Dinosaurs –
Big Brains,
Little Brains
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Compare and Contrast Dinosaurs – Big Brains, Little Brains
Fact and Opinion Hot Potatoes
Cause and Effect The Rooftop Gardener
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Written by Victoria St John
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Dinosaurs –
Big Brains,
Little Brains
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Dinosaurs from Long Ago . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Brain Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Body Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Slow Stegosaurus, Smart Troodon . . . . . 18
Smart Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Written by Victoria St John
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Introduction
Over millions of years, dinosaurs changed.
This process is called evolution. Dinosaurs
People often think dinosaurs were all big and
scary. They think dinosaurs all had small
brains. However, dinosaurs were not all the
same. Some were big. Some were small. Some
ate meat and some ate plants. They did not
have the same kinds of bodies. They did not
move in the same way.
were reptiles. Many scientists think that some
may have changed into birds.
There were many kinds of dinosaurs
of many different shapes and sizes.
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Stegosaurus means
roofed lizard.
Scientists found dinosaur remains preserved in
rock, or fossils. They studied these fossils. They
learned there were many kinds of dinosaurs.
Some were smarter than others. Two kinds
scientists have found are Stegosaurus and
Troodon. They think Troodon was smarter than
Stegosaurus.
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Troodon means
wounding tooth.
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Dinosaurs from Long Ago
Time Line
200 million years ago
All the dinosaurs lived a long time ago. But
some kinds lived longer ago than others.
Troodon lived a long time ago. It lived in a
time that lasted from 145 to 65 million years
ago. This is called the Cretaceous Period.
Stegosaurus, on the other hand, lived even
longer ago. It lived in a time that lasted from
200 to 145 million years ago. This is called the
Jurassic Period.
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Stegosaurus lived
during the
Jurassic Period
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Troodon lived
during the
Cretaceous Period
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Key
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Present day
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Jurassic Period
200 to 145 million years ago
Cretaceous Period
145 to 65 million years ago
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