Dinosaurs - Lesson 7: Nature and Change
Appendix E: A Blue Whale
Materials
Sets of cutouts for each child to see the relative size of a human, a
two-story house, and a dinosaur.
Paper clips to make chains, or string
The following heights are used as averages to measure the difference in size of
the largest animal in the present-day and the largest animal during the time of
the dinosaurs: six feet for a human, 18 feet for a two-story house, and 140-
feet for seismosaurus, the ratios will be 1:3: 23.
These chains, below, are in the ratio of 1: 3: 7: 23 : 17
Procedures
- The students measure pieces of string to the size of a person, a house, a dinosaur they select, and the blue whale.
- Students draw a scene showing three of the objects shown above, one of which is a blue whale.
- The students compare the size of the blue whale to seismosaurus and to tyrannosaurus.
Which is the largest animal? When did seismosaurus live?
Was tyrannosaurus bigger than today's blue whale? How do you know?
- Is the blue whale smaller than seismosaurus? How do you know?
- If the blue whale is the largest animal on earth today, do you think there are
any animals the size of seismosaurus? Tell the class your reasons for what you think.
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