Tracking the Condors: teacher key

Andean Condors, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Scientists put recorders and GPS units on young condors to see how they fly. See what the tags showed, how people have honored the condor and what its numbers say today.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What could the accelerometer pick out?
   • Each wingbeat (answer)
   • Each meal
   • Each egg
2. How often were the GPS units set to record a location?
   • Once a day
   • Once every minute (answer)
   • Once a week
3. Which people honored the condor with a Temple of the Condor?
   • The Vikings
   • The Romans
   • The Incas (answer)
4. Why would scientists put an accelerometer on a condor?
   • To tell exactly when it flapped (answer)
   • To make it fly faster
   • To keep it warm
5. The text says nobody knows how long wild condors really live. What does 50 years stand for?
   • A proven fact
   • The best estimate (answer)
   • A zoo record
6. What does Vulnerable mean in: the IUCN lists the condor as Vulnerable?
   • It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild (answer)
   • It is very common
   • It lives only in zoos

Words

• accelerometer: motion sensor
• wingbeat: one flap
• territory: claimed area
• Vulnerable: at high risk
• roost: resting place