The Alligator's Super Sense: Comprehension Questions

Why was Dr. Daphne Soares sitting on the back of an alligator in a pickup truck?

• She was trying to catch the alligator.

• She was studying the alligator's behavior.

• She had no other place to sit.

• She was trying to ride the alligator.

What did Dr. Soares notice about the alligator's face during the ride in the pickup truck?

• The alligator's eyes were closed.

• The alligator had a smooth face.

• The alligator had many small black bumps on its face.

• The alligator had a long tail.

What was Dr. Soares's goal in her experiments with alligator eggs?

• To see if the eggs could hatch properly.

• To determine the gender of the baby alligators.

• To find out what type of sensors the black bumps were.

• To study the growth of alligator embryos.

How do sensors in the human tongue send signals to the brain?

• Through electrical currents

• Through heat

• Through radio waves

• Through sound waves

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-8

What did Dr. Soares do to observe the electrical activity of the sensor nerves in the baby alligators?

• She connected tiny electrodes to the computer.

• She exposed the bumps to light.

• She blocked the alligator's ears.

• She connected tiny electrodes to the sensor nerves.

What did Dr. Soares discover about the black bumps on the alligator's face?

• They could detect light.

• They could detect electricity.

• They could detect odors.

• They could detect ripples in the water.

How did Dr. Soares confirm that the bumps were pressure sensors?

• She used a microscope to examine them.

• She found fossilized jawbones with similar sensors.

• She conducted experiments with electric currents.

• She asked other researchers for their opinions.

What did Dr. Soares do to test the alligator's ability to use pressure sensors in the dark?

• She turned off the water tank.

• She applied petroleum jelly to block its ears.

• She dropped a single drop of water.

• She turned on the lights in the tank.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-8

What is the role of the black bumps on the alligator's face, according to the text?

• They help the alligator see in the dark.

• They attract prey to the alligator.

• They serve as a form of camouflage.

• They detect changes in pressure as ripples hit them.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

How does an alligator catch its prey, as described in the text?

• By flying and swooping down on it

• By chasing it on land

• By snapping its huge jaws when the prey passes by in the water

• By using its sense of smell to track it down