Discovery Quest Natural History 1

Discovery Quest – Natural History 1 2-3 Answer Key Adaptation

1. Animal neck bones are called vertebrae. Find the animal famous for its long neck. Count the number of vertebrae. Giraffes have ____7______vertebrae in their necks.

Now, find the human skeleton. Count the number of neck vertebrae. (Remember: the neck bones start at the bottom of the skull and end at the shoulders.) Humans have ___7______vertebrae in their necks.

How many more vertebrae do giraffes have than humans? _____0______

Why are human and vertebrae necks different? Giraffe vertebrae are larger than human vertebrae.

2. Features that help an animal to survive in a particular environment are called adaptations. Find the following animal skulls or skeletons. Match the animals with a feature of their skull or skeleton. Then match the feature with how it helps that animal survive in its environment.

Ram long arms chewing on tough grasses Crocodile strong, grasping fingers propel itself forward and up Zebra eyes on top of skull withstand fighting blows Snow leopard long hind limbs deals with stress of leaping Bullfrog thick forehead bone climbing trees to get fruit Kangaroo Rat wide, flat teeth helps ability to see in the dark Chimpanzee short spine see while body is underwater Lemur large eyes swinging in trees

1. Birds have beaks that are made for eating specific things. Find the bird beak display case. Look at the different foods on the table below. Which bird or birds do you think eats each type of food? (Hint: Look carefully at each beak. How do you think it was used?)

Meat Insects Fruit Fish

Buzzard Woodpeckers Cedar Waxwing? Flamingo Owl Cedar Waxwing? Crow Great Blue Heron Hawk Woodcock Green Heron Crow Duck Crow Chuck-will’s Widow Discovery Quest – Natural History 2 2-3 Answer Key 2. Find the display case with the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Fill in the T chart below with three ways that the Pileated and Ivory Billed Woodpecker are different.

Ivory Billed Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker

1. White stripes down back Large white spots on wings 2. 1/2 wing area is white Stripe from chin down its neck 3. Black around eyes Black and white around eyes 4. Red plume on head divided Pure red plume on head by black stripe 5. Larger Shorter 6. White beak Dark beak

Small Worlds 1. Using the porthole stations, look at each image of the flea and describe how it looks.

Janssen Microscope:

Hooke Microscope: Various answers Chevalier Microscope:

Spencer Microscope:

Scanning Electron Microscope:

Did the images of the flea improve with new innovation? How? Yes, they become clearer and more detailed.

2. Look through the different microscopes in this part of the exhibits. Why might it be important for scientists to see something that is very small? Various answers

Insect Zoo

1. Find the Asian Butterfly and Moth display case. Using the ruler at the bottom of this page, find and measure three male and female moths from wing tip to wing tip, rounding to the nearest half-inch. Make sure that the male and female moths you compare are the same species. (Hint: species names and genders are written under the moths.) Use the table below to record your measurements. Various answers Moth #1 Moth #2 Moth #3 Male length inches inches inches Female length inches inches inches

Look at your data table. Which is bigger: males or females? females Discovery Quest – Natural History 3 2-3 Answer Key 2. Look in all three cases of butterflies and moths. Some moths have large dark spots with lighter rings around them. What do these spots look like to you? Various answers – bird eyes, predator eyes How might these spots help the butterfly or moth? Help with camouflage- protect them from predators

3. Find and explore the Frankstown Slab. Name four or five fossils you can easily find. Various answers

Mammals of the Mid-South

1. Mammals can have four different types of teeth. Find the teeth types in the chart below and identify the actions each of these teeth types performs when eating food. Teeth type Kinds of food

Incisors work with tongue to bring food into mouth

Canines stabbing action for meat

Premolars grip, strip, cut

Molars crush and grind into smaller pieces

2. Several animals in the main diorama have the word eliminated on their image. What does eliminated mean? Means it is no longer found in this area. Different from extinct because the animals in the display can be found in other areas of the United States.

Why do you think the black bear was eliminated from this area? For its pelt/fur, major predator, for its meat, etc.

Geology

1. There are many display cases here with various minerals and crystals. Pick one mineral or crystal and answer the questions below to describe it. Make sure you are specific. Various answers according to sample choosen. Color or Colors: ______

Is it shiny or dull? Is it as shiny as aluminum foil? Is it as dull as plastic?

______

How big do you think it is? Is it is basketball sized? Is it penny sized? Is it coke bottle sized?

______Discovery Quest – Natural History 4 2-3 Answer Key Imagine: how would it feel? Would it be sharp? Would it be smooth? Would it be rough?

______

Where is it from? (Hint: Read the exhibit label.) ______

Do you have any other words to describe it? ______

______

3. Find the display case with the stone spheres. Do you think these spheres are natural or man-made? Both Why? The material is natural, but the shape is man-made.

Dinosaurs and Fossils

1. Explain two ways fossils are made. Various answers, including: 1. Trapped in resin or tar, carbon films, casts and molds, or mineral replacement. 2.

If you were to put something in the ground today, would it become a fossil in your lifetime? Why or why not? No, it takes many hundred years for an object to become a fossil and it has to have the right conditions to make it a fossil.

2. Find the Apatosaurus model. Some dinosaurs swallowed stones to digest food that scientists call gastroliths. Would a meat-eating or plant-eating dinosaur need to swallow gastroliths? Plant-eating

Why? To help them to digest the rough plant material they were eating.

4. Take a look at the Mastodon skeleton and other fossils near it. How are mastodons and mammoths alike and different? Mammoths Mastodons

 Shorter and stockier  Slightly taller  Covered in short,  Long, shaggy hair  Found frequently as fossils fine hair  Lived in prairie in the Mid-south.  Lived in open areas  Relatives of woodlands  Tusks were more modern elephants  Ridged teeth curved  Flattened teeth