COVID-19

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/covid-19

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the virus scientific name?SARS-CoV-2
2. What is the disease name?COVID-19
3. What is COVID-19 and where did it start?COVID-19 is a disease caused by the coronavirus SARS‑CoV‑2. It was first found in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
4. How does the COVID-19 virus spread?The virus mainly spreads through droplets and tiny particles that come out when someone coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes. Close contact and indoor places with bad ventilation can make it easier to spread.

Zoonotic Spillover: The transmission of a pathogen from a non-human animal population to humans.
Aerosol Transmission: Spread of virus through tiny particles that can remain suspended in the air over distances.
Pathogenesis: The way in which a disease develops and progresses within the body.
Epidemiology: The study of how diseases spread and affect populations.