GED Science: Naked Flying Space Critter!
Dudes. Dudes! DOODZ!!! Totally. I love this weird GED science stuff. I read this article, it’s really kewl. So, no one can live in space, right? Like, if you go out without your space helmet, your head will explode or something. Not to mention you can’t breathe. There’s no air or nuthin. So, it’s impossible to live in space, right? RIGHT?!?! WRONG!!1!11! Okay, here’s the science stuff…
Well, you know about sea monkey, right? You had them as a kid, didn’t you? You can, like, order them from the back of magazines, and they come all dried out. But you drop ‘em in water and they come right to life. Like, they shut themselves off. Sort of like hybernation… they just stop. That’s why they can send you them. Sea monkeys are really a kind of little shrimp. Dude, I thought they were really gonna be monkeys. Bummer.
You see, tardigrades, or water bears, are like sea monkeys. They live where it’s wet, but when it’s dry, they shut off and close themselves up and protect themselves. When they get wet, they come alive again. Well, some scientists put the 6-legged critters in space. And they survived! They even survived deadly solar radiation… mysterious!
Here’s the totally kewl article: Creature Survives Naked in Space
And here’s a website all about those little guys: http://www.tardigrades.com/
So, here’s a GED question…
Why do tardigrades turn into a dry, protective state when out of water?
A) so they can survive in outer space
B) to help them survive until they get to water
C) in case they are targeted by solar radiation
D) because they have six legs
Did you get it? Tardigrades protect themselves by “drying out” to help them survive until they get to water again. It doesn’t have anything to do with six legs… and though they can survive solar radiation, that’s not the only reason to protect themselves! The whole idea is survival, and not necessarily in outer space. They just need to get through the dry periods on Earth, mostly. That make sense?
Good luck with all your GED studying… if you can get this one, you can get a lot of GED questions!
For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com or call 1-888-880-2164.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:56 am
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