Question

1 sentence telling me the topic of the story. In your own words.

3 sentences you copy straight from the magazine with "quotation" marks around it. This sentence proves that the topic is what you stated in the first sentence.
1 sentence telling me the conclusion. In your own words.
3 sentences you copy straight from the magazine with "quotation" marks around it. This sentence proves that the conclusion is what you stated in the sentence above this one
The average woodpecker smashes its beak against a hard surface more than 10,000 times a day. Any human who jolted their head like this would likely end up with a concussion. This traumatic brain injury is caused by a blow to the skull. So why doesn’t the constant hammering turn woodpeckers’ brains into mush? For years, it was assumed that woodpeckers had some kind of cushioning in their heads to protect their brains during pecking. Many scientists suggested that spongy bone in the birds’ skulls absorbed and lessened the shock of each impact (see Myth Buster: Hard Headed). This idea was repeated in scientific articles, textbooks, and informative plaques at zoos. Even though the concept “is often presented like a clear-cut fact, there haven’t been any real tests to prove it,” says Sam Van Wassenbergh. He’s a biologist who studies biomechanics, or how living things move, at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.SHOCK ABSORBER: Van Wassenbergh uses a spring-loaded hammer to show why a shock-absorbing skull would make a woodpecker less efficient at pecking. When you think about it, says Van Wassenbergh, the shock-absorbing skull idea doesn’t make much sense. Woodpecker drills into the wood in search of insects to eat. When the bird’s head accelerates forward, the movement generates kinetic energy. This energy of motion is transferred to the tree when the bird slams its beak against the trunk. If a woodpecker’s skull had to cushion, it would absorb some of this energy and decrease the force of the peck. Why would a bird that survives by pecking evolve to do it less effectively? Van Wassenbergh and his team decided to see what was really going on. First, the researchers recorded videos of woodpeckers’ heads in motion. To capture this rapid movement, the scientists needed special high-speed cameras. Each peck lasts only a fraction of a second! Van Wassenbergh’s team recorded videos of six woodpeckers from three species and analyzed the footage. The researchers used a computer to track three points on each bird’s head: one on the skull and two on the beak. The scientists hypothesized that if the birds’ skulls had shock absorbers, the footage would show a “squishing” of the space between the skull and beak—like when a spring compresses. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the birds’ heads moved as one stiff unit, like a hammer. Next, the team wanted to demonstrate why this adaptation would be helpful to the birds. Using computer models, the scientists simulated woodpecker skulls with and without shock absorbers. Then the researchers compared the force of the pecks. “The pecking performance was greatly reduced in the skull with a shock absorber,” says Maja Mielke, a biologist who worked on the study. With shock absorbers, says Mielke, “the poor birds would need to pound even harder to reach the same results.” For a woodpecker, having a shock-absorbing skull would simply be a waste of energy. Science World originally published this diagram in our May 10, 2021, issue. It was based on scientists’ beliefs about woodpecker anatomy at the time. Here it is again—updated based on new research. MYTH: The skull is made of spongy bone that cushions and protects the brain from impactBUSTED! The skull is hard enough to protect the bird from injury, but it doesn’t cushion The eyes have a special membrane that protects them from flying splinters and wood dust.MYTH: Neck muscles are strong and stiff enough to absorb the shock of each peck BUSTED! Stiff neck muscles do not absorb shock—in fact, they help increase the force of each peck.MYTH: The tongue wraps completely around the outside of the skull, providing an additional level of cushioning, and can extend to probe for food inside holes made by the birdBUSTED! The tongue does not provide any observable cushioning. The beak is connected to the skull with thick bone that prevents jolts and vibrations. NEW RESEARCH SHOWS: The woodpecker’s brain is small, which helps prevent concussions that might occur in a larger animal. If woodpeckers’ skulls don’t absorb shock, then why doesn’t constant pecking damage the birds’ brains? To answer this question, the researchers calculated how harmful the blows from pecking actually are. It turns out the hits aren’t that dangerous because the birds’ brains are so small. “Small masses can tolerate stronger impact forces without being damaged,” says Mielke.

Answer 1

The topic of the story is about how woodpeckers can peck without causing damage to their brains.

"The average woodpecker smashes its beak against a hard surface more than 10,000 times a day."

"This traumatic brain injury is caused by a blow to the skull."

"So why doesn’t the constant hammering turn woodpeckers’ brains into mush?"

The conclusion of the story is that woodpeckers don't get brain damage from pecking because their brains are small, which allows them to handle the force of the pecks.

"Small masses can tolerate stronger impact forces without being damaged,"

"The hits aren’t that dangerous because the birds’ brains are so small."

"To answer this question, the researchers calculated how harmful the blows from pecking actually are."

Step-by-step explanation: