Into the Deep - The Science of the Seas

Classroom Links: Technology, Physics, Astronomy

Fungus with a Fastball (page 4)

Classroom Links: Biology

Fungi are sometimes lumped in with plants, but they are biologically very different. Plants belong to Kingdom Plantae, while fungi belong to Kingdom Fungi. All plants are multicellular and use photosynthesis to create food.

Plants have roots or root-like structures that help anchor them to the ground and enable them to absorb water. (Of course there are always exceptions, such as floating aquatic plants.) Trees, grasses, ferns, trees, and wildflowers are in the Kingdom Plantae.

Fungi obtain the nutrients they need by absorbing them from other organisms. Some fungi help decompose dead organisms; others are parasites. Parasites absorb nutrients from living things. Most fungi are multicellular although some are single-celled. Mushrooms and yeast are both fungi.

One of the major differences between plants and fungi is how they reproduce. Depending on the species, plants can use seeds (e.g., grasses) or spores (e.g., ferns). Fungi reproduce using spores.

To see the video (with music!) of the “fast flying spores” described in this article, go to this link.

Sing Me a Smart Song (page 5)

Classroom Links: Biology

Listen to an interview with Dr. Boogert here.  (Scroll down to Zebra IQ.)

Mind Games (page 5)

Classroom Links: English

Scabs (page 6)

Classroom Links: Biology, Health

For more on scabs, cuts, and skin, check out the Kids’ Health site.

Red Pandas (page 8)

Classroom Links: Biology

Students will enjoy the many photos of sloths (including babies) at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica’s website or a video about the Sloth Sanctuary and its work.

Activity: Review the habitat requirements for sloths. Where do sloths live, what do they eat, what do they need to protect themselves? Have students create a diorama of the “perfect” sloth habitat.

Theme Section:
Planet Ocean (page 9 - 16)

Classroom Links: Science, Geography

The words ocean and sea are often used interchangeably. A sea can also be defined as a more clearly defined part of the ocean, which is partly or wholly enclosed by land. (For example, the Beaufort Sea, the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean Sea.)

Activity: Do the You Try It! from page 10 as a class. Demonstrate how all of the world’s oceans and seas are connected. Have children locate the nearest ocean to their home. Point out the oceans that border your country. (For example, three oceans border Canada: the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic.)

Activity: Consult this map to find currents in the ocean nearest your community. Red signifies a warm current, while blue signifies a cold current.

The map in the link above shows only surface currents, which are caused by wind. Deep water currents also help move water through the world’s oceans. These currents are caused by differences in water temperature and salinity. Cold water and salty water are more dense. In places in the ocean where water is colder or saltier, the water sinks, displacing and moving warmer or less dense bodies of water.

Activity: Set up these two demonstrations to illustrate deep water (or density) currents.

Demonstration 1: Add food colouring to fresh water and freeze the water into ice cubes. Add the coloured ice cube to a glass of room temperature water.

Demonstration 2: Add several tablespoons of salt and food colouring to room temperature water. Slowly add this to room temperature fresh water.

Activity: Have students create a brochure or poster written from the point of view of the ocean. Highlight all of the services the ocean provides our planet and its population.

As is briefly mentioned on page 16, some scientists track ocean currents using unconventional items such as rubber ducks, hockey equipment, Lego, and running shoes. These items came from shipping containers lost at sea. Since the location the containers went overboard can be precisely located, tracking when and where these items wash up on the world’s beaches is a useful technique for scientists.

Activity: Students may enjoy reading more in the books 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle (for young children) or Tracking the Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns. Typing the key words Curtis Ebbesmeyer, ocean currents, and rubber ducks into a search engine will also yield several options for background information.

Great Moments in Science: Orcas (page 22)

Activity: Discuss family trees with the students. Explain that since scientists can now identify individual killer whales in the waters of BC, Alaska, and Washington they have been able to construct detailed family trees for whale pods. The family trees can be viewed on-line here or look for the books: Killer Whales by John Ford, Graeme Ellis and Kenneth Balcomb or Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales by John Ford and Graeme Ellis.