TPO 11-2 Orientation and Navigation

Which of the following can be inferred about bird migration from paragraph 1?

• Bird migration generally involves moving back and forth between north and south.

• Birds will take the most direct migratory route to their new habitat.

• The purpose of migration is to join with larger groups of birds.

• The destination of birds' migration can change from year to year.

The word “perplexed” in the passage is closest in meaning to

• Interested

• Defeated

• Occupied

• Puzzled

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage?

• Experiments revealed that the restless movement of caged starlings had no clear direction.

• Experiments revealed that caged starlings' orientation was accurate unless the weather was overcast.

• Experiments revealed that caged starlings were unable to orient themselves in the direction of their normal migratory route.

• Experiments revealed that caged starlings displayed a lack of directional sense and restless movements.

The word “preposterous” in the passage is closest in meaning to

• Unbelievable

• Inadequate

• Creative

• Limited

According to paragraph 3, why did Kramer use mirrors to change the apparent position of the Sun?

• To test the effect of light on the birds' restlessness

• To cause the birds to migrate at a different time than they would in the wild

• To test whether birds were using the Sun to navigate

• To simulate the shifting of light the birds would encounter along their regular migratory route

According to paragraph 3, when do caged starlings become restless?

• When mirrors are used to change the apparent position of the Sun

• When the weather is overcast

• When they are unable to identify their normal migratory route

• When their normal time for migration arrives

Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 4 about Kramer's reason for filling one food box and leaving the rest empty?

• He believed the birds would eat food from only one box.

• He wanted to see whether the Sun alone controlled the birds' ability to navigate toward the box with food.

• He thought that if all the boxes contained food, this would distract the birds from following their migratory route.

• He needed to test whether the birds preferred having the food at any particular point of the compass.

According to paragraph 5, how did the birds fly when the real Sun was visible?

• They flew in the same direction as the birds that were seeing the artificial Sun.

• They changed the direction of their flight at a rate of 15 degrees per hour.

• They kept the direction of their flight constant.

• They kept flying toward the Sun.

The experiment described in paragraph 5 caused Kramer to conclude that birds possess a biological clock because

• Birds shift their direction at a rate of 15 degrees per hour whether the Sun is visible or not

• Birds' migration is triggered by natural environmental cues, such as the position of the Sun

• Birds' innate bearings keep them oriented in a direction that is within 15 degrees of the Sun's direction

• When birds navigate they are able to compensate for the changing position of the Sun in the sky

According to paragraph 6, how did the birds navigate in the planetarium's nighttime environment?

• By waiting for the dome to stop rotating

• By their position on the planetarium floor

• By navigating randomly until they found the correct orientation

• By orienting themselves to the stars in the artificial night sky