astronomy

Planet Dinosaur

Planet Dinosaur is a astronomy 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 Planet Dinosaur rather than just read about it. In short: Planet Dinosaur, is a six-part documentary television series created by Nigel Paterson and Phil Dobree, produced by the BBC, and narrated by John Hurt. It first aired in the United Kingdom in 2011, with VFX studio Jellyfish Pictures as its producer.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Planet Dinosaur, is a six-part documentary television series created by Nigel Paterson and Phil Dobree, produced by the BBC, and narrated by John Hurt. It first aired in the United Kingdom in 2011, with VFX studio Jellyfish Pictures as its producer. It was the first major dinosaur-related series for BBC One since Walking with Dinosaurs. There are more than 50 different prehistoric species featured, and they and their environments were created entirely as computer-generated images, for around a third of the production cost that was needed a decade earlier for Walking with Dinosaurs. Much of the series' plot is based on scientific discoveries made since Walking with Dinosaurs, with episodes frequently stopping the action to show fossil evidence and the assumptions based on them. The companion book to Planet Dinosaur was released on 8 September 2011, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on 24 October 2011. Planet Dinosaur is highly praised for its stunning graphics and 3D animation. The series was also accompanied by an online video game which has since become inaccessible.

List of episodes

Spin-offs CBBC aired a spin-off, Planet Dinosaur Files, from 29 September 2011, hosted by Jem Stansfield. Each episode compares three Mesozoic creatures and involves practical tests to replicate certain behaviours in an attempt to find out which creature holds a certain title, such as the "most powerful" theropod. A 60-minute 3-D spin-off of Planet Dinosaur was announced in July 2011, and was broadcast on 19 August 2012 under the name Ultimate Killers. A companion book "Planet Dinosaur: The Next Generation of Killer Giants" was written by Cavan Scott and published sometime in 2012.

Reception Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent found Planet Dinosaur to be visually "very polished and jazzed up" but that the "knowledge and science generally take second place to B-movie spectacle". Riley Black, in a post on the Smithsonian Magazine website, commented, "What sets Planet Dinosaur apart, and what I enjoyed most, is the fact that a modicum of science is woven into each episode to back up the different vignettes being presented." She also added "...[while] Planet Dinosaur is not that perfect dinosaur documentary that we have all been hoping for, it is still far better than just about anything that I have seen lately." Gordon Sullivan, from DVD Verdict concluded in a positive way, "Planet Dinosaur is a fine series that gives viewers a good sense of where our knowledge about dinosaurs is at the moment. Combining nature-documentary stylings with a competent narration from smooth-voiced John Hurt, Planet Dinosaur is sure to please budding paleontologists and older dinosaur fans alike."

References

External links Planet Dinosaur at BBC Online Planet Dinosaur Files Planet Dinosaur at IMDb

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Planet Dinosaur

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Planet Dinosaur claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, 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 Planet Dinosaur 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 Planet Dinosaur 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 Planet Dinosaur

In research: Planet Dinosaur appears in astronomy 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 Planet Dinosaur 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: Planet Dinosaur is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2011 British television series debuts, 2011 British television series endings, 2011 English-language television series debuts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Planet Dinosaur 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 Planet Dinosaur in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Planet Dinosaur 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 Planet Dinosaur out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Planet Dinosaur in simple terms?

Why does Planet Dinosaur matter?

Because it connects several astronomy 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 Planet Dinosaur?

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 Planet Dinosaur.