The Argument Over Size: teacher key

The Biggest Animals, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. Why the record for biggest keeps changing: a few bones, a squid nobody sees and a fungus that beats the whale.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Why is the length of Perucetus uncertain?
   • It was never found
   • Only thirteen vertebrae, four ribs and part of the pelvis are known (answer)
   • It was measured twice
2. Why do scientists argue about Argentinosaurus?
   • It is still alive
   • It was a plant
   • So little of it survives that its bones are hard to read (answer)
3. Where does most knowledge of giant squid come from?
   • Carcasses, fishermen's catches and beaks in sperm whales (answer)
   • Aquarium tanks
   • Satellite photos
4. Why is the honey fungus not the biggest animal?
   • It is small
   • It lives in the sea
   • It is a fungus (answer)
5. What happened to estimates for Patagotitan?
   • They were raised
   • Later research lowered them (answer)
   • They never changed

Words

• vertebrae: backbone bones
• fragmentary: in pieces
• invertebrate: no backbone
• specimen: one example