Scoring Guide: Quarter 2 Review: Science

Read each question. Fill in the blanks or write on the lines.

1. 1.

   Write L for living, O for once living or N for never alive. ___ an earthworm ___ a straw basket ___ a glass jar ___ a pea seed in a seed packet

   (2 pts)

   Answer: L, O, N, L

2. 2.

   Write the role of each one: producer, consumer or decomposer. a blueberry bush: ____ a chipmunk that eats the berries: ____ white mold growing on a rotting berry: ____

   (2 pts)

   Answer: producer, consumer, decomposer

3. 3.

   A woodpecker lives in a forest. It eats insects that live under tree bark. It sleeps and nests in a hole in a dead tree. Name two needs the forest habitat meets for the woodpecker. Tell how it meets each one.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Food: insects under the bark. Shelter: the hole in the dead tree. (Also accept space or water with a sensible reason.)

4. 4.

   A hedgehog has sharp spines on its back. When a fox comes near, the hedgehog rolls into a tight ball. Which one is a physical adaptation? Which one is a behavioral adaptation?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Physical: the sharp spines (a body part). Behavioral: rolling into a ball (an action).

Read the garden food web. Each arrow points from the food to the eater. Use it for questions 5 to 8.

1. 5.

   Write the food chain from this web that has 4 living things and ends with the garter snake.

   (2 pts)

   Answer: cabbage → slug → toad → garter snake

2. 6.

   What gives the cabbage and the bean plants the energy they need to make their own food?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: the sun (sunlight)

3. 7.

   All the toads leave the garden. Predict what happens to the slugs, and then to the cabbage. Use 'because.'

   (3 pts)

   Answer: There will be more slugs, because fewer animals are eating them. Then more cabbage gets eaten (there is less cabbage), because more slugs are feeding on it.

4. 8.

   Toads live in the garden but lay their eggs in a pond across the lane. A busy new road will be built between the garden and the pond. Solution 1: build a small tunnel under the road for toads. Solution 2: hang a bird feeder in the garden. Which solution helps the garden's food web more? Make a claim and give a reason.

   (3 pts)

   Answer: Solution 1, the tunnel. It lets the toads cross safely to the pond to lay their eggs and come back, so toads keep living in the garden and eating slugs. A bird feeder does not help the toads reach the pond.

Think about the life cycles of plants and animals.

1. 9.

   A darkling beetle has the same four life stages as a butterfly: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Draw a life cycle model for the beetle. Label the 4 stages in order, add arrows that go in a circle, and put a star on the stage that lays the eggs.

   (3 pts)

   Answer: egg → larva → pupa → adult → back to egg, with arrows in a circle and a star on the adult.

2. 10.

   An adult mayfly lives for only about one day. It does not even eat. In that day it finds a mate and lays eggs. Why is that one day so important for the mayfly's life cycle?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: It is when the mayfly reproduces. The eggs hatch into new mayflies, so the life cycle keeps going after the adult dies.

3. 11.

   Which one happens in the life cycle of EVERY plant and animal?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: It grows.

4. 12.

   An apple tree blooms in spring. Later, apples grow where the flowers were. What is inside each apple, and what can it grow into?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: Seeds. A seed can sprout and grow into a new apple tree.

Read about Hana's pigeon watch. Use the table for questions 13 to 15. Question 16 is about a different study.

1. 13.

   Which group noticed the dog when it was farthest away?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: 25 pigeons

2. 14.

   Hana's cousin says, "A pigeon is just as safe eating alone as in a flock." Is he right? Use Hana's table. Claim: ____ Evidence: ____ Reasoning: ____

   (3 pts)

   Answer: Answers vary. Look for: Claim: no, he is not right; pigeons are safer in a big flock. Evidence: the flock of 25 flew up when the dog was still 16 steps away, but the pigeon alone did not fly until the dog was 4 steps away. Reasoning: a big group has more eyes watching for danger, so the birds spot it sooner and have more time to get away.

3. 15.

   Hana scatters one small handful of seeds. Why might each pigeon in the flock of 25 get less to eat than the pigeon feeding alone?

   (1 pt)

   Answer: The flock has to share the same seeds (the birds compete for the food), so there is less for each one.

4. 16.

   Dev visited his study square on six mornings. On three warm, sunny mornings he counted 5, 6 and 4 lizards on the rock wall. On three cool, cloudy mornings he counted 0, 1 and 0. What pattern does his data show? Why are six visits better than two?

   (2 pts)

   Answer: More lizards are out on the wall on warm, sunny mornings (4 to 6) than on cool, cloudy mornings (0 or 1). On six visits the same thing happened again and again, so the pattern is more likely to be real. Two visits give only a clue.