Scoring Guide: Environment, Fossils & Science Fair

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

1. 1.

   Did the environment change how Rosa's lettuce grew? Make an argument. Claim: ____ Evidence: ____ Reasoning: ____

   (6 pts)

   Answer: Answers vary. Look for: Claim: yes, the soil (the environment) changed how the lettuce grew. Evidence: plants in compost soil had 18 to 20 leaves, but plants in sandy soil had only 9 to 11. Reasoning: all the seeds came from one packet and got the same sun and water, so they inherited the same kinds of traits; the only difference was the soil, so the environment caused the difference.

2. 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)

   Answer: Its environment. The food (part of its environment) changed its color; it still inherited flamingo feathers from its parents.

3. 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)

   Answer: The plants with hairy leaves, because caterpillars eat less of them, so they keep more leaves to grow and make seeds.

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

1. 4.

   Which layer is probably the oldest?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: Layer C

2. 5.

   What was this place like when Layer B formed? What is your evidence?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: It was under water. Fish and clams live in water, and their fossils are in Layer B.

3. 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)

   Answer: It changed from water to dry land. Layer B has water animals (fish and clams), but the newer Layer A above it has land plants and land animal footprints.

4. 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)

   Answer: R, T, R, T

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

1. 8.

   How many dogs did Owen survey in all?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: 20 dogs (9 + 6 + 5 = 20)

2. 9.

   Make a bar graph of Owen's data. Give it a title and label both sides.

   (3 pts)

   Answer: Bars: floppy 9, upright 6, half-up 5, with a title, labeled axes and an even scale.

3. 10.

   How many more dogs had floppy ears than half-up ears?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: 4 more (9 − 5 = 4)

4. 11.

   What does Owen's data show about variation in a group of dogs?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Dogs are all one species, but their ear shapes vary: some are floppy, some upright and some half-up. Floppy was most common.

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

1. 12.

   What is the one thing Jonah changes?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: the wing design

2. 13.

   What is the middle number for the folded wing tips?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: 520 cm

3. 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)

   Answer: Criterion: it must fly at least 500 cm. Constraints: any two of one sheet of paper, no tape, 15 minutes to build.

4. 15.

   Use the middle numbers. Which of Jonah's designs already meets the contest criterion?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: folded wing tips (middle number 520 cm, which is at least 500 cm)

5. 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)

   Answer: Answers vary. Look for: one change, such as adding a paper clip to the back, bending the back edges of the wings up a little, or making the wings narrower; then throw it 3 times from the same spot in the same way and compare the distances.

These questions review the whole year.

1. 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)

   Answer: Balanced while it floats still. The wind's push makes the forces unbalanced, so the boat starts moving (in the direction the wind pushes).

2. 18.

   Name a force, other than gravity, that can push or pull without touching. Give one example of it from this year.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Answers vary. Look for: magnetism (a magnet pulling a paper clip, or two magnets pushing apart) or static electricity (a rubbed balloon lifting paper bits).

3. 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)

   Answer: Before it died, the pea plant made flowers and then pods with seeds (it reproduced). The seeds sprouted the next spring and grew into new plants.

4. 20.

   "Most summers in this city are hot and sticky." Is this weather or climate?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: climate

5. 21.

   Name one design people build to reduce flood damage, and tell how it helps.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Answers vary. Look for: a levee or flood wall that holds water back, a house raised on stilts so water flows under it, or a storm drain or channel that carries water away.