weighed up to at most 35 pounds (16 kg) and were given a name that means swift thief. It is believed that they were similar in shape to a chicken, just a little larger. They were most likely warm-blooded too.

Answer: Stegosaurus

When this reptilian dinosaur was discovered, experts thought that it must have two brains. This was because the Stegosaurus has a dog-sized brain inside an elephant sized body. Dog brains are walnut sized, but weigh several ounces. Various suggestions have been made about the purpose of the distinctive triangular shaped plates. My favourite theory is that the Stegosaurus with the biggest plates attracted the best females, thereby proving the theory that size DOES matter (joke).

Answer: A large flap of skin similar to a sail

Spinosaurus lived in North Africa where it was very hot. It is thought that the sail-like structure was used in a similar way to elephants' ears, to help cool the beasts down. The Spinosaurus probably could not flap the skin, but the large area would help to diffuse the heat. It is thought that these beasts were about 50 feet (15 metres) long and weighed 7-9 tons (up to 8,000 kg).

Answer: Well fed pigeon

There have been several well preserved fossils of the Archaeopteryx found in Solnhofen, Germany where there are beds of limestone. The largest specimen is only a foot long (30 cm) and weighed two pounds (one kilo). They were probably gliders rather than flyers.

Answer: Their front legs are their least impressive feature

Although it is not known for certain, it is thought that Brachiosaurus did not have the heart capacity to hold up their long necks, so kept them parallel to the ground. Only one Brachiosaurus head has been found. They were so small compared to the rest of them that they were often detached after death. Their huge bodies and long necks were much more impressive than their legs.

Answer: Allosaurus

This huge headed dinosaur was about 40 feet (12 metres) long and weighed in at around 3 tons (2,700 kilos), and its preferred food was other dinosaurs. This is another dinosaur with a name change as it was was first named Antrodemus because of an unusually large body cavity.

Answer: Apatosaurus

This long-necked dinosaur was once thought to live mostly in water. Suggestions were that it could keep its head out of water from the depths similar to a snorkel. However it was decided that its great weight (40 tons or 36,000 kg) would suffocate it due to water pressure. Apatosaurus had very long tails to counterbalance their long necks and looked very similar to several drawings of the Loch Ness Monster.

Editor update: brontosaurus may be reclassified as a separate species again following research in the twenty-first century.

Answer: Ridges

"Jurassic Park" portrayed Dilophosaurus as a dog-sized, frilled, venomous dinosaur and all three are incorrect (though the size is right if they were youngsters). The adult beasts were around 20 feet (6 meters) long and weighed about 1,000 pounds (450 kilos). No evidence has been found to suggest that any dinosaurs were venomous.