Name: _______________________

Great White Sharks

by Erin Ryan The great white shark is one of the most recognizable sharks in the world. The only shark larger than a great white is the whale shark. Great white sharks have been found in each of the world's oceans. Even though they have been s otted in waters as shallow as three feet !one meter" dee # these sharks s end most of their time in dee coastal waters. The great white shark is related to the rehistoric

$egalodon shark# which grew to over si%ty&five feet !'( meters". The largest great white sharks found have been over twenty feet !si% meters" long. )ike the $egalodon# great whites have to huge triangle sha ed teeth that are serrated# like knives. The teeth of great white sharks are u three inches !seven centimeters" long and as they break off or wear out# new teeth grow in to re lace them. *ne of the most noticeable features of the great white is the dorsal fin which rises out of the water when a great white swims near the surface of the ocean. The fins on either side of the shark are called ectoral fins and they hel to direct the shark closer to the surface or dee er into sea. The shark+s tail is owered by very strong muscles. ,t swee s the tail side to side and can reach s eeds of u to fifteen miles er hour !twenty&four
kilometers er hour". and can have sudden

The great white shark has s ecial rece tors in its snout# or nose# that hel hel it feel electrical ulses The from rey. They also have sensors in their skin that them to feel vibrations in the water. main diet of this carnivore is large fish# s-uid# seals# sea lions# dol hins# and turtles. eyes to rotect them. /ecause great white sharks are so dangerous# little is known about them in the wild. Great white sharks have never been ke t in ca tivity for longer than seven months# so scientists are unsure how long they live. ,t is believed that their life s an is almost thirty years. The great white shark is the most feared redator of the ocean# by alike0
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.hen a

great white shark is feeding# it can roll back its

owerful bursts of s eed u

to twenty&five miles

eo le and by sea creatures

er hour !forty kilometers er hour".

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Name: _______________________

Great White Sharks

by Erin Ryan 1. .hich fact about a great white shark's size is not true1 a. $egalodon sharks grew much bigger than great white sharks. b. Great white sharks are not the largest sharks in the world today. c. Great white sharks grow as large as $egalodon sharks. d. .hale sharks grow bigger than great white sharks.

2.

*n the icture to the right# label the shark's dorsal fin# ectoral fin# and tail.

3.

E% lain how a great white's snout and skin hel it find rey. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

4.

2irst# find the vocabulary words below in the article and highlight them. Then# match the vocabulary words on the left to the correct definitions on the right. _____ carnivore _____ vibrations _____ serrated _____ ca tivity _____ rece tor
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a. sensor for feeling things b. a confined lace out of the wild c. notched and 3agged like a saw d. animal that eats other animals e. slight movements
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ANSWER KEY

Great White Sharks

by Erin Ryan 1. .hich fact about a great white shark's size is not true1 c a. $egalodon sharks grew much bigger than great white sharks. b. Great white sharks are not the largest sharks in the world today. c. Great white sharks grow as arge as !ega odon sharks. d. .hale sharks grow bigger than great white sharks.

dorsa "in
2. *n the icture to the right# label the shark's dorsal fin# ectoral fin# and tail.

tai

#ectora "in

3.

E% lain how a great white's snout and skin hel it find rey. $ts sno%t has rece#tors that he # it "ee e ectrica #% ses "ro& #rey. $ts skin has sensors to he # the& "ee 'ibrations in the water.

4.

2irst# find the vocabulary words below in the article and highlight them. Then# match the vocabulary words on the left to the correct definitions on the right. d carnivore e vibrations c serrated b ca tivity a rece tor a. sensor for feeling things b. a confined lace out of the wild c. notched and 3agged like a saw d. animal that eats other animals e. slight movements

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