Geology EPQ

I'm currently in lower sixth, and have decided to start an EPQ next year. Geology is my favourite subject and as I want to study this area at uni i've decided to base my EPQ on it. I'm particularly interested in dinosaurs, and especially the KT extinction and the theories about it. But i'm not sure if there would be enough to write about and i'm struggling to come up with a title,
If anyone has any suggestions for a title or a different area of palaeontology i could look at i'd be so grateful!!!
Thanks in advance :-)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 1

username2088165

Original post by tjulien

I would say that there definitely is enough info out there to write about KT extinction theories, as I did my EPQ on that very topic :biggrin:

You could also consider doing it on one of the other extinctions such as the Permian-Triassic, or something like the development of life on land, e.g. requirements for living on land and fossil evidence for different possible first land animals? :smile:

Reply 2

tjulien

Original post by Leviathan1741

I would say that there definitely is enough info out there to write about KT extinction theories, as I did my EPQ on that very topic :biggrin:

Great thankyou! Do you reckon I would be able to focus it more on the rock evidence side with a title along the lines of: 'To what extent can our Earth’s geology help us understand the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction?', or will that be limiting it a bit?
And then maybe I could change it later on to include how the dinosaurs/other organisms reacted to the meteor impact?
(As apparently a successful title change can help you get extra marks?!)
Thanks :-)

Reply 3

username2088165

Original post by tjulien

I think that's a good possibility, as you could relate aspects of the geology to the different extinction theories, e.g. the Chicxulub impact crater, iridium layer and tektites for the asteroid theory, the Deccan Traps igneous province for the volcanism theory etc. If you find it doesn't give enough scope then you can change it to include other types of evidence too :smile:

Reply 4

Plagioclase

Original post by tjulien

There is a huge amount of research that has been done on the K-Pg extinction (it's not officially called the K-T extinction any more) and it's an area of major controversy (there are strong arguments supporting both the Impactor and LIP theories, as well as a more recent idea that the impactor intensified volcanism in the Deccan), so I think it's absolutely perfect for an EPQ!

Original post by tjulien

If anything, I'd choose something even broader (e.g. "What caused the K-Pg Mass Extinction?" ), start your research, and then see what interests you, and refine it if necessary (which you probably will). It's completely up to you though, I think the title you mentioned there is also good.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

Zoe Lea

Original post by Leviathan1741

I would say that there definitely is enough info out there to write about KT extinction theories, as I did my EPQ on that very topic :biggrin:

Hiya I'm also looking into doing this as my EPQ (or the Permian-Triassic extinction), my teachers are asking for primary research but I don't know what they mean by this or how I can obtain it, any ideas?
Thank you.

Reply 6

username2088165

Original post by Zoe Lea

Primary research tends to involve doing something like an interview or questionnaire, essentially it's a piece of research that you've carried out yourself. This particular EPQ topic doesn't lend itself very well to primary research, and personally I didn't include any in my project. Primary research isn't essential for getting a good mark; I got an A without it so you can still succeed with only secondary research. The only possible idea you could try (that I can think of) would be to interview someone like a university lecturer in palaeontology to see what they think, but it's not necessary really :smile: