44

main ideasmain ideasmain ideasmain ideasmain ideas

ANARTCTIC ANIMALSANARTCTIC ANIMALSANARTCTIC ANIMALSANARTCTIC ANIMALSANARTCTIC ANIMALS

Living On The EdgeLiving On The EdgeLiving On The EdgeLiving On The EdgeLiving On The Edge

� Only a few animal specieslive in Antarctica.� Antarctic animals live nearthe ocean where the water isusually warmer than the land.� The only food sources inAntarctica are in the oceansurrounding it.

Antarctica is a continent cov-ered with ice--in some places the icemay be 9,000 feet thick! That, plus awinter night that lasts six months andair temperatures of as low as 74 de-grees below zero Celsius, makes Ant-arctica the most inhospitable place onEarth. Not many animals live there,and those that do--penguins andseals--live near the ocean at thecontinent�s edge. Pack ice on theocean insulates the water below, help-ing to make it warmer than the nearbyland. In the warmer water, penguinsand seals are able to find food.

Penguins and seals are spe-cially adapted to living in Antarctica�sclimate. They can swim and spend atleast part of their time in the water.They have short, round, compactbodies--this low surface area-to-volume ratio allows them to loseless body heat to surrounding air thanother animals do. Antarctic animalsalso have a layer of fat just below theskin to help hold in heat, and for stand-ing on ice, penguin feet can�t be beat--penguins have a special system thatpreserves the heat in the blood thatgoes to their feet.

PROGRAMPROGRAMPROGRAMPROGRAMPROGRAMSYNOPSISSYNOPSISSYNOPSISSYNOPSISSYNOPSIS

SCENE 1 He-e-ere�s Antarctica! 1:00Cast member Z introduces us to the icycontinent of Antarctica where almost allanimals live in or near the water.

SCENE 2 Singin� On The Edge 2:50A song explains why most Antarcticanimals live near the water.

SCENE 3 Tag Lines 5:30Working with biologists, Debra helpstag some newborn Weddell seals. Bytagging individual seals and trackingtheir movements, the scientists hope tolearn more about the behavior and lifecycle of this unique creature.

SCENE 4 Tuxedo Junction 3:50Debra meets some Emperor penguins,the largest penguins in the world. Sincethey have no natural enemies on land,the penguins aren�t afraid of Debra.They come on down and stand right nextto her.

SCENE 5 From Z to A :30Z recaps some unique adaptations ofAntarctic animals as he bids Antarcticaadieu.

vocabulary: insulate, density, rookery

backgroundbackgroundbackgroundbackgroundbackgroundinformationinformationinformationinformationinformation

45

3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CLAAAAASSSSSSROOM CONTSROOM CONTSROOM CONTSROOM CONTSROOM CONTACTACTACTACTACT LESLESLESLESLESSSSSSON ONEON ONEON ONEON ONEON ONEBEFORE-VIEWINGBEFORE-VIEWINGBEFORE-VIEWINGBEFORE-VIEWINGBEFORE-VIEWINGDEMONSTRDEMONSTRDEMONSTRDEMONSTRDEMONSTRAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

WHAWHAWHAWHAWHAT TO DOT TO DOT TO DOT TO DOT TO DO:::::

AFTER-VIEWINGAFTER-VIEWINGAFTER-VIEWINGAFTER-VIEWINGAFTER-VIEWINGACTIVITIESACTIVITIESACTIVITIESACTIVITIESACTIVITIES

TUNING INTUNING INTUNING INTUNING INTUNING IN

MATERIALS� small aquarium

(10 gallons or less)or large dishpan

� 25 -30 ice cubes� 2 Celsius lab

thermometers

A.

1. Ask students to pretend they�re aboutto go to Antarctica to meet some ani-mals. Have kids describe conditionsthey think they would find there. (verycold; no plants; an ice-covered conti-nent surrounded by water that has icefloating on it) Which do kids thinkwould be colder, the land or the water?

2. Fill the container 1/2 full of COLDwater. Place 1 thermometer at thebottom of the tank--you may needto weight it down so it doesn�t float.Tape the other thermometer to theinside of the container so the bulbis about 1� below the top of the wa-ter. (Figure A)

3. Have a student read the tempera-ture on each of the 2 thermometersin the cold water they should beapproximately the same. Put the icecubes into the water and ask kidsto observe what happens. (Ice floatsbecause it is less dense than wa-ter.) Which thermometer do kidsthink will register the colder tem-perature after 20 minutes? Discusssuggestions, then allow the icecubes to chill the water while kidswatch the video. (Note: If all icemelts while kids watch the video,add more ice to the water.)

Ask students to name some land animals they think live in Antarctica. Discuss students�suggestions, then explain that penguins and seals are the only two major land animal groupsliving there. Then have kids watch the video to find out about special adaptations that helpthese animals live in Antarctica�s icy environment.

Review why Antarctic land animalslive near the continent�s edge. (only placeto find food; water warmer than land) Aska student to read the 2 thermometers inthe icy water. (if ice is still floating ontop, the surface temperature should beat or near 0 degrees Celsius; the water atthe bottom should be no colder than 4degrees Celsius) Why? Water is densestat about 4 degrees Celsius. As ice coolsthe water at the top to below 4 degreesCelsius, that cold water sinks to thebottom, forcing warmer water to the top.There�s a lot of water in the ocean, sowarm water is always rising. Ask students to describe adapta-tions seals and penguins have fordealing with cold. (fat under skin;

body shape; special pads on feet; feath-ers) Demonstrate how body shape con-serves heat. Ask a volunteer to make atight fist with one hand and stretch outthe other hand. Have him/her plungeboth hands into the cold water and keepthem there for 20 seconds. Which handgets cold first? (spread-out one) Why?(more surface area allows heat to bedrawn from the skin) Explain that thisis the reason why someone who is coldtends to curl up in a ball--it�s an auto-matic response that helps to reducesurface area and heat loss. It�s also whymittens keep you warmer than gloves--mittens bunch the fingers together,gloves spread fingers out!

46

LESLESLESLESLESSSSSSON TWOON TWOON TWOON TWOON TWO 3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CL3-2-1 CLAAAAASSSSSSROOM CONTSROOM CONTSROOM CONTSROOM CONTSROOM CONTACTACTACTACTACT

PPPPPURPOSEURPOSEURPOSEURPOSEURPOSETo demonstrate how body fat helpsto insulate animals from the cold.

MATERIALS:(per 4 students)� two 8� pieces of clear plastic wrap� 2 Celsius thermometers� two 6-oz plastic cups� 4 oz. vegetable shortening� 1 plastic teaspoon� 2 self-stick labels� watch with second hand� crayons or colored pencils

(per class)� large cooler filled with ice

(or if available, access to a freezer,a refrigerator, or the outdoors whentemperature is below 5 degrees Celsius)

WHAWHAWHAWHAWHAT TO DOT TO DOT TO DOT TO DOT TO DO:::::1. Divide the class into groups of 4, then distribute materials and

copies of the activity sheet, �The Big Chill.� Explain that oneway Antarctic animals keep warm is with insulation from theirown fat. In the experiment students will do, the shortening rep-resents body fat.

2. Assign each group a number and ask the group to write itsnumber on 2 labels, then stick a label on each cup.

3. Ask groups to record the temperature of each thermometer onPart 1 of the activity sheet. (Temperatures should be the same;if not, place both in a glass of warm tap water until they equal-ize.) Then have groups wrap each thermometer in a piece ofplastic.

4. Have kids put shortening in 1 cup and stick a thermometer in thecenter so it can be read, then put the other thermometer in theempty cup.

5. Let kids place both cups in the cooler for 3 minutes, then re-move them, read each temperature, and quickly return them tothe cooler. Have groups continue reading the temperatures ev-ery 3 minutes until 21 minutes have passed. Ask students torecord all of the data on Part 2 of the activity sheet.

6. Have students graph the temperature data for each thermom-eter on Part 3 of the activity sheet. (Use two different colors orone regular line and one dotted line.)

When students have completed the task, ask which of theirtwo thermometers cooled faster. (one without shortening) Why?(not insulated from cold) What body material helps insulate animalswho live in cold environments? (fat) How can the animals build upfat to help them through a cold winter? (eat lots of food beforewinter comes)

Ask students what kinds of protective coverings seals andpenguins have on their skin to keep them warm. (fur and feathers)How could you repeat this experiment to find out which protectivecovering was more efficient for keeping heat in? (fill 1 cup with oldpillow�down and 1 cup with wool or fur from old fur-lined glove)

CURRICULUMCURRICULUMCURRICULUMCURRICULUMCURRICULUMCONNECTIONSCONNECTIONSCONNECTIONSCONNECTIONSCONNECTIONS

Encourage students to find out more about Antarctica. Who discoveredthe continent? Which countries claim parts of Antarctica? Why do scientistsstudy the sun from Antarctica? What countries will work with each otherwhile exploring Antarctica? Have the agreements between nations worked?

SOCIALSTUDIES

47

Nam

e:

Dat

e:

3-2-

1 C

LASS

RO

OM

CO

NTA

CT

© 1

993

Chi

ldre

n�s

Tele

visi

on W

orks

hop

TM

TM

TM

TM

TM