(theme music) - welcome to teen kids news, i'm veronique. let's begin with our top story for this week. (theme music) the more they stay the same. well, when it comes to the new sat, that may not be true. amelia tells us more. - while there are two types of standardized tests for students looking to go to college, the sat or the act, in this report, we're only focusing on the sat. that's because the sat has made some changes. to learn more about that, we're joined by rob franek. he's with the college prep company called the princeton review.

- so what's changed? - there are four big changes that have happened for the sat and these big changes happened in march 2016. the four changes are the sat will no longer be testing on obscure vocabulary words. one of the most difficult things that i'd have for a princeton review student is to give them 500 words that they'll probably never use again to study for the sat, so that fear goes away. number two is that we've eliminated one full answer choice on the sat. for each of those questions on the sat, now there will be four answer choices. number three is that the writing section, which was required for the sat before march 2016 is now optional. number four, and this is so important, number four is that there is no guessing penalty, which means that for every wrong answer that you get, there are no points off.

er that you submitted, those are the four changes. - are there any other changes or is that it? - those are the only changes that have affected the sat for this year. now it's been ten years since the sat changed, so i think that these changes are going to stick for quite a while. - are students going to find this new sat easier or harder than the old sat? - well it's certainly going to be different from the old sat. administration of that sat and we're going to be following this along over the next year of time, but students are tending to do about the same or a little bit better on that new exam, but i think that we'll have a full lens to look into about how students are doing certainly over the next couple of months. - if you want to go to college do you have to take one of those tests? - that's a good question. the truth is that out of the 4,000 schools that are in our

which means that you don't have to submit the sat or the act scores for academic admission. an admissions counselor won't require to look at them on your college application. however, many of those schools may look towards those sat and act scores combined with your high school gpa for financial aid, but there are some lucky students that won't have to submit the sat or act scores for academic admission. - can you take both tests? - absolutely, students can take both the sat or the act to remember is that admissions teams at schools large and small will treat the sat and the act exactly the same, so you could submit either of the exams or both. - is there a limit to how many times you can take either of the exams? - no, there's no limit to the amount of times that you can take the exam and offer those scores up to college admission teams but the truth is that what we've seen at the princeton review is that students tend not to do better

that first exam and that third exam. - great information, thanks rob. - you're welcome. thanks for inviting me. - whether you plan to take the sat or the act, one thing hasn't changed and that's the fact that you shouldn't obsess over the test. your test score is just one of many factors colleges take into consideration. for teen kids news, i'm amelia.

- visiting a zoo or aquarium is a great way to learn about the many species of animals that share our planet. scott got a first hand look. - [scott] here at the national aquarium in baltimore, an exciting transformation has taken place. sea creatures that have been here for years were carefully transported to safety. then the aquarium was drained and a coral reef was created. add 250-thousand gallons of salt water, exotic sea life from halfway around the world, some really cool lighting and what do you get?

can get to seeing a south pacific coral reef, without going to the south pacific. - [jack] coral reefs are like the cities of the ocean. it's an ecosystem that's all balanced. - [scott] to recreate that balanced ecosystem, all the sea life was carefully selected. the only thing that's not really from the pacific is the coral, it had to be man-made. - coral is actually a living animal. it looks like rock and it's related to jellyfish so it's basically the outer edge of the coral is living and building on the limestone skeletons of it's ancestors. and the coral in this exhibit however is recreated real coral has to have intense sunlight so it's also very fragile. - you can actually step into the reef at the underwater viewing level. and there's a lot to view. there's more than 700 fascinating marine animals.

en she was found she had a badly hurt fin. after some delicate surgery, it was decided that calypso wouldn't be able to survive in the ocean. so blacktip reef became her new home. the exhibit also has plenty of sharks. particularly the kind it's named for, the blacktip reef shark, what's called an apex predator. so, what is an apex predator? - an apex predator is a top predator in an ecosystem. these are the top of the food chain. these are the animals that all the small fishes eventually work up and are food for these larger fishes. - [scott] sharks are part of the circle of life. without these predators, fish would eat up all the coral. that would kill the reef, as well as all the marine animals that depend on the reef for survival. so don't be taken in by the movie hype.

and all the take offs of that movie. they really create an irrational fear of sharks. sharks are an important part of the ecosystem and actually sharks have more to fear from us. - [scott] this guy has something to fear? he sure does, because humans are the biggest apex predators of all. - some cultures actually have something called shark fin soup and what happens is that people actually catch these sharks, cut the fins off and throw the sharks right back in, but quite cruel. - [scott] especially cruel because sharks can't replace their population fast enough to keep up. - sharks have a very long time until they're actually mature enough to reproduce, a lot of times it's not until they're 15 years old until they can have pups. so taking sharks out of the ocean is generally is not considered sustainable. - [scott] sustainable seafood is a term the national aquarium would like you to know.

it also means not eating seafood that may be in danger of extinction. - and there's actually a free app you can get called seafood watch, you can go on your smartphone and download it for free. and what you actually do, you simply type in the type of seafood or sushi that you enjoy and it'll tell you what the best kind to buy is. - [scott] of course, pollution and climate change threaten all creatures great and small, including the coral. do what we can to help. - one thing we want to do is first of all show people a very special aquatic treasure of the planet and that is the indo-pacific reef. - it was really cool seeing all the different kinds of fish and the different colors. - it was really cool seeing like all the animals interacting with each other. - [scott] and what did you learn from it. - that like, the animals can be with each other

n aquarium is a special kind of sightseeing. you can call it sea sighting. at the national aquarium in baltimore for teen kid news, i'm scott. - next on teen kids news, a tip that will brighten your homework habits. in this week's make the grade report.

- it's time for make the grade, here's christin. - when it comes to good study habits many of us are in the dark. especially with regards to proper lighting. we're all familiar with the tried and true incandescent bulb. it gives good, even white light. but leds are becoming more popular. they last longer and use less energy. they also don't get as hot as halogens nor do they contain mercury, like cfl bulbs do. whatever bulb you choose you want one that's not so bright that it will give you a headache and not so dim that it'll cause eyestrain. brightness is measured in lumens.

that's equivalent to a traditional 75 watt bulb. you can check out the lumens on the package. next is the position of your light source. if you're using a desk lamp don't put it alongside the hand you write with, instead put it on the opposite side. and be sure it doesn't cause glare on your computer screen. now, if someone could come up with a light that could actually make us smarter that would be a bright idea. most of us don't know why they look the way they do. here's eric with flag facts. (upbeat music) - maine stretches further east than any other us state. it's also our least densely populated eastern state.

but maine is also known for its long rugged coastline. in fact, it competes with florida for having the most shoreline along the atlantic ocean. maine's first state flag appeared in 1901. it was a very simple design. then in 1909 a new flag was created. it was much more complex but not everyone saw it as an improvement. - maine is an interesting flag in that, in recent years, simpler design, which was just a pine tree and the north star. what they have now is the state coat of arms, which features still the pine trees, still the north star, but also a moose resting beneath the pine tree. to the left of this image, you have a farmer and that's in reference to all the agriculture in maine. maine is known for its blueberries and potatoes. to the right you see a sailor.

the north star has served as a guiding light for sailors since ancient times. just below the star is the state motto dirigo. latin for "i lead". a knotted fringe of yellow silk gently surrounds the state seal. unlike other states, maine's first european explorers were probably not british, spanish, french or italian. it's believed that nordic sailors arrived here almost 600 years before columbus. vikings, with flag facts, i'm eric. - if you've been trying to watch your weight, try watching the salt. studies show that when a food is salty we tend to eat more of it. one reason may be that the salt interferes with the chemicals released by our stomach. those chemicals are supposed to tell our brain that we're full but if they're inhibited by salt

to help maintain a healthy weight try to shake the salt habit. (theme music) - we've got to take a short break but don't go away because

is to brush your teeth? well, jacelyn has the answer. - you'd think that if you don't brush correctly, you'd just not true. dr. gerry curatola is a dentist and professor at new york university, hi. - hi, thanks for having me. - our pleasure, doc. so what's one of the problems poor brushing can cause? - well as you said it's more than about dirty teeth, it's really about getting diseases in your mouth. and not just tooth decay and gum disease but it could be far worse.

that diseases in your mouth can increase your risk of a heart attack by ten times. it can increase your chance of getting adult type diabetes by seven times. and if you're a young pregnant woman, it can have very bad effects on the term of your pregnancy. - wow, you know i'd love to ask you a few more questions, doctor, but i think i better go and brush my teeth. (laughs) - that's a great idea. (patriotic music) - here's another crazy law that's still on the books. if you own a lion, you can't take him to the movies. at least not in baltimore where it's against the law. for some reason, maryland lawmakers didn't think bringing a tiger to the movies should also be illegal.

hey down in front! - it's time for another important message, brought to you by the national road safety foundation. - cool party! - what do you guys wanna drink? - can i have a head on collision with a concussion twist? (breaking glass) - make mine a fatal accident with no survivors. (sirens wailing) - a designated driver, please you know, just a bottle of water. - awesome! - you're a lifesaver! (theme music) - it looks and sounds like a fancy dessert, but i'll show you just how simple it is to make a apple tart.

to your kitchen, here's another fun recipe from the

friends the next time you hang out, this recipe is an easy way to do it. today we're making puff pastry apple tarts. let's get started. i've picked out this granny smith apple here, but you can use red or delicious, ginger gold, whichever apple is your favorite. granny smiths that i use in this puff pastry tart are nice and tart, gives it kind of an acidic crunch. (frantic music) gonna cut the apple directly in half, just on the side of the stem. you'll see how close i got to the seeds. seeds here, no seeds here. the way we want to cut this apple is to cut in very thin slices. of course with the help of your parents, you too can do this.

a little bruising is fine on your apple, it just means it's a little sweeter. you want to put all of your apple slices into a bowl with water and lemon juice. this will keep them from turning brown. once your apples are cut, you can start with the puff pastry dough. you can find this at your local grocery store, supermarket, big long rolls just like this one, but we're only gonna use about half. can use the other half for later. you want to cut the puff pastry dough into rectangles. i use a pizza cutter, it's safer than using a knife. you want to cut right down the middle of the puff pastry, making two halves and then cut those halves into thirds. that makes six rectangles.

i line my baking sheets with parchment paper, it's easier to clean up. from there, our next step is to add the apples. you want to take the apples out of the water mixture and make sure to keep the excess off. once you have the excess water shaken off, you want to take the apples and lay them individually, like a roof onto the puff pastry dough. just like this.

including the dough and the apple with butter. i've melted about a half a stick of butter in a dish. and you just paint just like you're painting a picture. you want to coat the entire pastry evenly so that it browns evenly once we cook it. the next step is my favorite. i'm just gonna sprinkle it over the apples and the puff pastry. this will create kind of a crust and make the apples a little sweeter. this is definitely a dessert you want to show your friends. once the apples are coated in butter or sugar, it's time for them to cook.

now our apple tarts are done and they're cool and they smell great. don't they look delicious? at the culinary institute of america for teen kids news i'm fletch. (theme music) you can find the full recipe on our website. teen kids news will be back next week, you won't want to miss it. bye for now.

[music] >> you're watching a special on southern california's wildlife learning center. coming up in this half-hour, we're taking you to this amazing animal rescue for a show and tell like you've never seen before. >> well, here i am with boomer, a siberian lynx. >> we'll see some old friends. >> now, this is sierra, a red-tailed hawk. >> and we'll introduce you to some new friends. >> okay. here, i am with coatimundi. >> from american alligators to bodacious bullfrogs, you'll see it all right here at southern california's wildlife learning center starting now. as custodian of the wildlife learning center in southern california, david riherd cares for a variety of domestic and exotic wildlife rescues. >> on a daily basis, my job is pretty broad. i have to oversee the care of the animals, what they're eating, if they're healthy,