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Amazing Factsin Science

ByDOnBlATTnEr

COPYrIGHT©2007MarkTwainMedia,Inc.

ISBn978-1-58037-427-9

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Thepurchaseofthisbookentitlesthebuyertoreproducethestudentpagesforclassroomuseonly.OtherpermissionsmaybeobtainedbywritingMarkTwainMedia,Inc.,Publishers.

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AmazingFactsinScience

Table of Contents

Introduction..............................................................................................................................ivScienceTrivia:TrueorFalse?.................................................................................................. 1WhichWasInventedFirst?...................................................................................................... 2WhichWasInventedFirst?—Answers..................................................................................... 3ThenameIstheSame............................................................................................................ 8Puzzle:leonardodaVinci..................................................................................................... 10FreshwaterFish..................................................................................................................... 11FreshwaterFish—Answers.................................................................................................... 13OceanCreatures:General..................................................................................................... 16OceanCreatures: General—Answers................................................................................... 18OceanCreatures:SaltwaterFish........................................................................................... 20OceanCreatures:SaltwaterFish—Answers......................................................................... 23FishIdioms............................................................................................................................ 27OceanCreatures:Mollusks................................................................................................... 28OceanCreatures:Mollusks—Answers.................................................................................. 31OceanCreatures:Crustaceans............................................................................................. 34OceanCreatures:Crustaceans—Answers............................................................................ 36CollectivenounsforBirds..................................................................................................... 40Birds...................................................................................................................................... 41Birds—Answers..................................................................................................................... 44FindtheBirds........................................................................................................................ 48reptiles:AlligatorsandCrocodiles........................................................................................ 49reptiles:AlligatorsandCrocodiles—Answers....................................................................... 51reptiles:lizards.................................................................................................................... 52reptiles:lizards—Answers................................................................................................... 53reptiles:SnakesandTurtles................................................................................................. 54reptiles:SnakesandTurtles—Answers................................................................................ 56Amphibians............................................................................................................................ 58Amphibians—Answers.......................................................................................................... 60Spiders.................................................................................................................................. 62Spiders—Answers................................................................................................................. 64Insects:General..................................................................................................................... 66Insects:General—Answers................................................................................................... 68Insects:Butterflies................................................................................................................. 70Insects:Butterflies—Answers................................................................................................ 72HiddenInsects....................................................................................................................... 74What’stheDifference?.......................................................................................................... 74Insects:BeesandWasps...................................................................................................... 75Insects:BeesandWasps—Answers..................................................................................... 77Insects:Ants.......................................................................................................................... 79Insects:Ants—Answers......................................................................................................... 81AntsAreEverywhere............................................................................................................. 83

TableofContents

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Insects:Beetles..................................................................................................................... 84Insects:Beetles—Answers.................................................................................................... 86Insects:Cockroaches............................................................................................................ 88Insects:Cockroaches—Answers........................................................................................... 90AmazingInsectFact.............................................................................................................. 91Plants:General...................................................................................................................... 92Plants:General—Answers..................................................................................................... 94Plants:Trees.......................................................................................................................... 96Plants:Trees—Answers......................................................................................................... 98Plants:FruitsandVegetables.............................................................................................. 100Plants:FruitsandVegetables—Answers............................................................................. 102Puzzle:“TheYearThereWasnoSummer”......................................................................... 104TheUniverse....................................................................................................................... 106TheUniverse—Answers...................................................................................................... 108PhysicalWorld..................................................................................................................... 111PhysicalWorld—Answers.................................................................................................... 112rocksandMinerals............................................................................................................. 114rocksandMinerals—Answers............................................................................................ 115ScientificMysteries.............................................................................................................. 117logicProblemsGeologists......................................................................................................................... 118Frog-JumpingContest...................................................................................................... 118ZooAnimals...................................................................................................................... 119TheFishMarket................................................................................................................ 119ShoppingforTropicalFish................................................................................................ 120AnswerKeys........................................................................................................................ 121

Table of Contents (cont.)

TableofContents

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name: Date:


Science Trivia: True or False?

Directions:Indicateifthestatementslistedbeloware“True”or“False”bycirclingthecorrectresponse.

True False 1. Untiltheearly1960s,silkthreadswereusedingunsights. True False 2. Spidersareamongtheoldestinsects. True False3. Asealionwillgetseasickifputonboardaship. True False4. Thewoodfrogdoesn’tcroaklikemanyfrogs,butquackslikeaduck. True False5. AgeoduckisaduckinEurope. True False6. Onlythefemalecanarysings. True False7. Thetotalweightofinsectseatenbyspiderseveryyearismorethanthe

combinedweightoftheentirehumanpopulation. True False8. Byweight,spidersilkistwiceasstrongassteel. True False9. Morehumandeathshavebeencausedbyfleasthanbyallofthewars

everfought. True False10. Thedesertlocust(Schistocera gregaria),whichinhabitsIndia,Africa,and

theMiddleEast,maybethemostdestructiveinsectintheworld. True False11. Theneanderthal’sbrainwassmallerthanyours. True False12. Todefendthecolony,sometermitesshootgluefromagunontheirheads. True False13. Marsiscalledthe“redplanet”becauseitisrusty. True False14. Queentermitesmayliveforfiftyyears. True False15. Atarantulaisabletogooneyearwithouteating. True False16. Afemaleseahorsestoresherbabiesinsideherstomach. True False17. Agiantsquid’seyesaresmallerthanthatofagoldfish. True False18. Thejellyfishisnotasingleanimal,butacolonyofanimals. True False19. Ifapersonhaspartofhisorherliverremovedbecauseofanaccident

ortobeusedinatransplant,itwillgrowbackinafewmonths. True False20. Arainbowisacoloredarcinthesky. True False21. Thesoundonehearswhensomeonecrackshisorherknucklesiscaused

byligamentssnapping. True False22. Oneofthemainingredientsinglassissand. True False 23. Wheneverhumanplasma,theliquidpartofbloodorlymph,isnotavail-

able,coconutwaterissometimessubstituted. True False 24. naturalgashasanodorthatsmellslikerotteneggs. True False 25. Withoutgravity,astronautsgettaller. True False 26. Thefunnyboneisaboneintheelbow. True False 27. TheFoodandDrugAdministrationhasarulethatbrined,fresh,canned,

orfrozenmaraschinocherriescannotcontainanaverageof5%ormorecherrypiecesthatwererejectedduetomaggots.

True False 28. Ifaspongeiscutintopiecesandsqueezedthroughascreensothatitisjustabunchofloosecells,itwillreassembleitselfintoacompletelyfunctioningorganism.

True False 29. Sharkscansenseadropofbloodfromtenmilesaway.

ScienceTrivia:TrueorFalse?


name: Date:


Which Was Invented First?

Directions:lookatthetwopairsofinventionsshownbelow.Onthelinenexttoeachpair,writewhichyouthinkwasinventedfirst.

1. Toothbrushortoothpaste?

2. Airplaneorparachute? 3. Mechanicalreaperorcropinsurance? 4. Pendulumclockorpocketwatch?

5. Beerorsoap? 6. Trafficlightsorautomobiles?

7. Automobilesorodometers?(Anodometeristhedeviceonthedashboardofacarthatmeasuresthetotalnumberofmilestraveled.)

8. Medicaltextbookorpaper?

9. Eyeglassesorfalseteeth? 10. Plywoodorglass? 11. Bread-slicingmachineorpop-uptoaster?12. Dynamiteorbombs?

13. Elevatororskyscraper? 14. Automaticcalculatororaddingmachine?

15. Telephoneansweringmachineortalkingmovies? 16. remotecontrolortelevisionset? 17. Gasoline-poweredautomobileorsteam-poweredautomobile? 18. Sunglassesoreyeglasses?

19. Washingmachineordishwasher?

20. Golfortennis?

21. Bifocalsorbluejeans?

22. Matchorcigarettelighter?

WhichWasInventedFirst?


1. Toothpaste.Whenwethinkoftoothpaste,wethinkofitasbeingusedwithatoothbrush.However,toothpastewasactuallyinventedabout1,200yearsbeforethetoothbrush.Thefirstknowntoothpastewasusedinfourth-centuryEgypt.Itwasacompoundmadeofsalt,pepper,mint,andflowers.Severalcenturieslater,theromansusedtoothpastethatin-cludedhumanurine.Apparently,theammoniaintheurinewhitenedtheteeth.Beforetheinventionofthetoothbrush,ancientpeoplecleanedtheirteethwithtwigsandwood.Aspeoplebecamemorecivilized,theywouldrubchalkorbakingsodaontheirteethwithclothorrags.Itwasn’tuntil1498thatthefirsttoothbrushwasmadefortheemperorofChina.Itconsistedofabonehandlewithhogbristles.ToothbrushesdidnotcomeintogeneraluseintheWestuntiltheseventeenthcentury.

2. Parachute.Afewmedievaldocumentsrecordtheuseofparachute-likedevicestoallowapersontofall(somewhat)safelyfromacertainheight.Ina.d.852,aMuslimnamedAr-menFirmanjumpedfromatowerinCordobausingacrudeparachute.Hesustainedafewinjuries.Threehundredyearslater,anotherMuslimtriedtoduplicatethisfeatinCon-stantinople,butwashurtsobadlythatheeventuallydiedofhisinjuries.Thefirstreallysuccessfulparachutewas inventedbySebastienlenormand in1783.Hewastheonewhofirstcalledita“parachute.”Twoyearslater,Jean-PierreBlancharddemonstratedaparachutebythrowingadogattachedtoaparachuteoutofahotairballoon.Helaterusedaparachutetojumpoutofaballoonhimself.WhiletherewereglidersbeforetheWrightbrothers’flight,OrvilleandWilburWrightarerecognizedforbuildingandtestingthefirstpoweredairplane.ThetestflightoftheirairplanetookplaceatKittyHawk,northCarolina,onDecember17,1903.

3. Crop insurance.CyrusHallMcCormickwasanAmericanfarmerandinventorwhoinventedthemechanicalreaperin1831.BenjaminFranklinwasanauthor,scientist,printer,diplo-mat,andinventor.FranklinsuggestedcropinsuranceaboutacenturybeforeMcCormickinventedthereaper.

4. Pocket watch.Earlycivilizationsbeganmarking timebyseasons. It isestimated that,about6,000yearsago,somecivilizationsbegantocreatedevicestodividethedayintosegments.Theyfirstmadedevices thatused thesun tomark time.WaterclockswereusedbyEgyptians,Greeks,andothercivilizations.Thesewerestonepotsthathadslopingsides,enablingthewatertodripoutataconstantrate,ormetalbowlswithaholeinthebottom.later,waterclocksbecamemoresophisticated.MechanicalclocksappearedinItalyinthefourteenthcentury.In1510,PeterHenleinofnuremberginventedawatchthatcouldbecarried.Itwastheforerunnerofthemodernpocketwatch.ChristiaanHuygens,awell-knownDutchmathematicianandphysicist,wasinterestedinmakingaccurateclocksfornavigation.In1657,heinventedthependulumclock.

5. Beer.Beerisoneoftheoldestbeveragesmadebyhumans.Manydifferentcivilizationsmadebeerusinganykindoffoodthatcontainedspecifickindsofsugarscapableoffer-mentation.Thereisevidencethatbeerwasusedasfarbackas5,000b.c.inthecountrynowknownasIran.TheearliestknownformulaforsoapwasusedinBabyloniain2200 b.c.Itconsistedofalkali,water,andanoilthatgavethesoapascentlikecinnamon.An-cientEgyptiansbathedwithasoapmadefromalkalinesaltsandtheoilsofanimalsandvegetables.

Which Was Invented First?—Answers

WhichWasInventedFirst?AmazingFactsinScience



6. Traffic lights.Therewereafewmechanicalvehiclespriorto1885,butmanybelievethattheGerman,KarlBenz,madethefirstrealautomobilein1885.Beforeautomobiles,therewerehorsesandbuggies,andtrafficwassuchaproblemthatpoliceofficershadtodirecttraffic.Theworld’sfirsttrafficsignalwasinstalledinlondonin1868.Itwasarevolvinggas-poweredlanternwithgreenandredsignals.Greenmeant“caution,”andredmeant“stop.”Itwasturnedbyapoliceofficer.

7. Odometer.ItisthoughtthatArchimedesmayhaveinventedthefirstodometer.Itwaslaterdescribedbyaromanwriterin23b.c.Everyrevolutionofthewheelofthechariotengageda400-toothcogwheel,whichinturnengagedanothergearthatdroppedapebbleintoabox.Every400rotationsequaledaromanmile,whichwasabout1,400meters.Awheelturnwas1/400ofamile.Allapersonneededtodowascountthepebblestofindouthowfarachariothadtraveled.AnotherversionoftheodometerwasinventedinancientChinabyZhangHeng.KarlBenzmadethefirstrealautomobilepoweredbyaninternal-combus-tionenginein1885.

8. Medical textbook.Written communication was a major leap forward for a civilization.About4000b.c., theSumerianswroteonclay.Whileclayworkedforawritingsurface,itwasnotpractical.Formanycenturies,peopletriedtofindbettersurfacesuponwhichtowrite.Silk,bamboo,cloth,andwoodarejustsomeofthematerialstriedasawritingsurface.Egyptiansprocessedpapyrus,aplantavailablealongthenileriver,asawritingsurface.Theword“paper” istakenfromtheword“papyrus,”butpapyruswasnotreallyconsideredpaper.Ts’ailunofChinaistheonegenerallycreditedwithinventingpaperintheyeara.d.105.Usingthebarkofamulberrytreeandbamboofibers,hemixedthemwithwater,poundedthem,andpouredtheresultingmixtureontoaflatpieceofcoarselywovencloth.Thewaterdrainedthroughandleftthefibersonthecloth.Theresultingpaperwaslightweight,cheap,andeasytomake.ItwouldtakemorethanathousandyearsforthisprocesstomakeitswaytoEurope.Earlymedicaltextbookswerenotwrittenonpaper.ThecivilizationsbetweentheTigrisandEuphratesrivers,theareathatisnowcalledtheMiddleEast,thrivedfrom3000b.c.Thesepeoplewroteonclayandothermaterials.Therearefortyclaytablets,datingfromabout700b.c.thatgivediagnosesandcuresforvariousdiseases.ItiscalledThe Treatise of Medical Diagnoses and Prognoses.AncientEgyptiansrecordedaccountsofthemedicalpracticesavailablein2,000b.c.,whichincludedcasestudiesandremedies.Thereareotherrecordsonpapyrusthatdatebackto1600b.c.and1550b.c.TheGreekswrotedownmedicalpracticesaround500b.c.

9. False teeth.Althoughwedon’tknowforsurewheneyeglasseswereinvented,itislikelytheywereinventedinnorthernItaly inthelate1280s.Whoinventedthemisunknown,althoughArabshadmagnifyinglensesinthetenthcentury,sothereisspeculationthattheymighthavebeeninvolved.Chinainventedeyeglassesataboutthesametime.Thefirstspectacleswereheldbyhandandlaterjustputonthebridgeofthenose.Theywerelaterheldwitharibbonoveraperson’shead,andthenheldinplacebyahat.Itwasn’tuntil1727thataBritishopticiandevelopedglassesthatwereheldinplacebyearpiecesfittingovertheears.Falseteeth,alsocalleddentures,weremadeofboneandivoryandwereinuseby700b.c.Intheeighteenthcentury,falseteethwerecarvedbyhandandheldinplacebysilkthreads.Theyweresocrudeatthistimethatpeoplehadtotakethemoutoftheirmouthsinordertoeat.later,falseteethwereheldinplacewithsteelsprings.

Which Was Invented First?—Answers (cont.)

WhichWasInventedFirst?

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