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A Continent of Ice” Before Answering Numbers 1 Through 5

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A Continent of Ice” Before Answering Numbers 1 Through 5 UNIT 1 WEEK 3 Read the article “A Continent of Ice” before answering Numbers 1 through 5. A Continent of Ice Imagine a place with bone-chilling temperatures and blizzards so thick you cannot see your hand in front of your face. You try to perceive your surroundings, but all you see is endless ice. The nearest city is thousands of miles away. At the coast, huge ice shelves extend over the ocean. You might be able to see massive icebergs floating as you look toward the horizon. The place is Antarctica, a frozen continent surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. Antarctica is located in the southern hemisphere of the globe. Daytime there lasts for six months, followed by six months of night. It is the coldest zone on Earth, and about 98 percent of the continent is covered with ice. Rocks and mineral resources lie under tons of ice. Even mountains are buried beneath enormous frozen layers. For example, if you stand at the South Pole—Earth’s most southern point—the ice beneath your feet is nearly two miles deep. The environment of Antarctica is extreme, and you might logically conclude that life could not exist there, but a surprising variety of plants, animals, and sea life make this frozen continent their home. About two percent of Antarctica is ice-free. Plant life can and does grow in these areas. The continent has only two kinds of flowering plants: a type of grass and an herb. Both grow on the west coast of a region called the Antarctic Peninsula. They can withstand the very cold, dry environment there, living at temperatures that would freeze other plants. Hardy plants called lichens and mosses can also survive in Antarctica’s coastal areas. These plants grow very close to the ground or along the surface of rocks. Algae and microscopic plants called diatoms live in the ocean surrounding the continent. Diatoms are made up of only one cell, but they are an important source of food for animal life in the ocean. The ocean around Antarctica is teaming with fascinating sea life. Tiny sea Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education creatures called krill form the basis of the Antarctic food chain. Krill feed on ocean plant life. In turn, squids, sea birds, and even several types of whales feed on krill. Baleen and blue whales actually migrate to the Antarctic Ocean each summer to feast on krill. Animals that do not eat krill still rely on it because smaller animals that do eat krill are one of their food sources. GGOO OONN Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 3 Grade 6 25 UNIT 1 WEEK 3 A number of seals live around the Antarctic coast. Southern elephant seals depend on a diet of squid for survival, and they may dive to a depth of 400 meters in search of this food source! Other seals, like Weddell seals, live in holes or cracks in the ice. The seals crawl out of the holes to dive in the ocean in search of food. All of these Antarctic seals have thick layers of blubber to protect them from the freezing temperatures of the ocean. Antarctica is also home to many different species of birds, including albatrosses, cormorants, and gulls. Most of these birds migrate each year to the islands surrounding the continent. The islands are important to many of the birds’ life cycles. They are where the birds go to breed. Perhaps the most famous of the Antarctic birds is the penguin. Six different species of penguins live on the icy continent. Of these, the Emperor penguin is the largest, growing up to four feet tall. These penguins begin their breeding cycle in winter on the Antarctic coast. After a female penguin lays a single egg, her mate takes over, balancing the egg on his feet. The females go back to the ocean for up to two months to feed. Meanwhile, the males keep the eggs warm and safe. When the females return, they care for the newly hatched chicks. The male penguins are free to find food—for the first time in months! Penguins, seals, whales, lichens—all have adapted to life in Antarctica. They are able to survive in the Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education most extreme place on Earth. But even though it is extreme, Antarctica is far from desolate. GGOO OONN 26 Grade 6 Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 3 Name: Date: Now answer Numbers 1 through 5. Base your answers on “A Continent of Ice.” 1 Read the sentence from the article. Antarctica is located in the southern hemisphere of the globe. The word hemisphere includes the Greek roots hemi, meaning “half,” and sphero, meaning “sphere or ball.” What is a hemisphere? A an area that is half of Earth B a planet half the size of Earth C half an ocean that circles Earth D a continent that covers half of Earth 2 Which details from the article explain that the environment of Antarctica is extreme? Select three choices. A Some plant life grows there. B It has freezing temperatures. C It has a variety of animal life. D There are very heavy blizzards. E There are coastal areas around it. F It is almost entirely covered in ice. Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education GGOO OONN Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 3 Grade 6 27 Name: Date: 3 This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B. Part A: What is the main idea of the seventh paragraph of the article? A Seals live all around the world. B Antarctica’s animals live on the coast. C There are different seals in Antarctica. D The animals in Antarctica depend on squid. Part B: Which detail would best support the main idea of the paragraph? A Animals live in Antarctica because it has a lot of ice. B Adelie penguins live farther south than most other penguins. C The temperature determines what type of animals live in Antarctica. D Crabeater seals are another seal variety swimming in Antarctic waters. 4 Read the excerpt from the article. The islands are important to many of the birds’ life cycles. They are where the birds go to breed. The origin of the word cycles is the Greek root cycl-, meaning “circle.” What type of cycle is being described in this excerpt? A processes that repeat Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education B islands that form a circle C circles forming a pattern D patterns in which birds fly GGOO OONN 28 Grade 6 Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 3 Name: Date: 5 Read the detail about the article. The snow petrel, an Antarctic bird about the size of a pigeon, does not migrate long distances but moves north as winter sets in. Circle the paragraph that the detail above would best support. The ocean around Antarctica is teaming with fascinating sea life. Tiny sea creatures called krill form the basis of the Antarctic food chain. Krill feed on ocean plant life. In turn, squids, sea birds, and even several types of whales feed on krill. Baleen and blue whales actually migrate to the Antarctic Ocean each summer to feast on krill. Animals that do not eat krill still rely on it because smaller animals that do eat krill are one of their food sources. A number of seals live around the Antarctic coast. Southern elephant seals depend on a diet of squid for survival, and they may dive to a depth of 400 meters in search of this food source! Other seals, like Weddell seals, live in holes or cracks in the ice. The seals crawl out of the holes to dive in the ocean in search of food. All of these Antarctic seals have thick layers of blubber to protect them from the freezing temperatures of the ocean. Antarctica is also home to many different species of birds, including albatrosses, cormorants, and gulls. Most of these birds migrate each year to the islands surrounding the continent. The islands are important to many of the birds’ life cycles. They are where the birds go to breed. Perhaps the most famous of the Antarctic birds is the penguin. Six different species of penguins live on the icy continent. Of these, the Emperor penguin is the largest, growing up to four feet tall. These penguins begin their breeding cycle in winter on the Antarctic coast. After a female penguin lays a single egg, her mate takes over, balancing the egg on his feet. The females go back to the ocean for up to two months to feed. Meanwhile, the males keep the eggs warm and safe. When the females return, they care for the newly hatched chicks. The male penguins are free to find food—for the first time in months! Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education Penguins, seals, whales, lichens—all have adapted to life in Antarctica. They are able to survive in the most extreme place on Earth. But even though it is extreme, Antarctica is far from desolate. GGOO OONN Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 3 Grade 6 29 UNIT 1 WEEK 3 Read the article “Desert Life” before answering Numbers 6 through 10. Desert Life Imagine that you are standing in the middle of a great desert. With a telescope, you scan the land around you. Stretching out into the distance, you see nothing but sand, tumbleweeds, and strange-looking plants called cacti. Mountainous rock formations are scattered about in the distance. The sun blazes overhead, and the air is hot and dry. You are in the Sonoran Desert, which extends across the southwestern states of Arizona and California and into Mexico.
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