About Autumn
Autumn Animals
Reading
Autumn Word Scramble
True or False
100
What are these? They are a type of nuts.
Chestnuts
100
What color does the arctic fox turn in autumn?
A. Red
B. White
Arctic fox fur turns white in autumn. This is because it helps them hide in the snow in winter.
100
The largest pumpkin pie ever weighed nearly ____ pounds.
A. 3,700
B. 2,500
A. 3,700
According to Guinness World Records, the pie measured 20 feet in diameter, weighed 3,699 pounds, and required 440 sheets of dough. It was made by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio in September 2010.
100
feal
leaf
100
Jack-O-Lanterns were originally made from Turnips.
True or False
True!
Ancient Celtic cultures were known to carve turnips and place embers inside to ward off evil spirits. This was originally because Ireland didn't have pumpkins.
200
What are these?
Acorns
200
The heaviest black bear ever weighed roughly ____ pounds.
A. 900
B. 1000
A. 900 lbs
200
______ forget about the majority of nuts they bury, which helps regrow forests.
A. Squirrels
B. Ants
A. Squirrels
Throughout the fall, squirrels spend their days collecting and "caching" nuts, meaning they hide the tasty treasures away in spots where they hope to find them later. One 1998 study by the University of Richmond found that squirrels fail to recover up to 74 percent of the nuts they bury, which is likely responsible for oak forest regeneration. Thanks, forgetful squirrels!
200
qusreirl
squirrel
200
The amount of minerals in leaves causes the variation in color during the fall.
True or False
False!
During the year, lots of sugars are produced in leaves. But autumn cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions – lots of sugar and light – spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments, which tint reds, purples, and crimson.
300
Name a fruit that many people pick in autumn.
Many people pick apples in autumn, the time of year when they are fully ripe.
300
Woodchucks and box turtles sleep during winter, so they must get ready for this during autumn. When an animal sleeps all winter, we say that it _______.
When an animal sleeps all winter, we say that it hibernates.
300
Americans buy enough candy during Halloween week to fill six ____.
A. Titanics
B. Football fields
A. Titanics
On Halloween, we spend an estimated $9 billion on it. In fact, according to Vox, "If you took all the candy that's sold during Halloween week and turned it into a giant ball … it'd be as large as six Titanics and weigh 300,000 tons."
300
nimpkup
pumpkin
300
There are more babies born in September than any other month.
True or False
True!
Specifically, September 9th is the most common birthday for those born between 1994 and 2014. For people born between 1973 and 1999, the most common birthday is September 16th, according to The New York Times.
400
What is the name of this leaf?
Maple leaf
400
Some animals ________ in fall. For example, Canada geese fly where it is warmer.
A. Migrate
B. Sleep
Some animals migrate in fall/ autumn.
400
The smell of the first rain of the season has a name.
A. Petrichor
B. Monsoon
A. Petrichor
Petrichor is "a distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odor that is associated with rainfall especially when following a warm, dry period and that arises from a combination of volatile plant oils and geosmin released from the soil into the air and by ozone carried by downdrafts.
400
nocra
acorn
400
There's a distinct "fall" scent that you can only smell in certain months.
True or False
True!
According to meteorologist Matthew Cappucci, the smell is partially due to the leaves. "When the leaves fall, they die," he wrote for The Washington Post. "As they take their last breath, they 'exhale' all sorts of gases." Cappucci says those gasses smell "a bit like chlorine or the exhaust of a dryer vent."
500
What animal is this?
It is a hare.
500
How do deer prepare for winter?
A. Grow thick coats
B. Eat a lot of food
Deer grow thick coats to keep warm during winter.
500
There's a word for the sound of rustling leaves, too.
A. Psithurism
B. Prairie
A. Psithurism
The sound of leaves and trees rustling in the wind is one of the most satisfying noises of the season. And the next time you hear it, you'll know it has a name: psithurism, which comes from the Greek word psithuros, meaning whispering (the s is silent).
500
kaer
rake
500
There are just under 5,000 varieties of apples in the world.
True or False
False!
According to the University of Illinois, there are 7,500 varieties of apples in the world and 2,500 varieties in the United States.