4th Grade Science : 4th Grade Science

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for 4th Grade Science

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Describe Patterns Of Earth's Features

True or False: Some kinds of landforms, such as mountains and valleys, don't change.

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

The statement in the question is false. Landforms are always changing, and patterns can be seen in their structures over time. Mountains are massive, so they don’t seem to change, but they are changing all the time. Slowly, over many years, tall, pointed mountains can be worn down until they are lower and more rounded.

Example Question #2 : Describe Patterns Of Earth's Features

NASA has captured information and created a global map of forest height from around the world. (The image is pictured below.) What pattern can be identified from the map?

Screen shot 2020 09 01 at 1.46.22 pm

Possible Answers:

Antarctica has a large concentration of very tall trees.

North America has a large concentration of very tall trees.

South America has a large concentration of very tall trees.

Australia has a large concentration of very tall trees.

Correct answer:

South America has a large concentration of very tall trees.

Explanation:

This map is an excellent choice for viewing all of the different continents and their concentration of tall trees in one visual. Some continents have areas with broad groupings of high canopies while others are bare and colored in white to represent no trees. A pattern that can be identified from this map is that South America has an enormous concentration of tall trees. Northern Africa has no colored parts signifying no tall trees, Australia has some tall canopies on the East coast. Still, it is overall bare, and North America has many mixed height forests.

Example Question #1 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

Tara says there are changes in the landscape over time. She believes that throughout millions of years, rock layers and rock formations change, and this shapes our landforms. Her teacher tells her to find a photograph that supports her claim.

Which photo would be best for her to submit to her teacher as evidence?

Possible Answers:

Stones, Rocks, Pebbles, Tranquil, Zen

Saxon Switzerland, Rock, Pinnacle

Stone, Wall, Rock, Masonry, Structure

Fog, Coniferous Forest, Spruce, Forest

Correct answer:

Saxon Switzerland, Rock, Pinnacle

Explanation:

The photo that Tara selects for evidence must support the idea that landscapes have changed over millions of years. Two of the images show rocks of different colors or sizes, but they are not showing how the landscape has changed. The photo of the forest does not include rock layers or rock formations. The correct picture is from Switzerland and shows large rock formations that have been worn away by years of weathering and erosion.

Example Question #1 : Patterns And Fossils

What does the term landscape mean? Example: There are changes in the landscape throughout the years due to weathering and erosion.

Possible Answers:

Visible features of an area

To make an area more attractive with rock formations

To make an area more attractive with plants

Invisible features of an area

Correct answer:

Visible features of an area

Explanation:

The term landscape is used in science to describe the visible features of an area. If someone were standing on the edge of a canyon, they could explain the scene in terms of appearance, texture, color, relative size, landmarks, etc.. If it is something underground or hidden within a structure, it is not considered to be part of the landscape.

Example Question #2 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

What factors affect how landscapes change?

Possible Answers:

Temperature

All of these are factors in changing a landscape

Human activity

Moisture

Correct answer:

All of these are factors in changing a landscape

Explanation:

Many factors go into changing a landscape, and some will accelerate the process while others will slow it down. Moisture, human activity, and temperature are all factors that will affect how a landscape changes or is formed. Regularly being beaten down by the wind, water, the hot sun, frigid temperatures, and human construction will change the landscape. As water rushes through the base of a canyon, it is breaking apart the rock and moving it. Sand striking the cliffs on a shoreline will tear it apart grain by grain. Water seeping into rocks and then freezing and unfreezing will eventually break the rocks apart. These factors make changes to the landscape.

Example Question #3 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

How are landscape changes recorded by layers of rocks and fossils?

Possible Answers:

The type of fossils and age of the rock can tell how the landscape has changed over time.

Fossils trap information about the landscape within for scientists to analyze.

Landscape changes are recorded in writing in the fossils and rock layers over time.

Layers of rock and fossils cannot tell us about changes in the landscape.

Correct answer:

The type of fossils and age of the rock can tell how the landscape has changed over time.

Explanation:

Layers of rock and fossils are like diaries of how the landscape has changed over time. Each layer contains information about the conditions and the scene at that time. Researchers can analyze the age of the rock and build a picture of what it looked like during that stage. Fossils help scientists to know what living things were in the area at the time and whether there were changes in water levels and weather conditions.

Example Question #2 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

Fossils and rock layers can explain the changes in landscapes over time.

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

The statement is true. Scientists know that landscapes have changed over the years due to the information collected regarding rock formations, layers, and fossils. Looking at the type of plants or animals in the layers can tell us approximately how long ago they lived. The rock formations can show researchers how the wind and water have battered the area over the year and broken the rocks down. Rock layers and fossils are vital to learning about landscapes.

Example Question #2 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

Humans do not contribute to the changing of landscapes.

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

Human activity such as cutting down forests and acid rain caused by pollution can cause changes to Earth’s landscapes. General construction is another example of a way in which humans can create semi-permanent changes in the landscape.

 

Example Question #5 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

Jihoon claims that changes to a landscape are only visible above ground. Elicia tells Jihoon that he is wrong because we can see changes to landscapes both above and below ground. Which of the following statements is the BEST support for Elicia’s thinking?

Screen shot 2020 08 12 at 8.24.49 am

Possible Answers:

The landscape cannot change if it isn’t exposed to oxygen.

None of these statements could be used as an argument for Elicia’s claim.

It is difficult to observe changes to landscapes from the underground.

Underground changes to landscapes can be evidenced in caves and underwater trenches.

Correct answer:

Underground changes to landscapes can be evidenced in caves and underwater trenches.

Explanation:

Changes to landscapes are most commonly viewed above ground; however, they are also visible underground. As shown in the picture, changes can be seen underground in the form of rocky trenches caused by tectonic plate movement, altering the topography of the ocean floor. Another way changes to landscapes can be observed underground is by studying caves and their slowly growing stalagmites, sinkholes, and shifts in their soluble rocks.

Example Question #6 : Support An Explanation For Changes In Landscapes

Erosion does not contribute to changes in the Earth’s landscape.

Screen shot 2020 08 12 at 8.25.36 am

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

Erosion causes the removal of rock, soil, and dissolved material from one location, resulting in it being transported to a new location. Erosion can cause bits of existing structures to chip away over time, creating new structures in different places where the sediment is transported. Examples of erosion changing the landscape include caves, cracks in rocks, and riverbanks.

 

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