Science · Unit 6 · Weeks 31–36 · 45–50 min

Environment, Fossils & Science Fair

43 points total · Name: ____________________ Date: __________

For the adult

This is the last unit test, and its final section reviews the whole year. You may read every question, table and choice aloud, and your child may answer out loud while you write. Please do not explain words like fossil, criterion or variation, and do not hint. Your child needs a pencil and a ruler for the bar graph in question 9. This test is a bit longer than the others, so it is fine to do Sections 1 to 3 one day and Sections 4 and 5 the next. Celebrate the year of science when you finish!

Part 1: Environment Shapes Traits

10 points

Read about Rosa's lettuce. Use the table for question 1.

1.
Did the environment change how Rosa's lettuce grew? Make an argument. Claim: ____ Evidence: ____ Reasoning: ____
(6 pts)
2.
Flamingos get their pink color from the food they eat. A zoo flamingo is fed food without that color, and its new feathers grow in pale. Is the pale color caused by its parents or by its environment? Explain.
(2 pts)
3.
Plants of one kind grow in a field. Some have many tiny hairs on their leaves, and some have smooth leaves. Caterpillars in the field eat far fewer hairy leaves. Which plants are more likely to survive and make seeds? Why?
(2 pts)

Part 2: Fossils & Past Environments

8 points

The table shows three rock layers in a cliff, from top to bottom. Use it for questions 4 to 6.

4.
Which layer is probably the oldest?
(1 pt)
○ Layer A○ Layer B○ Layer C
5.
What was this place like when Layer B formed? What is your evidence?
(2 pts)
6.
How did the environment change from the time of Layer B to the time of Layer A? Use the fossils to explain.
(3 pts)
7.
Write R if the fossil is part of a living thing (remains) or T if it is a sign the living thing left (trace). ___ a fossil fish skeleton ___ fossil tracks of a crawling animal ___ a fossil pinecone ___ fossil tunnels a clam dug in the sand
(2 pts)

Part 3: Trait Survey Data

7 points

Read about Owen's survey. Use the table for questions 8 to 11.

8.
How many dogs did Owen survey in all?
(1 pt)
9.
Make a bar graph of Owen's data. Give it a title and label both sides.
(3 pts)
10.
How many more dogs had floppy ears than half-up ears?
(1 pt)
11.
What does Owen's data show about variation in a group of dogs?
(2 pts)

Part 4: Science Fair: Fair Tests & Design

9 points

Read about Jonah's paper airplanes. Use the table for questions 12 to 16.

12.
What is the one thing Jonah changes?
(1 pt)
13.
What is the middle number for the folded wing tips?
(1 pt)
14.
Next, Jonah will design a plane for a school contest. The rules: it must fly at least 500 cm, it must be made from one sheet of paper, no tape is allowed, and it must be built in 15 minutes. Write the criterion and two constraints.
(3 pts)
15.
Use the middle numbers. Which of Jonah's designs already meets the contest criterion?
(1 pt)
16.
On every throw, the wide-wing plane dipped nose-down. Name one change Jonah could make to fix this failure point, and tell how he would test it fairly.
(3 pts)

Part 5: Year Review

9 points

These questions review the whole year.

17.
A toy boat floats still on a calm pond. Are the forces on it balanced or unbalanced? Then a gust of wind pushes the boat. What happens to its motion?
(2 pts)
18.
Name a force, other than gravity, that can push or pull without touching. Give one example of it from this year.
(2 pts)
19.
A pea plant dies at the end of summer, but new pea plants grow in the same garden the next spring. Explain how the pea plant's life cycle keeps going.
(2 pts)
20.
"Most summers in this city are hot and sticky." Is this weather or climate?
(1 pt)
○ weather○ climate
21.
Name one design people build to reduce flood damage, and tell how it helps.
(2 pts)