Tracks Tell Tales!

Can these footprints tell how fast the dinosaur was going?
Scientists can use a formula to estimate how fast a particular dinosaur was moving when it left its footprints. A formula is an equation or "number sentence" that helps you find the relationship between quantities, like finding out how fast an animal was moving by using the animal's stride ( how long one footprint is from another) and it's leg length (how long the measurement is from hip to ankle).

This formula was developed by the scientist McNeill Alexander. It helps us figure out how fast a Struthiomimus was going by using the dinosaur’s stride and leg length.

Let’s see how this thing works!

1. We measure the stride of the Struthiomimus.

Using the ruler, we see that the Struthiomimus’s stride is 1.35 meters (1 meter, 35 centimeters).

We “plug” that into our equation and the value we get for this part is 1.65.

2. Next, we measure the leg length (the top of the femur to the bottom of the fibula).

The Struthiomimus’s leg length is 1.04 meters (1 meter, 4 centimeters).

We “plug” that into our equation and the value we get for this part is .004.

3. Now, it’s up to you!

Use your calculator (or your head) and…

Multiply .25 by the stride value.

Then multiply that figure by the leg length value and finally by 9.8.

Struthiomimus was a hollow-boned theropod that looked much like an ostrich. It had a long neck as well as very long forelimbs. Its fingers contained sharp claws which may have been used to rip open logs to get to insects. Struthiomimus's mouth formed a solid, flat beak which was probably used in the consumption of small reptiles, insects, fruits, and various forms of vegetation. Animals that eat both plants and meat are called omnivores. This swift, plant and meat eating dinosaur, grew up to eight feet tall and fourteen feet long. S lived towards the end of the Cretaceous time period and was found in Canada and the Western United States.