WHO WILL WIN?
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
T. rex
RAAWR
THE SETUP

Cheetah vs T. rex

Cheetah
Cheetah
T. rex
T. rex

Pretend they meet in grassland. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Cheetah and T. rex did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

This is pretend and based on facts. Real animals usually hide or leave.

Read the facts. Make your card. The page waits to pick.

Corner A

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus · The land-speed record in spots.

Cheetah
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cheetah is medium.

Sprint specialist.

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

A sprinter, not a wrestler.

  • Cheetah is medium and very fast.
  • They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.
  • Open plains are a racetrack.

Family: Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

Corner B

T. rex

Tyrannosaurus rex · The banana-toothed bone cruiser.

T. rex
Home
Late Cretaceous floodplains of western North America · Lived in North America long ago
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
T. rex is giant.

Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

Top of a vanished food web.

  • T. rex is giant and not very fast.
  • Horned dinosaurs, duckbills, leftover carcasses — a giant meat-eater that did not skip free calories.
  • Fossils come from places like Hell Creek: forests, rivers, and floodplains about 66 million years ago.

Family: Birds!

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

3.7 m

T. rex to scale

T. rex

Height to scale. A grown-up is 1.7 m.

Cheetah50 kg

About as heavy as a fifth-grader — and faster than the school bus.

T. rex8,200 kg

Hip-tall as a basketball hoop, heavier than an African elephant, longer than a school bus.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 kg.

T. rex

3.7 m · 8,200 kg

T. rex is giant. 8,200 kg.

Kilograms are honest. A small animal can still have a strong tool.

Who would you pick for size?

TOOLKIT!

TOOLS

Teeth, claws, horns, venom, kick — what tools do they have?

  • Weapon: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Banana-sized bone shears
  • Armor: Thick skull and a neck like a crane
  • Senses: A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

T. rex · labeled field diagram

Cheetah400 psi bite
T. rex8000 psi bite

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

Tool: high-speed trip claws. Bite: 400 psi.

T. rex

Banana-sized bone shears

Tool: banana-sized bone shears. Bite: 8,000 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Cheetah
110 km/h
T. rex
20 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h
T. rex20 km/h

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 km/h. That is very fast.

T. rex

20 km/h

T. rex can go 20 km/h. That is not very fast.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
CheetahT. rexBoth

Meeting biome: grassland. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

T. rex

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

T. rex lives in places like grassland.

No. Cheetah and T. rex did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.
T. rex
Meat · Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

T. rex

Meat · Giant bite-and-pull hunter.

Horned dinosaurs, duckbills, leftover carcasses — a giant meat-eater that did not skip free calories.

A plant eater is not 'safe.' Hippos and elephants still end arguments.

Whose hunting or defending helps more?

MOOD!

MOOD

Alone vs team. This rumble is one vs one.

Cheetah
Lives alone
T. rex
Lives alone
Cheetah6 grit /10
T. rex9 grit /10

Cheetah

Lives alone

A sprinter, not a wrestler. Grit: 6/10.

T. rex

Lives alone

Top of a vanished food web. Grit: 9/10.

Pack and pride animals lose their backup in a 1-v-1.

Who is better for a solo meeting?

PING!

BRAINS

Who notices first and thinks next?

Cheetah
6/10
T. rex
5/10
Cheetah6 brains /10
T. rex5 brains /10

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

T. rex

5/10

A huge smelling system and eyes that faced more forward than most dinosaurs.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
T. rex
Tyrannosaurus rex

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

T. rex

Tyrannosaurus rex

Birds!

Cousins are clues, not a score.

Not a fight point. Who has the wilder family story?

WILD CARD!

SPECIAL

What special move did they evolve?

Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom
T. rex
Bone-Crunch Clamp

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

T. rex

Bone-Crunch Clamp

T.

A secret move here is a real wild tool, not a video-game combo.

Whose special move would change the meeting?

YOUR SCORECARD

Your scorecard

Tap who has each fact. Then tap who you think wins.

  • SIZE & WEIGHT

  • TOOLS

  • SPEED

  • HOME

  • FOOD

  • MOOD

  • BRAINS

  • SPECIAL

Your card: Cheetah 0 · T. rex 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

Keep going for the pretend meeting, then the science pick.

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Cheetah runs first. T. rex does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

T. rex is heavier. Cheetah uses high-speed trip claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. T. rex tries the Bone-Crunch Clamp. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

T. rex!

A STOMP

You skipped a final pick. The facts still stamp a champ.

On grassland, T. rex wins. T. rex is a lot heavier. Cheetah would still win some meetings at home.

In the wild, most animals skip a fight. We still judge who the bodies and the place would favor.

Science card: Cheetah 3 · T. rex 4 · ties 1.

Your card: Cheetah 0 · T. rex 0.

The last page follows the whole animal — body plus home — not one bar chart.

Send this fight

A friend can read the same facts.

Also starring · Cheetah

Rozi the cheetah. Zoom is not a metaphor.

Cincinnati Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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