Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Life · Unit 2

Famous Dinosaurs

Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and the other stars

A small number of species do almost all the work in the public imagination, and most of them are known from far fewer specimens than their fame suggests.

The unit covers Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, the sauropod giants and the raptors - what is actually known about each, and where the popular picture has been overtaken by evidence.

This unit breaks down into 19 short steps and 111 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps
19
Questions
111
Difficulty
1-3

What this unit covers

  • The Long-Necked Giants
  • Triceratops
  • Tyrannosaurus rex
  • Velociraptor and the Raptors
  • Stegosaurus

Where this fits

Follows What Is a Dinosaur? Dinosaur Family Groups organises them properly.

Where people slip

The Jurassic Park Velociraptor is really the size and build of Deinonychus. The real Velociraptor was roughly turkey-sized and feathered.

How the unit is structured

Famous Dinosaurs runs as 19 short steps that unlock in order. 14 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 19 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 111 in the unit altogether.

Stegosaurus

  • Match the pairsLevel 1

    1. Match each dinosaur to the body part it is famous for.

    Answer: Stegosaurus = Plates along the back; Triceratops = Three horns; Tyrannosaurus = Huge jaws and tiny arms; Brachiosaurus = A very long neck

    Each of these dinosaurs is recognised by one striking feature.

  • Multiple choiceLevel 1

    2. What did Stegosaurus have along its back?

    • Rows of big bony platescorrect
    • A row of feathers
    • A long fin
    • Two wings

    Stegosaurus had two rows of large bony plates.

  • True or falseLevel 1

    3. Stegosaurus had a very small head compared with its body.

    Answer: True

    True. Its head and brain were small for such a large animal.

  • Choose all that applyLevel 2

    4. Which defensive features appear among ornithischian dinosaurs? Pick all that apply.

    • Back platescorrect
    • Tail spikescorrect
    • Bony tail clubscorrect
    • Venom fangs

    Plates, spikes, tail clubs and body armour all evolved in this group.

  • Fact or fibLevel 2

    5. Stegosaurus lived at the same time as Tyrannosaurus rex.

    Answer: False

    False. Stegosaurus died out tens of millions of years before T. rex appeared.

  • Fill the blankLevel 2

    6. The spiked tail of Stegosaurus was used for ____.

    • defencecorrect
    • swimming
    • digging nests
    • climbing trees

    Those spikes were weapons against predators.

The Long-Necked Giants

  • Build the sentenceLevel 1

    7. Build a sentence about the giant plant eaters.

    Answer: Long necks helped them reach tall trees

    Long necks helped them reach the tallest trees.

  • Multiple choiceLevel 1

    8. What did the long-necked dinosaurs use their necks for?

    • Reaching food other animals could notcorrect
    • Swimming faster
    • Digging tunnels
    • Fighting with their teeth

    Long necks let them reach food high in trees or sweep across wide areas of low plants.

  • Fill the blankLevel 2

    9. Spinosaurus is famous for the tall ____ on its back.

    • sailcorrect
    • shell
    • crown
    • hump of fur

    Long spines supported a sail-like structure.

  • Put in orderLevel 2

    10. Put these famous dinosaurs in order from earliest to latest.

    Answer: Plateosaurus -> Allosaurus -> Stegosaurus -> Tyrannosaurus

    Plateosaurus is Triassic, Stegosaurus and Allosaurus Jurassic, Tyrannosaurus latest Cretaceous.

  • Sort into groupsLevel 2

    11. Sort each dinosaur as a meat eater or a plant eater.

    Answer: Tyrannosaurus = Meat eater; Velociraptor = Meat eater; Triceratops = Plant eater; Brachiosaurus = Plant eater

    Teeth and body shape tell us what each dinosaur ate.

  • Fact or fibLevel 3

    12. Dinosaur size records change regularly as new specimens are found.

    Answer: True

    True. Every few years a new contender for largest is announced.

Triceratops

  • Multiple choiceLevel 1

    13. How many horns did Triceratops have on its head?

    • Threecorrect
    • One
    • Five
    • Ten

    Triceratops had three horns, which is what its name means.

  • True or falseLevel 1

    14. Triceratops was a plant eater.

    Answer: True

    True. It cropped tough plants with its beak and chewed with rows of teeth.

  • Fact or fibLevel 2

    15. The horns of Triceratops may have been used to fight rivals and show off.

    Answer: True

    True. Horns and frills were probably used for display as well as defence.

  • Fill the blankLevel 2

    16. Triceratops walked on ____ legs.

    • fourcorrect
    • two
    • three
    • six

    It was a heavy four-legged plant eater.

  • Guess the numberLevel 2

    17. How many horns did Triceratops carry on its skull?

    Answer: 3 horns

    Two long brow horns and one shorter nose horn make three.

  • Type the answerLevel 2

    18. Which three-horned dinosaur had a huge bony frill?

    Answer: Triceratops

    Triceratops is the most famous horned dinosaur.

Tyrannosaurus rex

  • Fill the blankLevel 1

    19. Tyrannosaurus walked on ____ legs.

    • twocorrect
    • four
    • six
    • eight

    Like all theropods, T. rex was a two-legged walker.

  • Picture questionLevel 1

    20. 🦖 Which dinosaur is best known for a huge head and tiny arms?

    • Tyrannosaurus rexcorrect
    • Brachiosaurus
    • Stegosaurus
    • Triceratops

    Tyrannosaurus rex is the classic big-headed, short-armed predator.

  • True or falseLevel 1

    21. Tyrannosaurus rex had some of the biggest teeth of any land predator.

    Answer: True

    True. Its largest teeth were about the size of a banana.

  • Choose all that applyLevel 2

    22. Which are supported by fossil evidence for T. rex? Pick all that apply.

    • Bite marks that crushed bonecorrect
    • Healed injuries showing tough livescorrect
    • Very fast growth as teenagerscorrect
    • Wings used for flying

    Bone-crushing bite marks, healed injuries and rapid teenage growth are all documented.

  • Fact or fibLevel 2

    23. Tyrannosaurus rex lived in North America.

    Answer: True

    True. Its fossils come from the western United States and Canada.

  • Multiple choiceLevel 2

    24. What was unusual about the arms of Tyrannosaurus rex?

    • They were very short, with two fingers
    • They were longer than its legs
    • It had six arms
    • It had wings instead

    Its arms were tiny compared with its enormous body, with only two fingers.

Velociraptor and the Raptors

  • Choose all that applyLevel 1

    25. Which are true about Velociraptor? Pick all that apply.

    • It was smallcorrect
    • It had featherscorrect
    • It walked on two legscorrect
    • It was bigger than a bus

    It was small, feathered and walked on two legs.

  • Multiple choiceLevel 1

    26. Where were Velociraptor fossils found?

    • Mongoliacorrect
    • Australia
    • Antarctica
    • Ireland

    Velociraptor fossils come from Mongolia and northern China.

  • True or falseLevel 1

    27. Velociraptor had feathers.

    Answer: True

    True. Fossil evidence shows raptors like Velociraptor were feathered.

  • Fact or fibLevel 2

    28. Films often show raptors much larger than the real Velociraptor was.

    Answer: True

    True. Movie raptors are closer in size to a different dinosaur called Deinonychus.

  • Fill the blankLevel 2

    29. Raptor dinosaurs are famous for the curved ____ on the second toe.

    • clawcorrect
    • feather
    • horn
    • scale

    The sickle claw is the raptor trademark.

  • Type the answerLevel 2

    30. Which small feathered hunter's name means swift thief?

    Answer: Velociraptor

    Velociraptor means swift thief.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 12 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

  • Build the sentence
  • Choose all that apply
  • Fact or fib
  • Fill the blank
  • Guess the number
  • Match the pairs
  • Multiple choice
  • Picture question
  • Put in order
  • Sort into groups
  • True or false
  • Type the answer

Practise Famous Dinosaurs

111 questions across 19 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about Famous Dinosaurs

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

More units in Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Life

See all 18 units in Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Life