The Dives That Were Measured: teacher key

Peregrine Falcons, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. A falcon named Frightful was released from a plane with altimeters on her tail. Learn what the dives showed, why some scientists doubted them and what feathers do in a dive.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Where was Frightful released from?
   • A cliff
   • A Cessna 172 at 17,000 feet (answer)
   • A dam wall
2. How many devices' data were compared after the dives?
   • One
   • Ten
   • Four (answer)
3. Why did some ornithologists doubt the Frightful dives?
   • They did not recreate natural conditions (answer)
   • The falcon was too small
   • The lure was lost
4. What do the pop-up feathers most likely do, say the dam-wall authors?
   • Make a loud noise
   • Prevent flow separation (answer)
   • Warm the bird
5. What does the 242 mph figure show about the evidence?
   • It is a proven record
   • It was never measured
   • It is reported from an experiment and is disputed (answer)
6. What is a lure here?
   • A fake prey released in the dive (answer)
   • A kind of nest
   • A wind tunnel

Words

• altimeter: height meter
• ornithologists: bird scientists
• terminal: final
• lure: fake prey
• altitude: height