Question: Is Mr. Arnolds the man that was played by Samuel Jackson? If so, why was he at the power shed?
Question: When Ellie was attacked by a raptor in the power shed, she was startled by the hand of Mr Arnold which turned out to be his severed arm when she grabbed it, What happened to the rest of Mr Arnold's body? The raptor's mouths aren't big enough to swallow the whole rest of his body.
Answer: In Michael Crichton's original novel (upon which the movies were based), the Velociraptors didn't consume whole human bodies. A raptor would focus on its victim's abdomen, eviscerating its prey alive, eating only the entrails and internal organs. So, we may assume the majority of Arnold's body was left elsewhere in the power shed.
Answer: In the book, his body was wedged between the pipes and the raptor ate what it could get to - this was supposed to be in the movie, however filming for that scene was delayed due to a real hurricane so it was cut.
Answer: The creators of the film were not concerned with details explaining scenarios. They simply wanted to create a shocking jump scare type of scene. In reality, the man's hand would not have been severed and left in such a position.
Question: Without any actual eyes to study, how would anyone know that a T-Rex couldn't see anything unless it moves?
Answer: The notion that tyrannosauruses' vision was based on movement, or was otherwise poor, is a complete fabrication of the film (and possibly the book it is based upon). They were apex predators and thus likely had excellent vision, as do apex predators of today. But just for the sake of argument, studying the brain cases of extant skeletons and comparing them to those of living species, as well as extrapolating knowledge of the brain functions and visual acuity of comparable species, could allow for the hypothesis that the vision of the T-Rex was movement-based. (And in reality, it was by this method that scientists came to the exact opposite consensus).
Answer: In the book, they find out about T. Rex's visual acuity only later when Dr. Grant was actually knocked out of his car and was injured when it attacked him. I believe he then stood up and had the T. Rex right in front of him and stayed absolutely still because he was frozen in terror, not being able to move. The T. Rex then couldn't find him and started roaring as to scare him to get him to move or run because it lost sight of him. He didn't realize this fact only until when he slept in the trees with Lex and Tim when some other herbivore dinosaur, not a Brachiosaurus, was eating the leaves around him. Startled waking up to it, he moved which scared the dinosaur, but then he stopped moving so the dinosaur couldn't see him anymore and began to graze again. He realized this finally and connected the dots that it was because of the amphibian DNA. He knew frogs' visual acuity is only based on movement, and so all the dinosaurs had that trait. I hate from the beginning in the movie he just somehow knows.
Question: If mostly everyone was meant to evacuate because of the storm, then why bring Grant, Ellie, and Ian to the island at all? Seems a little risky as well as pointless; wouldn't they have evacuate soon after arriving?
Answer: The storm unexpectedly became particularly severe, and it turned into an emergency evacuation. Hammond had brought Grant, Ellie, and Ian to the island because he needed their professional endorsement in order to appease Hammond's investors regarding the viability and safety of his theme park. Without their approval, the park would have difficulty being fully financed. Any weather risk was worth it to Hammond to fulfill his dream project.
Question: Whilst I appreciate the comedic value of Jeff Goldblum, why has Dr Ian Malcolm been invited to the island? How is his academic knowledge of chaos theory relevant to deciding whether a theme park is safe?
Answer: Malcolm spoke with Hammond about the idea of Jurassic Park prior to the visit. Hammond dismisses Malcolm's math as "codswallop" and "fashionable number crunching," and complains that Malcolm has "never been able to adequately explain [his] concerns..." But why ask him? Malcolm is an expert in complex systems. His particular brand of scientist is known for modeling "the real world" in mathematics. This is why you hear him refer to the complexity of the system in phase space and chaos (as in chaos theory). Gennaro refers to him as 'too trendy." Hammond likely asked Malcom to analyze the idea of the park as a publicity stunt, but got back a scathing paper. Gennaro has picked someone openly hostile to the park to give it a review. The investors want two experts to sign off. Hammond knows that Malcolm is hostile, so Hammond finds a paleontologist and paleobotanist (Grant and Sattler) in the hopes that they will sign off due to sheer awe and excitement.
Answer: Malcolm was there to calculate the probability of what and how the theme park could go wrong. The park's financial backers are aware the dinosaurs pose an extreme danger to visitors that could result in massive lawsuits. They want to know every conceivable scenario of what could go wrong. It's the old adage of, 'If something can go wrong, it will go wrong.'.
Answer: From google: Ian Malcolm was invited to the park by Donald Gennaro as an insurance consultant as Donald apparently felt that Ian, as a fiduciary, would be able to notice any dangerous shortcomings the park had.
Answer: According to the wiki, he is brought along by the lawyer Donald Gennero because he is a parent of several children and thus be able to notice any shortcomings regarding safety to children.
Question: Why did Hammond scream Grant's name over the phone when Grant starts shooting?
Answer: Because Hammond asked Grant if the kids were OK, then the Raptors broke in and Grant started shouting, so Hammond didn't have a clue what was going on and was a bit on edge and shouted "Grant!"
Question: What exactly is the lysine thing Muldoon mentions? I didn't really understand it. And if it is the only way to save the others then why does Hammond say it's completely out of the question?
Answer: The so-called scientists genetically engineered the dinosaurs to not be able to produce the amino acid lysine so that they would need lysine supplements in their diet or they would die. Muldoon wants to stop giving them the supplement. Hammond doesn't want to stop giving it because the dinosaurs will die - all his money down the drain. Unfortunately, they goofed up because there were edible plants on the island that contain lysine (probably planted by the same idiot who planted the poisonous ferns), so the herbivores eat those, the carnivores eat the herbivores, and VOILA! all the dinosaurs have plenty of lysine without the supplement.
Question: Why would Alan test an electric fence by grabbing it with both hands? That's like clicking a gun at your head to see if it's loaded. Couldn't he have tried kicking it or maybe tapping it with his hand?
Chosen answer: Alan already knew the electricity wasn't turned on when he grabbed it. He first tested the fence by throwing a stick at it and nothing happened. He could also see that the warning lights on the fence post were off. He only touched the fence cables to play a joke on the two kids, to lighten the mood a little.
Throwing the stick was meaningless and would not have told him a thing. Perhaps, he did so to set the kids up for his questionable joke, given what they'd been through and still were in the middle of.
Answer: The stick testing the fence would not work because wood does not conduct electricity.
Wood contains a good deal of moisture unless it has been completely dried out. That's why electric transmission companies and local electric distribution companies cut branches away from power lines and transmission lines. That said. The stick would have to touch a wire and ground simultaneously. In the movie it was thrown against the fence but was not grounded. I don't think I would have used this test.
Question: Would it be possible to create dinosaurs in real life the way they create them in this film?
Chosen answer: No. There are a number of reasons why this is not possible, including the fact that DNA simply doesn't remain preserved for that long. See http://www.iflscience.com/technology/could-jurassic-park-ever-come-true for more details.
Question: When the 2 tour jeeps arrive at the Tyrannosaurus fence, they bring up the goat. Anyone wonder how they got the goat there, how they feed and care for it to stay healthy and alive? Did they dig an underground tunnel for miles through rough hills just to walk the goat through? Would they risk the other side of the fence in T. Rex territory with a goat? It's such an odd possibility because it's just not possible without extreme costs, risks and efforts, just to get the goat there.
Answer: The goat was not how the T. Rex would normally be fed. The keepers put it there as bait to lure the T. Rex to that specific spot at that particular time in order to present it to Dr. Grant and the others. Hammond invited them to the island to evaluate Jurassic Park so he could then assure his investors that it was safe. Hammond is pulling out all the stops to impress them. Also, the paddock would have to be designed to have designated zones that can be opened and closed off and have tunnels running throughout so the keepers can have access to it for maintenance and to corral the animal when needed.
Question: How does the T Rex get to the visitors center at the end of the movie after Ellie turns the power back on?
Answer: After Nedry turns the power off to the fences, the T-Rex is free to leave its paddock. Even though some fences remained on during Nedry's absence, they were all turned off accidentally when the system was rebooted. At this point the T-Rex could have gone literally anywhere it wanted. By the time Ellie turns all the fences back on, the T-Rex is already roaming around the area that houses the visitor center.
When Tim gets zapped, it was Ellie turning on the perimeter fence, if I am not mistaken.Then we hear the T. Rex roar inside the perimeter fence. Is the visitor center inside the perimeter fence? Otherwise how did the T. Rex get through? Did she already knock holes in the fence possibly?
The implication is that the T. Rex is already in the area. Whether she got there by a hole created earlier or just before the fence is turned back on is not clear. The fencing that Tim is shocked by is the main perimeter fence. The visitor center is located on the west coast of the island and is separated from the actual park by the giant wooden gate and perimeter fencing. For a map, visit here: http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Park_Map.
Answer: There were several minutes before the electrical fence turned on. Between the fence perimeter sounding and Laura Dern flipping the switch, the T-Rex could have gone through.
Question: What exactly are the types of frogs that can spontaneously change gender in a single-sex environment, that Grant was referring to?
Answer: To be exact. Grant is reffering to "amphibian DNA" most commonly found in species of West African frogs. It is the amphibian DNA that allows the frog to change gender. It is not specifically related to frogs only.
This type of behavior has been observed in survival situations. Unbalanced populations.
Question: When the jeeps are outside the t-rex paddock there is a sign on the concrete wall with the word NO written on it, the rest of the sign is too small to read. What does it say?
Answer: On the DVD it says, "Feeding, Flash Photography, Yelling", from top to bottom.
Question: At the opening of the film, Muldoon and the JP workers are loading a raptor into a pen. I've always wondered, was this raptor bred on Isla Sorna, and brought over? Or did this one escape from the pen, and had to be brought back? Was this the intelligent female raptor Muldoon warned Grant about?
Answer: Yes this Raptor was bred on Isla Sorna and brought to the pen. They hadn't escaped before or he would have told them. Its most likely this is the female raptor that Muldoon warned about. Although it's also possible this raptor was actually shot like Muldoon ordered.
Question: Has it been explained how they put the live animals into the ground of the T-rex enclosure? Surely there must be a tunnel to it from the outside of the enclosure.
Answer: The assumption is, as you said, an underground tunnel with a simple lift to raise the animal up.
Question: Why did Grant together with the children walk out of the woods into the open field? Wasn't that a great risk considering how visible they became and the lack of hiding spots?
Answer: Given the sheer number of dinosaurs (large and small), at least in an open field they'd see what was coming, as opposed to being ambushed by raptors in the foliage.
Question: When the tour group is heading back to base camp, Richard Attenborough is complaining about how the tour was unsuccessful. Samuel L. Jackson says very seriously, "It could have been worse - a lot worse." Is he referring to the fact that the dinosaurs could have escaped, or that they knew the security was faulty? If this was a real possibility, why would they have sent the tour group out, especially the kids?
Chosen answer: I don't think they're thinking along that sort of lines - I think it's more that this is the first test of the tour systems with a 'real' tour group and they're concerned about technical difficulties. Hammond is complaining because it didn't all go perfectly - Arnold is merely reminding him that they had a lot of technical systems that worked fine. If they'd had problems as well, the tour could have been appalling. At this point, they wouldn't even be considering the possibility of a dinosaur breakout or security problem - they're worried about the technical aspects of the tour working properly.
Question: The second Nedry notices the Dilophosaurus in the jeep with him, why didn't he quickly get out and shut the door, trapping it inside? He had a second or two before the Dilophosaurus started growling and attacking him, plenty of time to get out.
Answer: There are some additional factors that would interfere with his ability to move quickly: He was obese (so not very agile) and his vision was impaired (he dropped his glasses and was sprayed with gunk in his eyes).
Answer: In addition to what RayWest and LionHead wrote, I would like to point out that it's easy to say what a person should have done. You're watching the situation as an outsider. Granted, this is a fantasy situation in a movie about dinosaurs, but the mentality is realistic: people who are actually in a situation don't always think of something that seems obvious.
Answer: The fact that Nedry was in a car could've been giving him a false sense of security. Yes, he could've gotten out of the car, but then he'd be out in the open, making it easier for him to get attacked by any other dinos that were lurking about. In the car, he probably (incorrectly) assumed that the Dilophosaurus would have restricted movement due to how small cars are, making it harder for it to attack.
Question: Is it true that a T-Rex's vision is based on movement?
Answer: According to noted paleontologist Jack Horner, who acted as a consultant on this film, it is not known whether or not a T-Rex's vision was based on movement. However, because some reptiles do have this trait, Horner said it's possible that a T-Rex could have it as well, and he didn't object to it being in the movie. Being as these are not pure dinosaurs, it's plausible.
Kent Stevens conducted an experiment to figure out what kind of vision T-rex had.
There is evidence that T. Rex had excellent binocular vision, and could see you even if you didn't move.
Answer: It's unlikely. As a large and top-heavy predator, the T. Rex would have needed excellent vision to be sure that it didn't fall over and injure itself. As it also had overlapping binocular vision (similar to predatory birds, predatory mammals, and humans), it most likely had very good vision, especially since prey freezing in place (like a deer in headlights) is a common thing. This is a holdover from the first book, which is also lampshaded as a bad theory in the second book.
Kent Stevens determined that T-rex had a depth perception of 55°. That's better than hawks and eagles.
Question: Why was Nedry paid to smuggle the dinosaur embryos off of the island?
Answer: So the company that paid him would have all these dinosaur embryos without having to dig to find them and could then create dinosaurs themselves.
Chosen answer: Yes, he's the same character. He went to the shed to turn the power back on initially, but when he didn't return, and the power didn't come back on, Ellie Sattler then went. She discovered Arnold had been killed by the raptor.