Scoring Guide: Quarter 4 Review: Science

Use the table about a cat family for questions 1 and 2. Then answer questions 3 and 4.

1. 1.

   Use the table. Give one piece of evidence that kittens inherit traits from their parents. Give one piece of evidence that kittens in one family are not all alike.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Inherit: every kitten has short fur, like both parents (or each kitten has the fur pattern of one parent). Not all alike: two kittens are striped and two are solid black.

2. 2.

   Kitten 1 looks like its mother, and Kitten 2 looks like its father. Explain how kittens with the same two parents can look different from each other.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: The kittens inherit traits from both parents, and each kitten gets a different mix of those traits.

3. 3.

   Write I for an inherited trait, L for a learned behavior or E for a change caused by the environment. ___ the shape of a cat's ears ___ a cat waits by the door at 5 o'clock, when its owner comes home ___ a cat gets very heavy from eating too many treats ___ a cat's green eyes

   (2 pts)

   Answer: I, L, E, I

4. 4.

   Abby planted sunflower seeds from one packet in two rows. In Row 1 the seeds were 2 feet apart. In Row 2 the seeds were crowded together, 1 inch apart. Both rows got the same sun, the same soil and the same watering. After 10 weeks, the Row 1 plants had thick stems and flower heads about 10 inches wide. The Row 2 plants had thin stems and flower heads about 3 inches wide. Abby's brother says, "Row 2 must be a different kind of sunflower, one with small flowers." Is he right? Explain with evidence.

   (3 pts)

   Answer: No. All the seeds came from the same packet, so both rows are the same kind of sunflower. The only difference was space. The crowded plants in Row 2 had to share light, water and room, so their environment kept their stems thin and their flowers small.

Read each question. Draw the line plot in the box.

1. 5.

   Tomas measured 8 pine cones from one tree: 6 cm, 8 cm, 7 cm, 10 cm, 7 cm, 9 cm, 7 cm and 5 cm. Make a line plot of the lengths. Put one X for each pine cone.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: A number line labeled 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (cm) with one X above 5, one X above 6, three Xs above 7, one X above 8, one X above 9 and one X above 10.

2. 6.

   a) How much longer is the longest pine cone than the shortest one? b) What does the line plot show about pine cones from one tree?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: a) 5 cm (10 − 5 = 5). b) They vary. Most are close to 7 cm, but some are shorter and some are longer.

3. 7.

   A hillside is covered with wild grass, all of one kind. Some of the grass plants have much longer roots than others. One summer, almost no rain falls. The top of the soil dries out, but the soil deep down stays damp. a) Which grass plants have the advantage this summer? Why? b) The plants that live drop their seeds. What kind of roots will most of the new plants probably have? Why?

   (3 pts)

   Answer: a) The plants with longer roots, because their roots reach the damp soil deep down and get water. b) Longer roots, because offspring inherit traits from their parents, and the parents that lived had longer roots.

Read about the fossils in the hill. Then answer questions 8 to 10.

1. 8.

   What was this place like when these living things were alive? Use two of the fossils as evidence.

   (3 pts)

   Answer: It was warm and wet, with a lake, river or swamp. Evidence, any two: fish and turtles live in water; crocodiles live in warm, watery places; palm trees grow where it is warm.

2. 9.

   In the same rock layer, the scientists found a row of footprints pressed into the rock. Are the footprints remains or a trace? Name one thing footprints can tell scientists.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: A trace. Any one: an animal walked there, how big it was, how it moved (walking or running), or the shape of its feet.

3. 10.

   Deeper in the hill, under this layer, is a layer of rock full of shark teeth and seashells. Which layer is older? What was this place like when the deeper layer formed?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: The deeper layer of shark teeth and seashells is older. The place was covered by the sea then.

Questions 11 and 12 are about June's survey. Then read about Henry's bridges and use the table for questions 13 to 15.

1. 11.

   June counted the flower colors of the sweet pea plants in her garden: pink 12, purple 7, white 5. a) How many plants did she count in all? b) Which color was least common? How many fewer plants had it than the most common color?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: a) 24 plants (12 + 7 + 5 = 24). b) White; 7 fewer (12 − 5 = 7).

2. 12.

   June wants to know which sweet pea color is most common in her whole town. Why is one garden not enough? What should she do?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: One garden is a small group and may not match the rest of the town. She should count plants in many more gardens to get a better picture of the pattern.

3. 13.

   Suppose Henry had used thick paper for the fan bridge and thin paper for the other two bridges. Would his test still be fair? Explain.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: No. Two things would change at once, the shape and the paper, so he could not tell which one made the bridge stronger. A fair test changes only one thing.

4. 14.

   Put the three trials for the bridge with the sides folded up in order from fewest to most pennies. Which number is in the middle?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: 14 pennies

5. 15.

   Write Henry's conclusion. Claim: ____ Evidence: ____ Reasoning: ____

   (3 pts)

   Answer: Answers vary. Look for: Claim: the paper folded like a fan makes the strongest bridge. Evidence: it held about 30 pennies, but the flat sheet held only about 5 (and the folded-up sides about 14). Reasoning: only the shape changed and everything else stayed the same, so the shape caused the difference.