Blue Whales: Giant Mammals

Read this sentence: The blue whale has a very large mouth but a very small esophagus. What is the meaning of the word esophagus?

• a strong material that makes up hair, hooves, and fingernails

• a system that sends high-frequency sound waves through water

• the fat under the skin that keeps marine mammals warm

• the muscle lined tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach

What is the author's purpose for writing this book?

• To inform readers about blue whales

• To entertain readers with whale jokes

• To inform the reader about different types of sonar

• To persuade the reader to buy a whale

Under which section would you expect to learn about baby blue whales?

• "Those Big Baby Blues"

• "From Sea to Shining Sea"

• "Song of the Sea"

• "Blowholes and Blubber"

Baby blue whales are called ______________.

• Pups

• Kittens

• Calves

• foals

A ________________ could crawl through a blue whales main blood vessels because it is so large.

• horse

• dog

• human

• cow

These help the blue whale navigate through the waters. These wide

tail _____________ are made of tissue and flexible.

• fins

• flukes

• bludder

• sonar

What is the name of the layer of fat that is just beneath their skin and protects them for the chilly ocean temperatures?

• Blast

• Balloon

• Blubber

• blowhole

A blue whale's tongue weighs as much as a(n)___________.

• cow

• elephant

• emu

• human

The __________ opens and the whale expels air, sending water spouts up to 30 feet high into the sky.

• blowhole

• blubber

• baleen

• bill

Instead of teeth, blue whales have plates of _______________ on their upper jaws.

• metal

• baleen

• cartilage

• needles