science

Paleontology in Washington, D.C.

Paleontology in Washington, D.C. is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paleontology in Washington, D.C. rather than just read about it. In short: Local paleontology in Washington, D.C., is known primarily for two serendipitously discovered dinosaur fossils. The first was a vertebra from a carnivorous dinosaur nicknamed "Capitalsaurus" that was related to Tyrannosaurus rex. "Capitalsaurus" is the official dinosaur of the District of Columbia; the place it was discovered was named Capitalsaurus Court in its honor and it even has its own local holiday.

Key takeaways

Paleontology in Washington, D.C. belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paleontology in Washington, D.C. to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paleontology in Washington, D.C. from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Local paleontology in Washington, D.C., is known primarily for two serendipitously discovered dinosaur fossils. The first was a vertebra from a carnivorous dinosaur nicknamed "Capitalsaurus" that was related to Tyrannosaurus rex. "Capitalsaurus" is the official dinosaur of the District of Columbia; the place it was discovered was named Capitalsaurus Court in its honor and it even has its own local holiday. The second major fossil find was a thighbone from the long-necked sauropod Astrodon. The District of Columbia and Maryland are the only places where Early Cretaceous dinosaur remains are known to have been preserved east of the Mississippi River.

History

Early in the history of local paleontology, 1846 was significant as the year the US National Museum was founded. A few decades later, in January 1898, a vertebra and some other fragmentary remains of a large theropod dinosaur were discovered by workers attempting to install a sewer line at First and F Streets SE. The fossils were donated to the Smithsonian by J. K. Murphy on the 28th of that month and assigned the specimen number NMNH 3049. The remains belonged to a carnivorous dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus rex that was nicknamed "Capitalsaurus". Capitalsaurus is endemic to the federal district and known from nowhere else on earth. It lived in the Washington, D.C. area about 110 million years ago, when the area resembled modern southern Louisiana. Significant events from the early 20th century included the 1916 transfer of the fossil collection curated by the Goucher College museum to the US National Museum at the Smithsonian. Less than a decade later, in 1923, renowned paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore became curator of the museum. In 1942, near the end of Gilmore's career, a sizable thigh bone belonging to Astrodon was discovered during construction at the McMillan Water Filtration Plant. Just three years later, in 1945, Gilmore's time as curator of the US National Museum ended. On September 30, 1998 Capitalsaurus was recognized as the official dinosaur of Washington, D.C. On January 28, 2000, the 102nd anniversary of the discovery of and donation to the Smithsonian of Capitalsaurus the site of its discovery was formally named Capitalsaurus Court. On the next anniversary of the discovery mayor Anthony A. Williams declared it a local holiday, "Capitalsaurus Day".

People

Births Alpheus Hyatt was born on April 5, 1838. Gregory S. Paul was born on 24 December, 1954.

Deaths Remington Kellogg died on 8 May 1969 at age 76. Edward Oscar Ulrich died on 22 February 1944. Charles Doolittle Walcott died on February 9, 1927 at age 76.

Natural history museums National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paleontology in Washington, D.C.

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paleontology in Washington, D.C. claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paleontology in Washington, D.C. before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paleontology in Washington, D.C. ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paleontology in Washington, D.C.

In research: Paleontology in Washington, D.C. appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paleontology in Washington, D.C. in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paleontology in Washington, D.C. is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Paleontology in Washington, D.C., Paleontology in the United States, Science and technology in Washington, D.C., so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paleontology in Washington, D.C. outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paleontology in Washington, D.C. in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paleontology in Washington, D.C. means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paleontology in Washington, D.C. out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paleontology in Washington, D.C. in simple terms?

Why does Paleontology in Washington, D.C. matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paleontology in Washington, D.C.?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paleontology in Washington, D.C..