Measurement (money): Bat Box
Challenge level ⭐⭐
(designed for children with prior knowledge of the Year 3 and Year 4 programme of study)
Learning Objective
We are learning how to solve a natural world problem by using and applying our knowledge and skills of measurement and money.
Useful prior knowledge:
- To solve money problems that involve decimals to 2 decimal places
Credit: BBC Two - Bill Oddie Goes Wild
Clip Description
After rodents, bats are the most common mammal with around 1,300 different species. They are the only mammals that can truly fly. Some of the largest bat species (known as mega bats) can have a wingspan of up to 1.8 m. They are fruit-eating bats, which are often found in tropical regions. The types of bat found in the UK are of the much smaller ‘micro bat’ variety. These bats use echolocation to hunt for insects at night.
In this fascinating clip, a forest warden has carefully removed two different micro bat species from woodland bat boxes. Bat boxes give bats somewhere safe to roost, raise their pups and sleep during the day. Why do you think the long-eared bat has such large ears? Watch the clip to find out.
Quick Whiteboard Challenge
We have learnt that there are around 1,300 bat species in the world. This means that around a fifth of all mammals on Earth are bats.
How can you use the above facts to calculate the number of mammal species there are on Earth?
Can you give a reasonable estimate for the number of mammal species found in the UK? (Click here to compare your estimate.)