10 August, 2001

Quiz Answers

In my August 6th journal entry I asked 6 questions about Antarctica. . . How did you do?

1. Does a penguin have to worry about being attacked by a polar bear and why? No. Polar bears are found in Arctic regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere. Antarctica is home to seven species of penguins.

2. True or False... Antarctica is a continent. True. The Antarctic is made up of a continent called Antarctica, as well as the Southern Ocean and the islands in the Southern Ocean.

3. Penguins are birds, but can they fly? No. Penguins are sea birds and although they cannot fly, they are excellent swimmers and divers.

And now, for the answers to the more challenging questions.

1. Scientists in Antarctica wear ECW gear. What does ECW stand for? ECW is short for Extreme Cold Weather gear. This clothing is specially designed for cold weather regions with low temperatures and high winds.

2. How big is Antarctica compared to the United States? Antarctica is one-and-a-half times the size of the United States.

3. What is an iceberg and how is it formed? Icebergs are floating chunks of ice which have broken off from glaciers and ice shelves. They can be all different shapes and sizes. One Antarctic iceberg was reported to be the size of Connecticut.

This is Mats Pettersson in ECW gear. Mats is from Sweden and he will be = the first TEA from his country.

My penguin friend wanted a photo with Mats. This is what he looks like = without all that ECW gear. Mats will leave for the South Pole in late = October. Look him up on the TEA website.