Evidence for an Octopus Mind: teacher key

Giant Pacific Octopuses, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. What do studies show about how smart a giant Pacific octopus is? Look at a 2010 recognition study, jars, mazes and sleep, and at what scientists cannot yet see in the wild.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. In the 2010 study, which octopuses changed their breathing rate between the two people?
   • The four smaller ones
   • The four larger ones (answer)
   • All eight
2. Why do most observations of octopus intelligence come from captivity?
   • Divers cannot stay down long enough to watch complex behavior in the wild (answer)
   • Octopuses never live in the wild
   • Captive octopuses are larger
3. In the 2020 maze study, how many common octopuses learned the route?
   • 1 of 6
   • 3 of 6
   • 5 of 6 (answer)
4. The maze study found octopus learning happens in the brain and is then made available to each arm. What does that suggest?
   • Each arm learns alone
   • The arms use what the brain learned (answer)
   • Arms have no nerves
5. How do scientists age octopuses?
   • By weighing them
   • By counting growth rings in hard parts such as beaks (answer)
   • By measuring their arms
6. What does polarized light mean in this text?
   • Light that is very warm
   • Light waves vibrating in particular directions (answer)
   • Light from the moon

Words

• stylets: hard inner parts
• polarized: directed light
• temperaments: personality styles
• plankton: drifting life