What Few Bones Can Tell: teacher key

Penguins, grade 11 edition, written for 11th grade. Size estimates for fossil penguins can change, because many are known only from a few arm and leg bones. Read what the bones suggest, and how emperor penguins fare, as of November 2026, as the sea ice changes.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Suppose 50,000 emperor penguins were counted in 2009. With a 10 percent loss by 2018, about how many would remain?
   • About 5,000
   • About 45,000 (answer)
   • About 60,000
2. Why can size estimates for fossil penguins change?
   • Many are known only from a few arm and leg bones (answer)
   • The fossils grow over time
   • Penguins keep getting bigger
3. Where do fossil bones suggest penguins began?
   • Near the equator
   • Near Antarctica's coast
   • In the Zealandia region (answer)
4. What is fast ice?
   • Ice that melts quickly
   • Sea ice frozen to the land or to grounded icebergs (answer)
   • Ice that floats far out to sea
5. What does estimates mean in 'Size estimates for fossil penguins'?
   • Careful guesses (answer)
   • Exact counts
   • Old names

Words

• Zealandia: New Zealand region
• fossil: old remains
• estimates: careful guesses
• icebergs: floating ice
• indicators: signs