Expository

Text

INSPIRED BY
NATURE
by Emma Turner

PAIRED
Hermes and the Lyre
READ

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 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension Vocabulary
Strategy: Summarize effective, example,
Skill: Main Idea and identical, imitate, material,
Key Details models, observe, similar

Vocabulary Strategy Content Standards

Root Words Science
Technology
ELL Vocabulary
pollute, reliable Word count: 1,156**

Photography Credit: Cover (tl) Andrew Howe/Vetta/Getty Images, (br) Irene Alastruey/Punchstock.
**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words
in captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, network storage or transmission, or
broadcast for distance learning.

Send all inquiries to:

McGraw-Hill Education
Two Penn Plaza
New York, New York 10121

ISBN: 978-0-02-119279-3
MHID: 0-02-119279-0

Printed in the United States.

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 Essential Question
What ideas can we get from nature?

INSPIRED BY
NATURE
by Emma Turner

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 1
Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3
Into the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Respond to Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
PAIRED
Hermes and the Lyre . . . . . . . . 16
READ
Glossary/Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Focus on Science . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

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 INTRODUCTION

Lotus plants can live in muddy ponds.

Yet their leaves are clean and dry. This is
possible because a lotus leaf has thousands of
tiny bumps and grooves. The tiny bumps and
grooves trap air bubbles. The air bubbles stop
water from getting on the leaf. Dirt sticks to
the water, instead of the leaf. Then the dirty
water slides off the leaf.

AID/amanaimages/CORBIS
The leaves of the lotus plant
are protected against dirt.

lotus leaves

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 Plants and animals have some very clever
design features. Scientists study these models.
Then they can make new products using the
ideas and models from nature. This is called
biomimicry. (Bio means life and mimicry means
to copy.)

Experts have created paints that imitate

the lotus leaf. These paints clean themselves!

STOP AND CHECK

Why do people use ideas

from nature?

This computer graphic shows

the bumps and grooves that
help to protect the lotus leaf.
drops of water
William Thielicke

dirt

bumps and grooves

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 CHAPTER 1 GETTING AROUND

(t) Andrew Howe/Vetta/Getty Images, (b) Irene Alastruey/Punchstock

Copying nature can improve travel. Japan’s
super-fast trains had a noise problem. The
trains pushed air through tunnels at high
speeds. When a train came out of a tunnel,
there was a loud noise called a sonic boom.

Kingfisher birds barely make a

splash when they dive into water.
Engineers had a clever idea. They
changed the front of the trains to
match the shape of the kingfisher.
Then the air passed over the trains.
The problem was solved!

kingfisher

A kingfisher’s head
and the front of this
train match!

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 (tl) DLILLC/CORBIS, (tr) Clouds Hill Imaging Ltd./CORBIS

This great white shark

has special scales that
improve its swim speed.

ridged scales

Scientists get ideas from underwater, too.

Sharks have ridged scales on their skin. These
scales help sharks “slide” quickly through water.

Designers copied the ridged scales. They

made swimsuits for Olympic swimmers. Aircraft
engineers also copied the ridged scales. They
made a coating for the wings of airplanes that
is similar to sharks’ skin. Both the swimmers
and the airplanes now travel faster.

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 Carmakers study insects to design cars. One
example is the bee and another is the locust.
Bees can see objects all around them. The
wide vision helps the bee to avoid crashing
into things. Locusts can fly in swarms, but
they never crash into each other. Experts
would like to build cars with similar features.

sodapix sodapix/F1online RF/Getty Images

STOP AND CHECK

What ideas did scientists

get from nature? This bee has a very
wide field of vision.

eye

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 CHAPTER 2 COMMUNICATION

Scientists studied how dolphins communicate

to solve a big problem. Some earthquakes
happen on the sea floor. These earthquakes
can cause very large waves called tsunami.
The waves can be 50 feet high when they
reach land.

People need to be warned about a tsunami

long before it arrives. Scientists use special
tools to gather information on the sea floor.
The information is sent to the surface as
sounds. Over long distances, the sounds can
get muddled up. Then the information can
become unclear.

In 2004, a tsunami damaged villages

dpa/CORBIS

in Southeast Asia.

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 Scientists studied
how dolphins “talk”
to each other. Dolphins
have a reliable way
to send messages. They
send messages at different
Dolphins can send
frequencies, or levels of clear messages over
sound, at once. A company long distances.

(t) Marty Snyderman/CORBIS

copied the way dolphins send messages. It
built a system that will help scientists track
tsunami waves.

Tsunami Warning System

satellite sends
information to
buoy sends warning center
information
to satellite

device collects
information and
sends it to buoy

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 Morpho butterflies’ wings appear to be blue.
But they are not really blue. The wings have
special patterns. The patterns reflect light that
makes the wings look bright blue.

Cell-phone and e-reader screens are difficult

to read outdoors in bright light. A company
is making a new kind of screen. The screen is
based on the Morpho butterfly’s wing patterns.
Colors on the screen will look brighter in full
sunlight!
(bl) Thorsten Hofmann/age fotostock, (br) Brand X Pictures/PunchStock

STOP AND CHECK

What problem did scientists

solve by studying dolphins?

The pattern on a Morpho

butterfly’s wings makes
them look bright blue.

pattern on wings

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 CHAPTER 3 INTO THE FUTURE

We may be able to do many things in

the future by using nature as a model. The
sandcastle worm makes glue that works in
water. The worm builds a home using the
glue. It sticks together sand and bits of shell.

Doctors use pins and screws to fix broken

bones. But to fix small bones, glue would
work better. Scientists came up with an idea.
They created glue based on the sandcastle
worm’s glue. The new glue is effective. It dries

Russell Stewart/the University of Utah

almost anywhere. This glue could be a great
way to fix broken bones!

In Other Words thought of. En español,

came up with quiere decir se les ocurrió.

This is a sandcastle worm

in the home it made
with its special glue.

sandcastle worm

home

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 A gecko’s toes are covered
with hundreds of thousands
of tiny hairs that can cling
to almost any surface.
tiny hairs
(tl) Mark Moffett/Minden Pictures/Getty Images, (tr) Edward Kinsman/Photo Researchers/Getty Images

Scientists want to explore places that people

can’t easily reach. So, one idea is to build a
robot that is similar to a gecko. A gecko’s
toes are covered in thousands of tiny hairs.
The hairs can cling to any surface. Geckos can
climb walls. They can walk across ceilings!

Language The word is is a present-tense

Detective verb. Replace is with two words
that form the future tense.

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 Scientists have built a robot called
Stickybot. Its feet are like the gecko’s feet.
The material on Stickybot’s feet can grip any
surface. Stickybot can climb walls. It can walk
up slippery glass and metal. In the future,
people could wear Stickybot material to climb
skyscrapers or crawl under bridges.

Language The word are is a present-tense

Detective verb. Replace are with two
words that form the future tense.

Mark R. Cutkosky/Standford
Stickybot’s climbing skills
are similar to the way a
gecko climbs.

Stickybot’s
feet

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 NASA is looking
for new ways to
explore Mars. Mars
is a dry, windy
planet. Tumbleweeds
are plants that mostly
grow in dry, windy places.
Often, they break off at the This robot can’t
roots and blow about in the travel everywhere
on Mars.
wind. Scientists studied the
tumbleweed plant. Then they drew up plans
for a new robot. It won’t have legs or wheels.
It will be round in shape, like a tumbleweed.
It could work well on the planet’s sandy and
(t) NASA, (b) David Buffington/Photodisc/Getty Images

rocky surface. Like the plant, it will travel long

distances in the wind.
STOP AND CHECK

Why are tumbleweeds a good

Scientists may use model for a Mars robot?
the tumbleweed
plant as a model
for a new robot.

tumbleweed
plant

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 CONCLUSION

Nature’s designs are built to last. They don’t

pollute the planet. Most of nature’s design
problems were ironed out long ago. Ideas from
nature don’t waste energy. People use these
ideas to make products, even though they are
not identical to those found in nature. When
we observe the natural world, we can find
wonderful ways to improve our lives.

In Other Words fixed. En español, ironed

out quiere decir resolver / solucionar.

Eric Maslowski/the University of Michigan

This small robot spy plane
was modeled after the bat.

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 Summarize Main Idea
Use main ideas and details
Detail
in Inspired by Nature to
Detail
summarize the text. Use the
chart to help you. Detail

Text Evidence
1. What are two features that tell you this book
is an informational text? GENRE

2. Write the main idea and two details from

page 12. MAIN IDEA AND KEY DETAILS

3. Sunny is a word that can be made from sun.

What other words can you make from sun?
ROOT WORDS

4. Write about the most interesting new product

in the text. Write the name of the product.
Then write three details about the product.
WRITE ABOUT READING

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 Compare Texts
Read about how a young Greek god uses items
from nature to create a new musical instrument.

Hermes and the Lyre

Hermes was a son of the god Zeus. On the
day Hermes was born, he left his cradle. He
saw a herd of cattle that belonged to his brother
Apollo. Hermes decided to steal the cattle. He
had a clever way to do it. He made sandals from
twigs. The sandals did not make footprints. He

Illustration: Gaia Bordicchia

drove the cattle backward. Then people would
think the cattle went in the opposite direction.

Hermes

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 On the way, Hermes passed an old man in
a vineyard. Hermes told the old man that he
would have a good harvest if he said he had not
seen Hermes.
Hermes drove the cattle to a cave. Inside the
cave, he found a dead tortoise. Hermes had an
idea to make a musical instrument. He used
the tortoise shell to make a frame. He tied
reeds across the back of the shell. He stretched
cowhide over it all. Then he used sheep gut to
make seven strings for his new creation. That
was how Hermes invented the lyre. Hermes
tuned his new lyre, and then he began to sing.
Meanwhile, Apollo could not find his cattle.
Apollo asked the old man about the cattle. The
old man said that he had seen a child driving
a herd of cattle backward. Soon, Apollo guessed
that Hermes had stolen them. Apollo spoke to
Hermes, but Hermes pretended to be a baby. So
Apollo asked Zeus to talk to Hermes.

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 Zeus told Hermes to return the cattle to
Apollo. Hermes began to play his lyre instead.
When Apollo heard the beautiful music, he
made a bargain with Hermes. Hermes kept the
cows, but gave the lyre to Apollo. And Hermes
promised never to steal from his brother again.

Apollo
Zeus

Hermes

Illustration: Gaia Bordicchia

lyre

Make Connections
How did what Hermes saw in nature lead to a
new idea? ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Why is learning about nature helpful? Use
examples from the text to support your answer.
TEXT TO TEXT

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 Glossary
biomimicry using models from nature to solve
problems (page 3)

designs plans and instructions for how to build

something (page 14)

engineers people who design and build engines

and other machinery (page 4)

products items made for sale and profit (page 3)

tsunami a huge wave caused by underwater

earthquakes or eruptions (page 7)

Index
birds, 4 plants, 2, 3, 13
butterflies, 9 products, 3, 14
cars, 6 robots, 11–13
dolphins, 7, 8 scientists, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10–13
nature, 3, 4, 10, 14 tumbleweeds, 13

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 Purpose To think up an idea for a new product.

What to Do
Step 1 With a partner, choose an interesting plant
or animal.

Step 2 Find out as much as you can about the

plant or animal.

Step 3 Make a list of some features that help the

plant or animal survive.

Step 4 Use one of the features to think up an idea

for a new product. Write a short paragraph
about your new product with your partner.
How will it be useful to people?

Conclusion What did you learn about the plant

or animal?

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 Literature Circles

Nonfiction

The Topic
What is Inspired by Nature
mostly about?

Vocabulary
What new words did you learn?
What other words or clues helped you
understand the meaning of the words?

Conclusions
What are the most important things
you learned from this book?

Author’s Purpose
Why do you think the author wrote
Inspired by Nature?

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 New Ideas Science

GR M • Benchmark 28 • Lexile [t/k]

Grade 3 • Unit 3 Week 4

www.mheonline.com

ISBN-13 978-0-02-119279-3
MHID 0-02-119279-0
99701
EAN

9 780021 192793
3

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