Teaching article
A dinosaur size drawing should show its scale and estimate
Read a verified measurement and apply a stated drawing scale.
Read the source measurement, including any qualification, before choosing a drawing scale. A clearly labelled model can communicate the estimate without pretending it is an exact measurement of every member of a species.
Keep the source's estimate and the chosen scale beside the drawing. The resulting model should not imply more precision than the original information.
Carry the source's uncertainty into the model
- Read the stated estimate.
- Choose a simple scale.
- Label the diagram.
At one square per metre, a six-metre example spans six squares.
Published estimates can vary.
What does one square represent? Use pre-drawn grid lengths.
Resources
- Fossil Clue Partner Game — Use the paper clues as a classroom evidence model.
Further reading
Read next
- Prehistoric does not mean dinosaur
- Two dinosaur reconstructions may differ for understandable reasons
- An orbit model shows a relationship, not every force
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