Antartica

Antarctica. A cold and inhospitable place. A desert covered by ice nearly two miles thick in some areas. Bitter cold winds, with gust over 100 mph, freeze the continent solid. Too cold for most animals to live, yet along the coast the seas surrounding Antarctica are teeming with life. Penguins, seals, krill, and killer whales all coexist within this exotic and alien world. Humans too exist in this frozen land. But they require space-age technology to survive the long winter.

Everyone is curious about the continent at the bottom of the Earth, home to millions of penguins and a few hardy scientists. Antarctica is the highest, driest, and coldest continent on Earth. At 5.4 million acres of ice and earth, it is even larger than Europe! As a team you will gather information about Antarctica. Once you have done this, each team member should include all the information in their travel log. Don't forget to bundle up...it's cold out there! BRRR...

1- Find 5 facts about the geography and 5 facts about the climate of Antarctica. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Antarctica/Antarctica.shtml#map

2- Find out about some of the Antarctic explorers and construct a time-line of Antarctic exploration. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/antarctica.shtml

3- Read about wildlife in Antarctica. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Antarctica/Animalprintouts.html. Describe how Antarctic animals have adapted to life in cold conditions.

4- List 5 different kinds of fish, mammals, birds, crustaceans and marine invertebrates that can be found there.

seals

Write a short paragraph about one of the following animals:

Weddell seal http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/pinniped/Weddellsealprintout.shtml
Orca or Killer whale http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Orca.shtml
Humpback whale http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Humpbackwhale.shtml
Sperm whale http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Spermwhale.shtml
Arctic tern http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/printouts/Arcticternprintout.shtml
Emperor penguin http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/printouts/Emperorpenguin.shtml
krill http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/crustacean/Krillprintout.shtml