The (Really!) Great Barrier Reef

How long ago did the Aboriginal people fish near the Great Barrier Reef?

• 4,000 years ago
• 40 years ago
• 40,000 years ago
• 50,000 years ago

How was Captain James Cook able to sail over the reef?

• He used a boat that pushed deep into the water.
• He used a flat-bottomed boat.
• He paddled a canoe by hand.
• He used a submarine.

"The Great Barrier Reef is as colorful as a rainbow" is an example of a ......

• Metaphor
• Idiom
• Fact
• Simile

Which word does NOT describe coral?

• Smooth
• Silky
• Sharp
• Spiky

Which statement is NOT a fact?

• Coral is very hard and mostly made up of limestone.
• Tiny sea animals called polyps make the coral.
• Coral is very colorful, beautiful, and awesome.
• Coral is made up of many tiny polyp shells on top of and alongside each other.

How large is the bird population near the Great Barrier Reef?

• About 2,000,000
• About 200,000
• About 2,000 
• About 4,000,000

What keeps the coral from growing too much?

• People damage it.
• Animals call the reef home.
• The parrot fish eats it.
• Birds eat it.

Which fish eats parasites off other fish?

• clown fish
• sea snakes
• dugongs
• cleaner wrasse

Which pair of fish bob along in the water?

• pipefish and dugongs
• pipefish and seahorses
• pipefish and sea snakes
• pipefish and shellfish

Which of the following is NOT a way of solving the problem of the number of dugongs getting smaller?

• Dugong protection areas were created.
• Shark nets were outlawed.
• Laws were passed to keep people from hunting dugongs.
• Laws were passed to make harvesting coral against the law.