UKS2 Topic: Dinosaurs& Fossils Block E: Ice Age Fossils Session 3

Cenozoic Timeline

Cenozoic Timeline with Examples


Why Were Ice Age Animals Bigger?

What you will need:

  • A kettle
  • Water
  • Two small plastic boxes
  • Two thermometers
  • A stopwatch
  • Measuring tapes
  • A calculator

What you need to do:

  1. Get an adult to boil and pour some hot water into two plastic boxes. One should be fuller than the other.
  1. With a partner, put your thermometers in the water and write down what temperature each one shows.
  1. Set the stopwatch going. After 5 minutes, test your water again.
  1. While you are waiting for your water to cool down, see if you can work out the surface area and volume of the water in each container.

Use your measuring tapes to take the following measurements in centimetres.

What is the height of the water in your box? / e.g. 2cm
What is the length of the box? / e.g. 4cm
What is the width of the box? / e.g. 3cm

Volume

To work out the volume of water in your container, multiply the height by the length and the width. For example:2 x 3 x 4 = 24

So, the volume of water is 24 cubic centimetres.

Surface area

Each side of the water is a rectangle. To get the surface area of the water, you need to work out the area of each rectangle.

Make a net of the cuboid to help you. Note all the measurements of the sides on it. For example:

There are two rectangles (the top and bottom of the cuboid) that are 3cm x 4cm.

  • 3 x 4 = 12 square centimetres
  • 2 x 12 = 24 square centimetres

There are two rectangles (the long sides of the cuboid) that are 2cm x 4cm.

  • 2 x 4 = 8 square centimetres
  • 2 x 8 = 16 centimetres

There are two rectangles (the short sides of the cuboid) that are 2cm x 3cm.

  • 2 x 3 = 6 square centimetres
  • 2 x 6 = 12 square centimetres

Add them all together:

  • 24 + 16 + 12 = 52 square centimetres

Working out the volume / surface area ratio

Divide the surface area by the volume. Using our examples above this would be:

  • Cuboid: 52/24 = 2 (rounded to the nearest whole number)
  • Cylinder: 64/60 = 1 (rounded to the nearest whole number)
  1. Now look at your results. Which of the containers cooled down most? The experiment should show that the smaller volume of water cools down faster. This is because it has a higher surface area to volume ratio.
  1. Conclusion: Why were animals bigger in the Ice Age?If animals were bigger, they had a lower surface area to volume ratio. There was less surface area (i.e. skin) relative to their volume through which they couldlose heat if they were bigger. They kept warmer by being bigger.

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