Reading the Fossil Clues: teacher key

Penguins, grade 9 edition, written for 9th grade. Fossil bones suggest where penguins began. Read how the living kinds fare, as of November 2026, from the equator to the ice.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. An African penguin weighs about 3.1 kilograms on average. About how much would ten of them weigh together?
   • About 31 kilograms (answer)
   • About 3 kilograms
   • About 310 kilograms
2. Where do fossil bones suggest penguins began?
   • Near the North Pole
   • In the Zealandia region (answer)
   • On the equator
3. Where do Galapagos penguins lay their eggs?
   • In cracks and caves in lava rock (answer)
   • On open snow
   • On top of their feet
4. What happened at one emperor colony as the sea ice changed?
   • It doubled in size
   • It moved north
   • It all but disappeared (answer)
5. What does endangered mean in this passage?
   • Very large
   • Close to dying out (answer)
   • Good at swimming

Words

• Zealandia: New Zealand region
• fossil: old remains
• equator: Earth's middle line
• endangered: nearly gone
• lava: volcano rock