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Brainiac

Exploring the Prairie

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Are You A Brainiac?

Test Your Prairie Knowledge

1. Prairies are one of the most recently developed ecosystems in North America. Prairies formed about how many years ago?
8,000
1000
100
500

2. The word "prairie" comes from what language?
Spanish
Russian
German
French

3. A prairie can be simulated but never be fully restored because
the prairie is a very complex ecological system.
the prairie developed over vast periods of time.
the natural prairie ecological system covered thousands of square miles.
all of the above.

4. Iowa was the stronghold for which kind of prairie?
Tallgrass
Shortgrass
Great plains
Dry prairies
5. Indians sometimes set fires on Iowa's prairie to
drive game out of the brush.
promote grazing
make travel easier
all of the above.

6. The soil under the tallgrass prairie is
always dry.
a dense tangle of roots and bulbs.
mostly clay.
not suitable for plants other than prairie grasses.

7. Prairie plants put out roots that extend
only a few inches below the surface.
up to thirty feet below the surface.
up to 12 feet below the prairie surface.
to the nearest river.

8. What percent of the North American prairies still exists?
10
20
50
1

9. Prairies once covered what percent of the United States?
40
90
2
5

10. Which of the following is not a major grass of the tallgrass prairie?
big bluestem
the little bluestem
yucca
switchgrass

   
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