Silk

High school (ages 12+)
Making & Design

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/silk

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. How long is Silk?900 meters
2. What is the scientific name of the domestic silk moth?Bombyx mori
3. What is the primary structural protein in silk?Fibroin
4. What is silk and where does it come from?Silk is a shiny, strong thread made by tiny creatures called silkworms. The thread comes from the cocoons of the domestic silk moth, Bombyx mori, which were bred in China about 5,000 years ago.
5. How do people make silk from silkworm cocoons?To make silk, people boil the cocoons to loosen the natural gum called sericin, then unwind the long filament of fibroin fibers. This process creates a thread that is very strong, shiny, and soft.

Sericulture: The practice of raising silkworms for the production of raw silk.
Fibroin: The main protein that forms the structural component of silk fibers.
Sericin: A gummy protein that coats silk fibroin filaments, holding them together in the cocoon.
Biocompatibility: The ability of a material to exist within a living system without causing a harmful immune response.