You Best Grab a Snorkle...Cuz We're Going Down!

Hey Matey, what do you know about the ocean? Why not check out some facts about the Pacific and Atlantic ocean. I used this in my class and had two groups spend 15 seconds perusing the sheet. Then they competed as I quizzed the teams on the information. They did not do too well. I had them do it again but first gave them one minute to plan how to work effectively as a group. They did much better and not only learned about our oceans but also how to collaborate as a group.

Oceans Competition

Atlantic Ocean	Pacific Ocean
1/5 of the earth’s surface	28% of the earth’s surface
You could fit 6 United States in it	Average depth is 14000 feet
Current is in counter-clockwise direction	Current is in clockwise rotation
Is actually growing in size each year	Larger than all land put together
Has more shark attacks than any ocean. Only about 50 attacks occur each year with about 10 fatalities. More people are killed by elephants than sharks each year	Has what is called the “ring of fire”, meaning it is circled by earthquake lines and volcanic eruptions
Has highest tides that measure higher than a 3 story building	Named by Ferdinand Magellan. Means peaceful sea.
Icebergs are the biggest danger to ships	Decreased in size in 2000 when part of it was renamed as a separate “Southern Ocean”
Deepest part is Milwaukee Deep 28,000 ft	Has about 25,000 islands on it
The deepest recorded free dive is an astounding 282 feet by	Home of the “Great Barrier Reef”, the largest living structure in the world and can be seen from outer space
The Arctic has as much ice as the Atlantic has water	One pearl from a clam was found and sold in New York for 10 million
Average depth of 6000 feet	Red bass often live for 50 years
	Accounts for ¾ of all volcanoes in world
The legendary continent of Atlantis resided here	Some parts (near the equator) are normally about 86 degrees
Is about 9000 miles long	Supplies about ¾ of all fish for food
Varies in average temperature greatly between 80 degrees to 28 degrees	Has deepest depth of 36000 feet            (called Mariana Trench)
Most hurricanes occur in the Atlantic ocean	In 1960 2 men reached the deepest part of the trench. The pressure was over 16,000 pounds per square inch. This would be like one person trying to hold up 50 jumbo jets
Is the saltiest ocean on average	Accounts for almost 1/2 the water in world
Ocean Facts	Is a natural healer for many skin ailments
Sound travels 5 times faster through water than air	3 times more garbage is dumped into the ocean than the amount of fish caught each year
Contains about 80% of all living things on earth	Nearly 1/3 of the oil comes from the ocean
The freezing point is 28.5 degrees (regular freezing is at 32 degrees)	The blue whale is the largest animal and its heart is about the size of a Chevy Nova
One mouthful of sea water contains over 1 million bacteria	Many deep sea creatures have both male and female sex organs
Swordfish can swim about 75mph	Sea coral has been used to graft onto human bones to enhance healing
Many fish change sex in the ocean	3% of the ocean is freshwater