What We Still Argue About: teacher key

Giant Squid, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. The giant squid has been photographed, filmed and mapped by DNA, yet its true size, range and travels are still argued.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What is Paxton's 20 metres?
   • A measured squid
   • A calculation, not a measured squid (answer)
   • A photograph
2. What did a check of more than 130 specimens find before Paxton?
   • All were 20 meters
   • None at all
   • None longer than 13 meters (answer)
3. What two ideas are there about how far giant squid travel?
   • Young drift far, or adults stay close to home (answer)
   • They never move
   • They all migrate yearly
4. Which animal was filmed in March 2025?
   • A giant squid
   • A young colossal squid (answer)
   • A sperm whale
5. Why does the average length of 7.3 metres matter when people quote 18 metres?
   • Averages are always larger
   • It proves the 20 metre squid
   • Most squid are much shorter than the claimed record (answer)

Words

• verifiable: checkable
• statistician: number expert
• plausibly: believably
• larvae: baby forms
• colossal: huge