Measuring the Fastest Runner: teacher key

Cheetahs, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. How do scientists measure a cheetah's speed? Read about the Botswana collars, the cheetah's acceleration and its body, and where it lives.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did the Botswana team build for its study?
   • A tracking collar with GPS and motion sensors (answer)
   • A cheetah fence
   • A weather tower
2. How many wild cheetahs wore collars in the 2013 study?
   • Five (answer)
   • Fifty
   • Five hundred
3. According to the National Zoo, how quickly can a cheetah go from zero to 45 miles per hour?
   • About 25 seconds
   • About 12 seconds
   • About 2.5 seconds (answer)
4. What does the National Geographic report say matters most for a cheetah's hunting success?
   • Top speed
   • Acceleration and athleticism (answer)
   • Living in a group
5. What does the word acceleration mean here?
   • Sleeping
   • Speeding up (answer)
   • Hiding

Words

• collar: neck band
• acceleration: speeding up
• stride: one long step
• litter: cubs born together
• subspecies: cheetah type