Skin That Changes: teacher key

Giant Pacific Octopuses, grade 6 edition, written for 6th grade. An octopus's skin makes its colors. Find out how a giant Pacific octopus blends in, how smart it is and how its eggs and young begin life.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What are chromatophores?
   • Pigment organs in the skin's top layer (answer)
   • Parts of the beak
   • Octopus eggs
2. How long do the eggs take to hatch?
   • About 2 days
   • Roughly 5 months to a year (answer)
   • About 10 years
3. How does the Georgia Aquarium list the giant Pacific octopus?
   • Endangered
   • Extinct
   • Least Concern (answer)
4. Why might warmer water matter to the eggs?
   • It could disrupt egg development (answer)
   • It makes the eggs hatch in a day
   • It turns the eggs blue
5. Which is true of a female giant Pacific octopus?
   • She breeds many times
   • She breeds only once in her life (answer)
   • She never lays eggs
6. What does prey mean in: few animals prey on it?
   • Sing to
   • Hunt for food (answer)
   • Race with

Words

• chromatophores: color cells
• texture: surface feel
• prey: hunt for food
• plankton: drifting life