---
title: Identify the principal cause of the extinction of the non-avian dino… — The big biology quiz, part 3: dinosaur… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal cause of the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. Exam question 1 of lesson 300 «The big biology quiz, part 3: dinosaurs, evolution, conservation and food» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opt
---

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# Exam question 1 · The big biology quiz, part 3: dinosaurs, evolution, conser…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal cause of the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, cause, extinguish · **To what, where:** principal cause, extinction, non-avian dinosaurs

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 300 «The big biology quiz, part 3: dinosaurs, evolution, conservation and food» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/300-the-big-biology-quiz-part-3-dinosaurs-evolution-conservation-and-food/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:300-the-big-biology-quiz-part-3-dinosaurs-evolution-conservation-and-food:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal cause of the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	extinction	extinction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	non-avian	non-avian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	dinosaurs	dinosaur	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal cause of the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent cause=Theme |
| 2 | **cause** |  |  | the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs |  |  |  |  | nom cause «event transitive»: of=patient |
| 3 | **extinguish** |  |  | the non-avian dinosaurs |  |  |  |  | nom extinction «state transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A universal flood covering the whole of the Earth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:300-the-big-biology-quiz-part-3-dinosaurs-evolution-conservation-and-food:e1:o1:1
# text = A universal flood covering the whole of the Earth
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	universal	universal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	flood	flood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	covering	cover	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cover** | gerund | a universal flood *not said here* | the whole |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme whole=Destination |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The impact of an asteroid upon the region now known as Mexico, approximately sixty-six million years ago

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:300-the-big-biology-quiz-part-3-dinosaurs-evolution-conservation-and-food:e1:o2:1
# text = The impact of an asteroid upon the region now known as Mexico, approximately sixty-six million years ago
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	impact	impact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	asteroid	asteroid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	region	region	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
9	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	10	advmod	_	_
10	known	know	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
11	as	as	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Mexico	Mexico	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
14	approximately	approximately	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
15	sixty	sixty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	18	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	six	six	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	conj	_	_
18	million	million	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	19	nummod	_	_
19	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
20	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | participle · passive |  | the impact of a asteroid upon the region |  |  | now; year | as Mexico | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Stimulus as mexico=Attribute |
| 2 | **impact** |  |  | a asteroid |  |  |  | upon the region | nom impact «event transitive»: of=patient upon=obl |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Prolonged conflict between the carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaur species across all the continents

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:300-the-big-biology-quiz-part-3-dinosaurs-evolution-conservation-and-food:e1:o3:1
# text = Prolonged conflict between the carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaur species across all the continents
1	Prolonged	prolong	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	amod	_	_
2	conflict	conflict	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	between	between	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
5	carnivorous	carnivorous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	herbivorous	herbivorous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	dinosaur	dinosaur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	species	species	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
10	across	across	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	13	det:predet	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	continents	continent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prolong** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn sustain-55.6 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hunting of dinosaurs by early human beings

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:300-the-big-biology-quiz-part-3-dinosaurs-evolution-conservation-and-food:e1:o4:1
# text = The hunting of dinosaurs by early human beings
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hunting	hunting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	dinosaurs	dinosaur	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	human	human	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	beings	being	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hunt** |  | early human beings | dinosaurs |  |  |  |  | nom hunting «act transitive»: of=patient by=agent |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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