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Red Blood Cells

Red blood cells are one of the four main parts of blood. The other parts are white blood cells, platelets, and

plasma. Did you know that there are about twenty-five trillion red blood cells in an adult's body?

Red blood cells are very tiny. One hundred twenty-five red blood cells placed end-to-end would only be one

millimeter long.

Red blood cells are shaped like a doughnut. They are round, but they look like their centers have been partially

scooped out. Even though they are considered cells, they do not have a nucleus. They are soft and flexible so they

can pass through the capillaries. They can't move on their own, though. Instead, the flow of blood carries them.

Red blood cells are produced in bone marrow, the spongy part inside some of the bones. More than two hundred

million red blood cells can be made by the bone marrow each second!

Red blood cells live for about four months. They become fragile as they get older and begin to lose their shape.

When that happens, they are carried to the spleen or the liver where they are destroyed, but parts of them can be

recycled into new blood cells.

What is the main job of the red blood cells? They transport oxygen from the lungs to every other part of the body.

They also collect carbon dioxide from the body and take it back to the lungs. There is a special protein in red blood

cells called hemoglobin that helps them do this. Actually, each red blood cell contains over two hundred fifty

million hemoglobin molecules. The hemoglobin makes the blood red. More importantly, though, the hemoglobin

combines with the oxygen and carbon dioxide so it can be transported where it needs to go.

Red blood cells are tiny, but they do a big job.

Red Blood Cells

Questions

1. The four main parts of blood are white blood cells, platelets, plasma, and ______.

A. bone marrowB. red blood cellsC. oxygen

2. There are about ______ red blood cells in an adult's body.

A. 125B. 25 trillionC. 100 million

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3. Red blood cells ______ have a nucleus.

A. do notB. do

4. Red blood cells live for about 120 days.

A. trueB. false

5. ______ makes the blood red.

6. What is the main job of red blood cells?

A. carrying oxygen and carbon dioxideB. fighting diseaseC. clotting blood

7. Where are red blood cells made?

What is 14 less than 299? Write a 4-digit even number. triple 22 =

108 ÷ 9 = 12 12 x 4 = 4 x 7 + 10 + 11

How many digits are in 1,000times 10?

How many pounds are in 144 ounces?

pounds

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How many of these can you write about? Think! Write! Check all the ones you answered.

Describe red blood cells to someone who has never heard of them.

Imagine your red blood cells are not working properly. Describe how that might affect your body.

Don't stop writing. Use a blank piece of paper to continue.

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How Do Hot Air Balloons Work?

Caption: An early test flight of a Montgolfier brothers' balloon.

History of Hot Air Balloons

In 1783, two French brothers named Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier launched

the first hot air balloon. It stayed in the air for about fifteen minutes before its

passengers - a duck, a sheep, and a rooster - crashed to the ground. The first balloon

carrying a person was launched on November 21st of that year.

How do hot air balloons work? The answer is a simple principle called buoyancy.

Hot air rises in colder air because warm air is less dense than cooler air. Think of a

cork, which is less dense than water, floating in a stream. This is much the same way

a hot air balloon floats in the air.

Going Up

In order to launch a balloon, a burner is attached to the basket. This burner uses propane to create a flame,

much like the gas grill on your back deck. The pilot controls the valve on the burner. The hot air is sent up into

the envelope (fabric) of the balloon. It is trapped at the top, and the balloon is lifted up into the air. It takes about

65,000 cubic feet of hot air to lift one thousand pounds. That is why hot air balloons are so large.

Coming Down

There is a large flap of fabric at the top of the balloon called the parachute valve. A long rope is attached to

this flap. In order to make the balloon go down, the pilot pulls on the rope to open the flap. Some of the hot air

escapes; cooler air rushes in to fill the envelope. The balloon floats slowly downward.

Piloting a Balloon

The pilot can really only control the up and down motion. The wind does the rest of the work. The pilot can

shift the balloon up or down to catch wind currents that help it glide along in the sky. The pilot never knows for

sure where the balloon will land. That is why some of the crew stays on the ground in the chase vehicle. These

people pick up the passengers and pack up the balloon. The passengers are then taken by car to their destination.

Uses for Hot Air Balloons

Because hot air balloons are at the mercy of the wind, they are not a very useful mode of transportation. They

are mostly used for sports and fun. Many balloon rallies, races, and festivals are held throughout the year.

Balloons are also used for advertising-some people fly balloons with special shapes or ads on them to promote

their businesses. A peaceful ride in a hot air balloon is also a good way to do some sightseeing. Some people even

get married in them!

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How Do Hot Air Balloons Work?

Questions

1. When was the first manned hot air balloon flight?

A. September 19, 1738B. September 19, 1783C. November 21, 1873D. November 21, 1783

2. Why do hot air balloons rise?

3. What part of the balloon heats the air?

A. the envelopeB. the cubic feetC. the basketD. the propane burner

4. When the pilot wants to go down, he opens ______.

A. the valve on the burnerB. his jacketC. the parachute valveD. the bottom of the basket

5. It takes 65,000 cubic feet of hot air to lift ______.

A. one thousand poundsB. the empty basket of the balloonC. one hundred poundsD. a sheep, a duck, and a rooster

6. When he takes off, the pilot knows exactly where he will land.

A. falseB. true

7. Which of these motions can the pilot of the hot air balloon control?

A. going upB. coming downC. side to sideD. both A and B

8. Hot air balloons are a reliable form of transportation.

A. falseB. true

1 lb = 16 oz

22 lb = oz

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How many of these can you write about? Think! Write! Check all the ones you answered.

Imagine you are flying in a hot air balloon. Tell about your experience.

Find some information about a hot air balloon rally. Write a paragraph telling what activities are done

there.

Don't stop writing. Use a blank piece of paper to continue.

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Oops. This story contains lots of errors.Find them and fix the errors in this story before answering the questions.

Surviving April Fools' Day

Christopher Columbus is arriving in Washington, D.C., to visit

The president and tour the capitol. A scientist discovered a way to

turn rocked into gold and will give the secret to children so they can

supplement their allowances. April fools! How can we survive this

ridiculous Day.

April Fools' Day is not a formal holiday. Yet it is celebrated in many countries around the world on April 1.

People can play practical jokes on each otherr. They can say funny things. They can even send someone on a

fools errand. A fool's errand is a "fruitless mission". It is often impossible. The person usual end up feeling silly!

Some April Fools' Day pranks have caught many people by surprise. In 1957, a BBC news show announced

that the awful spaghetti weevil had been "eliminated". This was because of the mild winter. Farmer were having

a terrific spaghetti crop! The show had a clip of Swiss peasants harvesting strands of spaghetti from trees. Since

lots of folks love pasta, they wondered about this news. Tey called the BBC and asked whether they could grow

their own spaghetti tree.

A spaghetti tree sounds fun, but other April Fools Day pranks have made people mad. In 1996, the Taco Bell

Corporation pulled a strange prank. It stated that it hed purchased the Liberty Bell. It also said that the bell was

the

day

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being renamed the Taco Liberty Bell. This made many people furious! Thousands of irate citizens called the Taco

Bell headquarters and the National Park Service (NPS) to complain. The Philadelphia branch of the NPS had a

news conference to tell the public that the bell was safe.

April Fools' Day is a zany celebration. the best prescription for surviving this day is to take a big dose of

humor first thing in the morning!

Did you make at least 9 corrections? If not, take another look.

I took a few looks and was able to make corrections.Surviving April Fools' Day

Questions

1. Which explorer was mentioned in the first paragraph?

A. Ponce de LeonB. Ferdinand MagellanC. Marco PoloD. Christopher Columbus

2. What did the Taco Bell Corporation reportedly buy?

A. the Declaration of IndependenceB. the ConstitutionC. the Liberty BellD. none of the above

3. Which of the following is a synonym for the word "irate" in paragraph 4?

A. angryB. itchyC. interestingD. great

4. What type of food supposedly grew on trees in one April Fools' Day joke?

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4 9- 1 3

84 ÷ 12 =The principal of your school wants to buy thirty-onebooks. Each book costs $9.70. She wants to estimatehow much it will cost. Show her how you wouldestimate the cost:

4 5 7+ 3 3 9

Kevin invented a robotic bug. The bug cancrawl six centimeters in twenty-fourseconds. How long would it take the bugto crawl forty-eight centimeters?

4 0+ 3 5

15 km = mAmanda wrote down a fraction ona piece of paper. If you take herfraction and multiply it by sevenyou get ten. Can you guess whather fraction is?

Circle the smallest number:47,682,593,019 1,258,213,054978,617 76,304

8 x 9 = 2 9 2- 1 0 4

72 ÷ 9 =

1

Name

The Pacific SubregionAnswer the following questions BEFORE you read this book.Write what you know. If you want to guess, you can. You will NOTbe marked wrong!

1.What do you know about the Pacific states?

2.What states are found in the Pacific Subregion? What are their capital cities?

2 The Pacific Subregion

The United States Census Bureau divides the United States

into four regions. The four regions are the Northeast, the

Midwest, the South, and the West. Each region can also be

broken into smaller divisions or subregions. Division 9 is

the Pacific Subregion. It is one of two subregions that make

up the West Region. There are five Pacific states in this

subregion. Each of them are touched by the Pacific Ocean.

3

Three of the five Pacific states, California, Oregon, and

Washington, share their eastern border with the Mountain

states. The Pacific Ocean borders these three Pacific States

on the west. The other two Pacific States are far away.

Alaska lies much farther north. It is bordered by Canada on

the east. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The

Pacific Ocean borders Alaska on the south and southwest.

Hawaii is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is

more than 2,000 miles west of the continental United States.

4 The Pacific Subregion

All the Pacific states touch the Pacific Ocean. They have

that in common. They are a diverse group; they have many

differences. Hawaii and Alaska are poles apart. Hawaii

enjoys a tropical climate. Much of Alaska has an arctic

climate. Because of their geographic locations, the weather,

plants, and animals are very different in those two states.

Alaska is our largest state. It is more than twice as large as

Texas, our second-biggest state. The U.S. bought Alaska

from Russia in 1867. It didn't become a state until January

1959. The city of Juneau (JOO-noh) is the capital. Hawaii

became our 50th state in August 1959. There are hundreds

of Hawaiian Islands, spread out over more than 1,500 square

miles. Hawaii has eight main islands. Honolulu is the state

capital.

5

Back on the mainland, the states of Washington, Oregon, and

California make up the remainder of the Pacific Subregion.

California became a state in 1850, not long after gold was discovered

there. Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States

today. Sacramento is the capital of California. Oregon became a state

in 1859. Oregon is the number one producer of timber in the Lower

48 states. Portland is the state's largest city. Salem is its capital.

Washington is known for growing apples and other fruits, but it is

also a top lumber producer. The western side of the state is a

temperate rain forest. The eastern side has dry desert areas.

Washington became a state in 1889. The state is home to aerospace,

electronics, and computer industries. Its capital is Olympia.

6 The Pacific Subregion

Name

The Pacific SubregionAnswer the following questions AFTER you have completed this book.

1.List the five states that make up the Pacific Subregion.

2.For each of the states you listed above, list each one's capital city.

3.The Pacific Subregion is part of the Region.

7The Pacific Subregion

4.Choose one of the Pacific states as your favorite. Tell why it is your favorite. Try to persuade others that it should be their favorite, too.