Question Sheet: A Whale’s Amazing Tooth

By Science News Explores

SCIENCE

Before reading:

  1. What is a narwhal? 

  2. What is a unicorn?

During reading:

  1. Do all narwhals have a long tooth, or tusk? What do the tusks look like? 

  2. Why did Martin Nweeia think that he would be a good person to figure out the

    mystery of the narwhal tusk? 

  3. What did Frederick Eichmiller’s team do with a narwhal tooth? 

  4. How are narwhal teeth different from human teeth? 

  5. Why is it surprising that a narwhal tooth is hollow and contains a bundle of

    nerves? 

  6. What different types of scientists participated in the narwhal project?

After reading:

  1. Why would studying a narwhal tooth require a range of different scientists?

    What do you suppose each type of scientist did on the project? 

  2. Compare studying a narwhal with studying another animal of your choice. What

    additional obstacles do you think someone interested in narwhals would face? 

  3. Do you think the purpose of a narwhal’s tusk will continue to be a mystery

    for much longer? Why or why not? 

  4. How might the narwhal’s tooth function as a temperature or a pressure

    sensor? 

  5. Describe another type of scientific project, which doesn’t involve people,

    that a dentist might find interesting to pursue. 

  6. Why might certain animals be unable to survive in a zoo? 

  7. What uses might an animal have for an especially long tooth, or tusk?

SOCIAL STUDIES

  1. What other animals live only in the Arctic? See www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/arctic/Awildlife.html (J. Giannetta) or www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/wildlife.html(Arctic Studies Center). 

  2. Which countries border the Arctic? See www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/arctic/Aintro.html (J. Giannetta).

LANGUAGE ARTS

  1. Suppose that you are on a month-long expedition in the Artic. What sorts of

    information would you record on such a trip? Write six sample journal entries

    describing things that you might observe or encounter. See www.narwhal.org/Expedition2002.html(narwhal.org). 

  2. The Narwhal’s tusk has been a source of myths and legends. See www.narwhal.org/UnicornMyth.html (narwhal.org) or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn (Wikipedia). Write your own story about why the animal has a tusk.

MATHEMATICS

A narwhal is 15 feet long. A pilot whale is 8.5 meters long. How much shorter is a narwhal than a pilot whale?