Dugite Discovery SHY, SCALY PREDATOR Dugites Are Quite Common Around Perth and Are Most Likely to Be Seen During the Daytime in Warmer Months
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ED!MAY 13, 2020 Dugite discovery SHY, SCALY PREDATOR Dugites are quite common around Perth and are most likely to be seen during the daytime in warmer months. They are one of the native species that have benefited from urbanisation, which has brought with it new food sources and places to shelter. Most snake bites that occur around Perth are from dugites. While they are generally shy, they will attack if they feel threatened. They are listed as the 13th most venomous snake in the world by the Australian Venom Research Unit. Turn to page 3 to find out more about this amazing reptile. EXPERIMENT WITH EGGS TO LEARN ABOUT TOOTH DECAY. P4 INE MAR t MEDIAs momen matter SCIENCE MIXED LAB BAG ure GET creat thy FEATURE heal ED! • 2 Maths & English Wednesday, May 13, 2020 MATHS IN minds NumbatFOCUS numbers EQUATIONS Race around the track to help the numbat find a feast of termites. Along the way, colourINE in all of the blocks that are equivalent to the magic numberMAR at the centre.t start MEDIA s mSTEMomen 1+4 4+4 2+1 3+0 everydaymatter Hint: There are 10 iny total, and they get harder the further you go. here ENGLISH pla Challenge yourself: q Try it without a calculator. q Set a time limit and try to beat it. q Try finishing quickly by estimating answers to see which are most 60÷10 15÷5 27-24 122-114 6+5 likely to be right. SCIENCE MIpXEDle & LAB peoBAGES FRACTIONPLAC ACTION Draw lines to match the fractions below to their equivalent values. Hint — there may be more than one. 28÷41200÷400 3 102-99 9-5 0.1 creat15 ure 15% GET0.4 8 100 URE thy FEAT100 heal 20 1 3 12÷4 600÷200 444÷111 500÷100 12-1 30 40% 100 1 0.25 1 0.75 10 4 MATHS IN 0.15 minds 3 15 150FOCUS 18÷219-12 7-4 19-10 10-7 4 60 100 10% 200 1 ANSWERS The answers to all ED! Learn activities are available online: veryday STEM mediaeducation.com.au/ e y students. ENGLISH pla Introduces person There was a young boy from Wiluna, Limericksple & Who rode home from school on a tuna. Rhyme peo ES limerick is a short poemPLAC that is usually fun, silly or even rude. Limericks His father said, “Mate, contain five lines and have the rhyme scheme AABBA. This means that the Rhyme Afirst, second and fifth lines rhyme (A), and the third and fourth lines rhyme 9 syllables You’re terribly late, (B). Lines one, two and five will have 7-10 syllables, with lines three and four 5 syllables matching and having 5-7 syllables. The first line often introduces a person using the I thought that you’d be home much sooner.” line “There once was a ...” or “There was a …“ Activity: Draw a picture to go with the limerick. There once was a schoolgirl from Collie, Who had a twin brother called Ollie. YOUR TURN Have some fun writing a limerick of your own. Whenever it rained, q Start with your first line: There once was a _________________________________________________________ (7-10 syllables) Young Ollie complained, Until the girl opened her brolly. q Next, think of two words that rhyme with the last word from your first line. These words will help you find a “story” for your poem. Remember, limericks can be silly so have some fun with your ideas. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ q Now, try to write your first draft. Play around with your words and sentences to make them fit the limerick rules. 1. _______________________________________________________________ (A) (7-10 syllables) 2. _______________________________________________________________ (A) (7-10 syllables) 3. _______________________________________________________________ (B) (5-7 syllables) 4. _______________________________________________________________ (B) (5-7 syllables) 5. _______________________________________________________________ (A) (7-10 syllables) q Finally, check your limerick has the right number of syllables in each line and follows the AABBA rhyme scheme. Read your limerick aloud to make sure it flows well. FEATURES EDITOR Ross McRae, 9482 3124, [email protected] EDITOR Gail Anthony, [email protected] CONTENT Seven West Media Education, [email protected] DESIGN Melinda Penn COVER Getty Images POSTAL ADDRESS ED! Magazine, The West Australian, GPO Box 2918, Perth WA 6800 INE MAR t MEDIAs momen matter SCIENCE MIXED LAB BAG Wednesday, May 13, 2020 Science ED! • 3 creature GET URE healthy Dugite FEAT MATHS IN minds FOCUS FAST FACTS Scientific Name: Pseudonaja affinis Conservation Status: Vulnerable STEM ExtinctThreatened Least Concerneveryday y ENGLISH pla EX EW CR EN VU NT LC Body Length: up to 2 m Weight: up to 1.5 kg DID YOU ple & KNOW? Incubation: 65–90 days peo S PLACE The Rottnest Island dugite is smaller and Number of eggs: 10 genetically different Dugite at Perth Zoo. Habitat: All habitats from those found on the mainland. Distribution: Southern Western Australia ACTIVITIES 1. Fact finding Highlight, underline or circle five facts on this page 4. Reptile that you didn’t know before. List them here, from Circle the facts about dugites that will make each sentence true. the most to least amazing. Dugites: q are more likely to be active during the a) day b) night. 1. _______________________________________________________________ q usually lay about a) 1 b) 10 c) 100 eggs. q become more active after lying a) in the sun b) under water c) 2. ___________________________________________________ underground. 3. ___________________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________________ 5. ___________________________________________________ Distribution 2. Scaly mates Dugites are reptiles. Circle the other animals below that are also reptiles. (Hint: reptiles have scales covering their bodies.) DESCRIPTION Dugites are venomous snakes. They vary in colour from grey to olive to brown on the top of their bodies, with an olive or yellowish belly. Black scales can be scattered over the body and the head can be paler or darker than the rest of Bobtail Macaw Lion Tortoise 5. Dig further the body. Young dugites have black heads. Search online for ‘snake bite first aid WA’ to find DIET out what to do in the Dugites are carnivores. Before European event of a snake bite. settlement they mostly ate other reptiles such as lizards and snakes. Since then they have Tiger Crocodile Fish Perentie adapted well to eating mice and rats. Dugites can sometimes swallow other snakes almost as big as themselves. IN THE WILD Motorbike Blue-tongue Elephant Python They may be found sheltering beneath logs or frog lizard rocks or living in abandoned burrows or hollow logs. When disturbed, dugites are very shy and will often slither away, however, they will defend themselves if cornered. THREATS The main natural predators of dugites are birds of prey and monitor lizards. Introduced animals such as cats and dogs also attack dugites. AT PERTH ZOO Perth Zoo has a male dugite in the Australian Reptile Encounter. 3. A rainbow snake Dugites have brown scales but this snake has a colourful pattern — can you complete Images: Perth Zoo the scaly pattern all the way to its tail? For more information about Perth Zoo and its animals, visit perthzoo.wa.gov.au. INE MAR t MEDIAs momen matter ED! • 4 Science & Media Wednesday, May 13, 2020 SCIENCE MIXED LAB BAG Decay? No way! ur baby teeth start growing when we are about six months old. Around the age of five, one by one, our baby teeth fall out and get replaced by our adult ure GET Oteeth. Our adult teeth, all 32 of them, are made extremely tough so they creat thy can last a lifetime. FEATURE heal However, certain foods and drinks can cause our teeth to decay. This can mean painful toothaches, cavities, and even dental surgery. Yikes! Have you had any tooth cavities filled? Do you know what foods and Did you know that 42 per cent drinks might lead to tooth decay? of Australian children aged five – 10 years have experienced MODELLING TOOTH DECAY Getting started tooth decay in theirMATHS baby teeth? IN In this experiment you will 1. Take one egg and cover it in About 24 per centmind of Australians FOCUS explore how different liquids fluoride toothpaste. Leave it to children aged six–14 years have affect the rate of tooth decay. soak for at least 24 hours. experienced tooth decay in What you need: 2. Gently wash off the toothpaste. their adult teeth. q 6 glasses, mason jars or 3. Label five of your glasses with clear-plastic cups the names of the liquids you will q 6 hard-boiled eggs — shell on use i.e. tap water, milk, soft drink, STEM (ask an adult to help you etc. everyday y hard-boil the eggs before you 4. Carefully place one egg in each ENGLISH pla begin) glass (keeping the toothpaste- Take the challenge q Fluoride toothpaste soaked egg separate). q Make a prediction about what q Liquids (you may like to test 5. Fill each glass with the different the results might be. What will other liquids if you have enough liquids. Make sure the egg is fully happen to the shell? Will you see a eggs): covered. Try to add the same different result in each glass? q After 24 hours, carefully — tap water amount of liquid to each glass. ple & — milk 6. Take the sixth glass and place remove your eggs from their peo S glasses using a pair of tongs. Place PLACE — soft drink e.g. cola or the toothpaste-soaked egg inside. all eggs on a clean surface to Analyse your results lemonade Cover it with soft drink and label examine them. Record your q Write down a few sentences Egg allergy is one of the — fruit juice it.