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2011 The Simple Homeschool Simple Days Unit Studies Continents and Oceans

1By J. Anne Huss


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2By J. Anne Huss

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3By J. Anne Huss

What is a Continent?

A continent is a large land mass. On Earth, we have 7 distinctcontinents and they are North America, South America, Europe,Asia, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica.

The Ancient Greeks were the first that we know of who attemptedto break the larger world down into smaller parts. They decided thatthere were three main land areas of the world Europe, Asia, andAfrica.

Early European explorers began to think about the idea of what acontinent is after they started to explore the world by boat. Theirdefinition changed over time, but originally the word starting outreferring to the small islands around Britain like Ireland.

The definition of the word continent changed much over time some

geographers saw no reason to separate whole land masses into morethan one part, while others had a hard time thinking of Europe, Asia,and Africa as the same land mass. Even today there is much discussionabout how many continents there are and what exactly we should callthem. This unit talks about 7 continents whose names are common tothe United States.


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4By J. Anne Huss

Once people figured out that Christopher Columbus had discovered anew land mass, or continent, when he landed in the West Indies in1492, they started thinking of the world in a new way.

In fact, the new land that was discovered byColumbus became the New World , while the oldlands that consisted of Africa, Asia, and Europe became the Old World .

This line of thought still carries weight eventoday but it became clear after Magellans

around the world expedition that there wasmuch more to this planet than old and new!

By this time we had four continents Europe,Asia, Africa, and America. But as more waslearned about these lands people becamesuspicious. There seemed to be an awful lot of land in the new world, infact there seemed to be a lot of land north of the equator and a lot

of land south of the equator but in between the two it thinned out abit. So a decision was made that America was really two places onewas north and one was south. We still have this distinction today.

Around the same timethat the New Worldwas being colonized,more land was

discovered in the FarEast. This land masswas surrounded by water on all sides cut off from the rest of theworld completely. This new land mass became known as Australia andwas considered to be the 6 th continent.


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5By J. Anne Huss

The last continent to be discovered was Antarctica , which lies right atthe bottom of the earth. Unlike the Arctic , which is on the top of theearth, there is land under the ice in Antarctica. This makes it acontinent, while the Arctic Circle remains just a geographical area.The first people we know of to sight Antarctica were a team ofRussians.

The Ocean

Now that you have a general idea about what a continent is lets take acloser look at the stuff that surrounds them. I bet you are thinkingthats a silly thing you already know what surrounds the continents water! But it isnt just plain old water its actually salt water !

Regular water, called freshwater , is not the same thing as salt water.Salt water is not good for you but regular water is a basicrequirement for life. It powers all kinds of things that happen inside

your body.

You might be surprised to learn that we only have one ocean. You see,the ocean is just one continuous body of water. But to make thingssimple we have named different parts of the world that are coveredby salt water. These are the 5 oceans that you will learn about today.


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6By J. Anne Huss

Earths oceans make up most of the planet. They are HUGE incomparison to the amount of land we have to live on. If we were tolook under the ocean, we would quickly realize that there is more tothese giant bodies of water than the few hundred feet we explore anduse on a regular basis.

The Pacific is the largest ocean on the planet. It runs from the NorthPole to the South Pole and takes up about 65.3 million square miles. Itis so big that almost 50% of the worlds water is contained in this oneocean.


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8By J. Anne Huss

Just as the gray whales migrate in the Pacific, thereis another sea animal that migrates throughout theAtlantic this animal is the sea turtle . The sea

turtles of the Americas will lay their eggs on thebeautiful beaches of Florida, Mexico, and theIslands.

As soon as the baby turtles are hatched on thebeaches of the eastern coast of Florida they starttheir migration. They head towards the beach,crashing into waves, pushing

themselves further out intothe open sea.

They spend a year swimming, eating, and growingin the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This place inthe middle of the ocean is known as the SargassoSea or what we now call the Sea Turtle Nursery.


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9By J. Anne Huss

The Indian Ocean is the third largest ofthe worlds oceans and is the only ocean tobe named after a country (India).

It covers an area of about 28.4 millionsquare miles and is nestled betweenSouthern Asia, Eastern Africa, andWestern Australia. It is considered aSouthern Hemisphere ocean because it isalmost entirely below the equator. It isalso the warmest ocean in the world.

The Arctic Ocean is the only ocean locatedentirely in the Northern Hemisphere, andis mainly contained within the Arctic Circlenear the North Pole. It is the smallest andshallowest of the worlds fiv e oceans and isalmost entirely enclosed by Europe, Asia,and North America. The water can be

frozen all year long, although in thesummer much of it will thaw out. It is fedby many lakes and streams which emptyfreshwater snowmelt into the ocean,making it the least salty of all the oceans on earth.

The Arctic Ocean is covered by darkness during its long winter due tothe tilt of the earth and the changing path of sunlight as the earth

orbits the sun. In the summer it is the exact opposite where sunlightcan last 24 hours a day at the height of the season .


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10By J. Anne Huss

The Southern Ocean has been added tothe list in just the past decade. Beforethis time all the waters of the SouthernOcean were part of the Pacific, Atlantic,and Indian Oceans. In the spring of 2000the International HydrographicOrganization decided to create the newocean because of the unique ocean currentsin that area. It should be noted thatgeographers and the organization itself,have not yet agreed on the northern

border of the new ocean, and that is still up for debate.More on Continents

Each continent and ocean contains millions of different life forms. Inthis part of the unit we will discuss the major rivers and lakes, animallife, people and cultures, and countries. This will enable you to have abetter understanding of the planet you live on.


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11By J. Anne Huss

Europe was thebirthplace of WesternCivilization. After thedecline of the AncientEgyptian Empire andthe rise of Greece andRome, the Europeancontinent sawexponential growth forhundreds of years.

The nations of Europeinclude Germany, Italy,France, England,Ireland, Denmark,Sweden, Switzerland,Austria, Spain,Portugal, Iceland, theUkraine, and many

others.

The cultures of Europe are as diverse as the weather! The countriesoff the coast of the Mediterranean Sea can have luxurious beachesand sunshine, while the coastline of Iceland can be cold, harsh, andeven rocked by volcanoes and earthquakes!

Most European countries have their own unique language and traditions

and are very proud of their accomplishments in the world. Spain andPortugal are most noted for their contribution to the Age of Discoveryin the 15 th century, England is home to the European financial center inLondon, Germany boasts many castles, and the city of Rome in Italywas the center of civilization for more than a thousand years!


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12By J. Anne Huss

The major lakes andwaterways of Europe areincluded on the map. TheDanube is the mostsignificant river, beingmore than 1,770 mileslong. It begins in theBlack Forest part ofGermany and ends in theBlack Sea.

Asia was at the cradle of Eastern Civilization . Asia is the largestcontinent and is home to some of the worlds largest and powerfulcountries such as Russia, China, Japan, and India.

Like Europe, each country has unique

languages and traditional customs.Russia is a massive country that takes upmore than 6.5 million square miles. In fact,it is so large that some parts of it areconsidered Europe and some parts areconsidered Asia! It is by far the biggestcountry in the world.

Some animals that are unique to Asiainclude the panda, Bengal and Sumatrantigers, Komodo dragon, and the AsianElephant.


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13By J. Anne Huss

The pandas natural habitat is only found in a fewmountainous regions of China. They live between 5,000 and10,000 feet in elevation and feed off the bamboounderstory of the forests. There are estimated to be lessthan 1600 wild pandas left, while another 300 or so live invarious zoos and sanctuaries around the world, most ofthem staying in China.

The longest river in Asia is the Yangtze River , which islocated in China. It is the third longest river at 3,915miles.

Africa is the worlds second largest and second most

populous continent after Asia. It covers about 11.7 millionsquare miles and about 6% of the Earths surface. Thereare about a billion people living in the 61 countries orterritories of Africa, making it a lmost 15% of the worldspopulation. You might be surprised to know that the climateof Africa can range from sub-tropical rainforests and


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14By J. Anne Huss

jungles, to subarctic mountaintops that can have temperaturesbelow freezing for much of the

year. In between are thedeserts in Northern Africa, andthe savannahs, where thewildlife Africa is famous for,live.

Northern Africa is home toEgypt , the site of one of the

worlds most ancient humanpopulations and the one of thelongest rivers in the world, whichis the Nile River . The Nile runsfrom south to north, beginningat Lake Victoria in Uganda andending in the Mediterranean Sea,after winding through Africa and

the deserts of Egypt.

Australia is the only continent that is also acountry. It covers about 3.3 million square miles,making it the smallest continent on the planet.For thousands of years before the arrival of theEuropean colonists, there were native people wholived on both the main land island and the smaller

islands, which include Tasmania .

While the native people spoke many differentlanguages prior to the colonists, today mostpeople speak English. The total population ofAustralia is about 2.2 million, with 2.7% of those


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15By J. Anne Huss

being from the native populations.

Since Australia is isolated from the rest of the worldby the Southern, Pacific, and Indian Oceans manydistinct and unique species are found there, and therealone. Some of these amazing animals include thekoala, the kangaroo, the duck-billed platypus, and theTasmanian devil.

Most of these unusual animals are marsupials . Inorder to be a marsupial the mammal must have a

pouch for her very tiny babies to crawl into and growbig enough to leave the safety of their mother.

The Murray River is the longest river in Australia. It begins in theAustralian Alps east of Melbourne and winds its way through thelowlands to empty into Lake Alexandrina near the Indian Ocean. Itstretches across the country for about 1,476 miles.


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16By J. Anne Huss

Although Antarctica has no native people, plants,or animals all three life forms currently livethere in various research stations! 98% of thecontinent is covered in ice that averages about 1mile thick! Many species of sea mammals, such

as blue whales, orcas, and fur seals as well as birds such as thepenguin, rely on the small phytoplankton (plant like bacteria) for food.

Filled with thick, unexplored rainforests, the mountain peaks of theAndes , and the amazing Amazon River South America is a collectionof 15 independent countries that speak Spanish and Portuguese. The

largest country is Brazil with more than 3.8million square miles and almost 200 millionpeople.

The Amazon rainforest is the largest tractof rainforest in the world and is estimatedto contain more than 2.5 million insectspecies, tens of thousands of plants, and

some 2,000 birds and mammals.

The Amazon River is one of the two longestin the world, the other being the Nile Riverin Africa. Some scientists think theAmazon is actually longer than the Nile,but this is still up for debate. The Amazonbegins as a small stream in the Peruvian

Andes and ends in the Atlantic Oceanwhere the estuary can be more than 250miles wide! In fact, the Amazon River is sowide and deep that sea ships havenavigated inland on the river for more than2/3 its length!


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17By J. Anne Huss

North America includes the countries of The United States, Canada,Mexico and several small Central American countries that straddle theworld between north and south.

North America has some of the largest lakes in the world! All five ofthe Great Lakes are included in this category. The Great Lakes arelocated on what many in the area call the North Shore and separatesthe United States from Canada. The lakes vary in depth and area, withLake Superior begin the largest and Lake Ontario the smallest. LakeErie is the shallowest with an average depth of only 62 feet.

The longest river in North America is the Missouri , but the mostfamous is the Mississippi ! It begins in Minnesota and ends in the Gulfof Mexico running almost the entire length of the United States of


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18By J. Anne Huss

America! At about 2,320 miles long it is still only a little more thanhalf the length of both the Amazon and the Nile Rivers!


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19By J. Anne Huss

Student ActivitiesExercise OneWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.

1. Continent

a. The northern continent of theWestern Hemisphere which includesCanada, United States of America,and Mexico.

2. New Worldb. The Eastern Hemisphere, but more

specifically Europe, Asia, and Africa.

3. Old Worldc. The half of the earth south of the

equator.

4.NorthernHemisphere

d. The Western Hemisphere thatincludes North America, centralAmerica, and South America.

5.SouthernHemisphere

e. The half of the earth north of theequator.

6. Equator

f. The imaginary great circle aroundthe earth's surface which dividesthe earth into the NorthernHemisphere and the SouthernHemisphere.

7. Colonizeg. One of the major landmasses on the

planet.

8.NorthAmerica

h. The act of sending people to settle aland.

9.SouthAmerica

i. The southern continent of theWestern Hemisphere which includesBrazil, Argentina, Chile and others.


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20By J. Anne Huss

Exercise TwoWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.

1. Europe

a. The second smallest continent that isconnected to Asia and which includescountries such as Spain, France, Germany,and Italy.

2. Asia

b. The smallest continent and which is thehome to many extraordinary mammalscalled marsupials.

3. Africa

c. The frozen land mass at the bottom of theEarth and which is surrounded by theSouthern Ocean.

4. Australia

d. The largest of the worlds oceans andwhich extends through both the easternand Western Hemispheres.

5. Antarcticae. The body of water between the Old and

New Worlds.

6. Ocean

f. The largest continent that occupies mostof the land mass in the Eastern

Hemisphere and which includes countriessuch as China, Japan, and India.

7.AtlanticOcean

g. The waters surrounding the North Polebetween North America and Europe andAsia.

8.

Pacific

Ocean

h. The second largest continent that islocated below Europe and includescountries such as Egypt and Kenya as well

as the Nile River.

9.ArcticOcean

i. The entire body of salt water that coversmost of the earth's surface.


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21By J. Anne Huss

Exercise ThreeWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.

1.IndianOcean

a. A body of water extending fromsouthern Asia to Antarctica and fromeastern Africa to southeastAustralia.

2.SouthernOcean

b. The waters surrounding Antarctica,actually the southern extensions ofthe Atlantic, Pacific, and Indianoceans.

3.Age ofExploration

c. A movement of a large group ofanimals to find food or betterclimate conditions.

4. Sea Turtle

d. An imaginary circle which includesthe North Pole and surrounding landand water.

5. Gray Whale

e. Period in history during whichEuropeans intensively explored the

world, establishing direct contactswith the continents and mapping theplanet.

6.SargassoSea

f. A region in the middle of the NorthAtlantic Ocean, surrounded by oceancurrents.

7. Migration

g. A large sea mammal that migrates

between feeding and breedinggrounds yearly.

8. Arctic Circleh. Marine reptiles that inhabit all of the

world's oceans except the Arctic.


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22By J. Anne Huss

Exercise FourWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.1. Freshwater a. Forests characterized by high rainfall.

2. Saltwater

b. A collection of freshwater lakeslocated in northeastern NorthAmerica, on the Canada UnitedStates border.

3. Seasons

c. A landscape or region that receives anextremely low amount of rainfall, lessthan enough to support growth of mostplants.

4. Rainforestd. An Australian island and state off the

southern coast.

5. Savannah

e. A division of the year, marked bychanges in weather, ecology, and hoursof daylight.

6. Desert

f. Water contained in lakes, rivers, andstreams and which are populated byrain.

7. Tasmaniag. Water that is salty and which is

contained in the ocean.

8. Marsupials

h. A group of mammals known for givingbirth to premature animals that mustmature inside a pouch of skin on theoutside of the mothers body.

9.GreatLakes

i. A grassland ecosystem characterizedby the trees being small or widelyspaced so that the canopy does notclose.


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23By J. Anne Huss

Exercise FiveFill in the continents on the map using the words in the word bankbelow.

Word BankAfrica

South AmericaEurope

North AmericaAustralia

AntarcticaAsia


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24By J. Anne Huss

Exercise SixFill in the oceans on the map using the words in the word bank below.

Word BankSouthern

North AtlanticEast PacificWest Pacific

IndianSouth Atlantic

Arctic


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25By J. Anne Huss

Exercise SevenFill in the Great Lakes on the map using the words in the word bankbelow.

Word BankLake OntarioLake MichiganLake Superior

Lake ErieLake Huron


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Exercise NineFill in the blank using the words from the word bank below.

1. This ocean is actually an extension of the Indian, Atlantic, andPacific Oceans. ____________________

2. This ocean is the home of the sea turtle nursery. ____________________

3. This ocean is the home of the coastline of Brazil. ____________________

4. This ocean is the home of Japan and the Western coast ofAustralia. _________________

5. This ocean is the home of the Alaskan coast and the Gray Whalemigration. ____________________

6. This ocean is the only one named after a country.

____________________

7. This ocean is near the North Pole. ____________________

Word BankSouthern

North AtlanticNorth Pacific

South PacificIndian

South AtlanticArctic


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28By J. Anne Huss

Parent SolutionsExercise OneWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.

1.

g

Continent

a. The northern continent of theWestern Hemisphere which includesCanada, United States of America,and Mexico.

2. d New Worldb. The Eastern Hemisphere, but more

specifically Europe, Asia, and Africa.

3. b Old Worldc. The half of the earth south of the

equator.

4.e Northern

Hemisphere

d. The Western Hemisphere thatincludes North America, centralAmerica, and South America.

5. cSouthernHemisphere

e. The half of the earth north of theequator.

6.

f

Equator

f. The imaginary great circle aroundthe earth's surface which dividesthe earth into the NorthernHemisphere and the SouthernHemisphere.

7. h Colonizeg. One of the major landmasses on the

planet.

8. aNorthAmerica

h. The act of sending people to settle aland.

9.i South

America

i. The southern continent of theWestern Hemisphere which includesBrazil, Argentina, Chile and others.


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29By J. Anne Huss

Exercise TwoWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.

1.a

Europe

a. The second smallest continent that isconnected to Asia and which includescountries such as Spain, France, Germany,and Italy.

2.f

Asia

b. The smallest continent and which is thehome to many extraordinary mammalscalled marsupials.

3.h

Africa

c. The frozen land mass at the bottom of theEarth and which is surrounded by theSouthern Ocean.

4.b

Australia

d. The largest of the worlds oceans andwhich extends through both the easternand Western Hemispheres.

5. c Antarcticae. The body of water between the Old and

New Worlds.

6.

i

Ocean

f. The largest continent that occupies mostof the land mass in the Eastern

Hemisphere and which includes countriessuch as China, Japan, and India.

7.e Atlantic

Ocean

g. The waters surrounding the North Polebetween North America and Europe andAsia.

8.

d PacificOcean

h. The second largest continent that islocated below Europe and includescountries such as Egypt and Kenya as wellas the Nile River.

9. gArcticOcean

i. The entire body of salt water that coversmost of the earth's surface.


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30By J. Anne Huss

Exercise ThreeWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.

1.a Indian

Ocean

a. A body of water extending fromsouthern Asia to Antarctica and fromeastern Africa to southeastAustralia.

2.

b SouthernOcean

b. The waters surrounding Antarctica,actually the southern extensions ofthe Atlantic, Pacific, and Indianoceans.

3.e Age of

Exploration

c. A movement of a large group ofanimals to find food or betterclimate conditions.

4.h

Sea Turtle

d. An imaginary circle which includesthe North Pole and surrounding landand water.

5.

g

Gray Whale

e. Period in history during whichEuropeans intensively explored the

world, establishing direct contactswith the continents and mapping theplanet.

6.f Sargasso

Sea

f. A region in the middle of the NorthAtlantic Ocean, surrounded by oceancurrents.

7. c Migration

g. A large sea mammal that migrates

between feeding and breedinggrounds yearly.

8. d Arctic Circleh. Marine reptiles that inhabit all of the

world's oceans except the Arctic.


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31By J. Anne Huss

Exercise FourWrite the letter of the correct match next to each problem.1. f Freshwater a. Forests characterized by high rainfall.

2.

g

Saltwater

b. A collection of freshwater lakeslocated in northeastern NorthAmerica, on the Canada UnitedStates border.

3.

e

Seasons

c. A landscape or region that receives anextremely low amount of rainfall, lessthan enough to support growth of mostplants.

4. a Rainforestd. An Australian island and state off the

southern coast.

5.i

Savannah

e. A division of the year, marked bychanges in weather, ecology, and hoursof daylight.

6.c

Desert

f. Water contained in lakes, rivers, andstreams and which are populated byrain.

7. d Tasmaniag. Water that is salty and which is

contained in the ocean.

8.

h

Marsupials

h. A group of mammals known for givingbirth to premature animals that mustmature inside a pouch of skin on theoutside of the mothers body.

9.

b GreatLakes

i. A grassland ecosystem characterizedby the trees being small or widelyspaced so that the canopy does notclose.


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32By J. Anne Huss

Exercise Five

Exercise Six


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Exercise Seven


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34By J. Anne Huss

Exercise EightFill in the blank using the words from the word bank below.

1. This continent is the home of the Andes Mountains and theAmazon River. South America

2. This continent is the home of penguins and a massive sheet of ice.Antarctica

3. This continent is home to the Nile River and ancient Egypt. Africa

4. This continent is the home to the Danube River and the Blackforest in Germany. Europe

5. This continent is the home of the panda and Yangtze River. Asia

6. This continent is the home of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.North America

7. This continent is the home of Tasmania and marsupials. Australia

Word BankNorth AmericaSouth America

EuropeAsia

Antarctica

AfricaAustralia


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Exercise NightFill in the blank using the words from the word bank below.

1. This ocean is actually an extension of the Indian, Atlantic, andPacific Oceans. Southern

2. This ocean is the home of the sea turtle nursery.North Atlantic

3. This ocean is the home of the coastline of Brazil. South Atlantic

4. This ocean is the home of Japan and the Western coast ofAustralia. South Pacific

5. This ocean is the home of the Alaskan coast and the Gray Whalemigration. North Pacific

6. This ocean is the only one named after a country. Indian

7. This ocean is near the North Pole. Arctic

Word BankSouthern

North AtlanticNorth PacificSouth Pacific

Indian

South AtlanticArctic

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