We know that evolution has come up with some bizarre adaptations to life on Earth. Carnivorous plants, stick insects and some seriously smelly mushrooms are just some of the more familiar examples. However, it is not only animals, plants and fungi that can amaze and delight us with their variety – if you look down the microscope, you might be
astonished too.
In this competition, we invite you to do your own research – to investigate the weird and wonderful life on Earth and to choose the species you think is strangest.
What makes that species the strangest? Is it how it looks? What it eats? How it moves? Where it lives? How it reproduces? Can it perform amazing feats – dive deep, fly high, survive extreme conditions? Do you know how it can do these things? In your explanation, can you apply what you have learned in lessons other than biology? What physical principles is the organism exploiting? What chemical reactions?
A panel of scientists and science editors will judge the entries. If you can convince us that your choice really is the strangest organism on Earth, we’ll publish your entry in
Science in School.
For each of the three winning entries, a scientist working on that type of organism will write a short comment on the entry.
General rules
1.Entries are welcomed from students at primary or secondary schools (or other educational institutions with students up to the age of 19) anywhere in Europe.
2.There will be one winner for each category, according to the author’s age on the date of submission: 4- to 10-year-olds, 11- to 15-year-olds, and 16 and over.
3.Entries may be submitted individually or by groups of students (only one entry per individual or group). Group entries will be judged in the category of the oldest group
member.
4. In writing and in your own words, explain why you think this is the strangest organism on Earth.
5.Don’t forget to include the scientific name (e.g.Homo sapiens or Lucilia sericata).
Student competition: the search for the strangest species on Earth
6. Only real species (living or extinct; animals, plants, fungi,micro-organisms or viruses) maybe chosen. Mythical species (e.g.unicorns) or individual organisms(e.g. Paul the octopus) will not be considered.
7.Hand-written entries will not be accepted.
8.Include your name and date of birth, school address, and your teacher’s name and contact details (postal and email addresses).
9.The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2017 (midnight CET).
10.Entries should be submitted electronically via the Science in School
website: www.scienceinschool.org/2016/issue36/entry
Additional rules for students aged 11 and over
11.Maximum word count (excluding sources and image information): 750 words.
12.All written submissions must be in English.
13. At the end of your text,list all the sources of your information (websites, books, TV
documentaries, your teacher, etc;provide enough details for other people to find the sources).
14.Optionally, you may include one picture or video of the organism, in
addition to the text.
a)You may want to draw, photograph or video the organism yourself, in which case
you should state that it is your own work.
b) If you submit a picture or video you found elsewhere, specify exactly where you found it
(e.g. Internet address or full reference, detailed enough for other people to find it).
c)If you submit a video, do not send the video file to us – just provide the web link to the
video (e.g. uploaded on YouTube or available on another website). Videos should be no more than two minutes long.
TEAM NAMES ___________________________________________________
Date __________________
Class ________
Task 1
What we expect from you:
- You speak English with your team and with the teachers.
- You read the description and the rules of the competition.
- You do this worksheet.
- You contribute with work within your team
READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
About introduction
- Write two examples of strange species in the text:
- ________________________
- ________________________
- Fill the gaps:
- In this __________, we invite you to do your own ____________ – to investigate the _________ and wonderful life on Earth and to choose the species you think is ___________.
- Find the meaning of the missing words in exercise 2
- _____________:
- _____________:
- _____________:
- _____________:
- Who will judge your work? What will they do if you can convince them?
About general rules
- Who can participate in the competition?
- How many categories are there? In which are you participating?
- Can you participate as a group? How many entries can you submit?
- Can you copy a text from the internet? Why?
- How are you going to cite where you got the information from?
- Can you choose a dragon or a unicorn in your article? Why?
- When you send your article, what names and personal information are you going to include?
- Which is the last day to send your project?
- What is the maximum length of your article?
- How are you going to send it? Which website is it?
- If you add a video, how long is it going to be? How are you going to send it?
- Can you add any illustrations? What type?
- What is the prize for the winners of the competition?
TASK 2
What we expect from you:
- You speak English with your team and with the teachers.
- All the members of your team have found information of, at least, one living form.
- You do this worksheet.
- You contribute with work within your team
Answer these questions to have an idea about what the project will be like:
- What exactly do you have to do in this project?
- Where can you get the information from?
- What sections are you going to include in your article?
- How our organism looks.
- What our organism eats
- What visual materials can you add?
- Write the scientific name of your species:
TASK 3
What we expect from you:
- You speak English with your team and with the teachers.
- You use dictionaries and smartphones properly (only one per team)
- You write your article, including a visual source and the information sources.
- You show your work to your teachers and they check it.
- You contribute with work within your team
Write your article (remember to include the sources!)
SOURCES: Write all the sources you used for finding information about it in the correct order.
For books: Surname of the author, name of the author, title, name of the publishing house, year of the edition.
For websites: Name of the website, link. [with the date of the last visit].
For TV programmes or documentaries: Name of the website, title of the programme. link. [with the last visited date].
For people (teachers, and other people): Surname, name, transcription of the interview, date of the interview.
Write your article (if you need more space)
SOURCES:
Two examples of a scientific article
Dumbo Octopus
The octopuses of the genus Grimpoteuthis are sometimes nicknamed “Dumbo octopuses” from the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their “heads” (actually bodies), resembling the ears of Walt Disney’s flying elephant. They are tiny with a size of about 20 cm.
They are benthic creatures, living at extreme depths (they can live at 5000 m) and are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species.
Source: http://divaboo.info/
The bleeding tooth fungus (Hydnellum pecki)
While the Hydnellum pecki is undoubtedly a bizarre mushroom species, its appearance is also quite terrifying. This inedible fungus is found in various parts of the world and should not be eaten. While young fruit bodies “bleed” a pigment containing anticoagulant properties, older Hydellum pecki fungi are brownish and are thus less eye catching. Young ones are like wipped cream topped with cherries. It can be found in North America, Europe and also seen in Corea and Iran. This fungus lives in symbiosis with some conifer as pines and spruce
Picture Source: Magiczna Kotlinka
Text Source: http://all-that-is-interesting.com/bizarre-mushrooms-species
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii
