Andrew Lyon Ms. Gray English 11 Honors 9/3/2024 T. rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez The vanishing of the dinosaurs has always been a topic debated by scientists. For a long time, no one really knew what had happened to them for certain. In the non-fiction book T. rex and the Crater of Doom, Walter Alvarez brings the reader with him to learn the story of how scientists figured out how the dinosaurs went extinct, as well as where the evidence is located. Alvarez successfully argues for the theory that a comet or asteroid crashed into the Earth, causing the extinction of many ancient species. One way Walter Alvarez argues for the meteor theory is through his use of ethos. When informing the reader about how he met his partner, Bill …show more content…
He always backs up his claims with solid evidence and facts. For example, when the author is explaining how scientists knew when the dinosaurs went extinct, Alvarez claims that “...history is written in rocks.” He backs up his claim with evidence by stating that “Archaeological sites the world over display the fundamental rule of history written in rocks - younger layers rest on older ones.” (Alvarez 20). Here, he uses logic and true facts to reason why his claim is true. He does this throughout the book. Another example of him using logos is when he claims that the site where the meteor impacted the Earth was unlikely to be found (Alvarez 89). The evidence and logic he gives to support this claim is the fact that the Earth is hot inside, which drives tectonic plate motion. Alvarez also states that the Earth and water in the atmosphere, are continuously moving things such as sediments and dust. Because of these facts, the impact site of the meteor seems to be covered up, in the ocean, or it has been destroyed by tectonic plate movement (Alvarez 90). These instances of him using logic and reasoning to support his claims show that he successfully backs the overall claim that a meteor is what impacted the Earth and killed the