Earth & Space
Life Science
Matter
Physical Science
Science Skills
100

The planet we live on

What is Earth?

100

A cactus and a camel both have adaptations that help them survive in this environment.

What is the desert?

100

A substance keeps its shape and volume. What state of matter is it?

Solid

100

You throw a ball straight up. As it rises, its speed decreases. What force is mainly causing this change?

Gravity

100

What does CER stand for?

Claim, evidence, and reasoning

200

Earth rotates on its axis. What does this cause?

What is Day and Night?

200

In a food chain, a hawk eats a snake, the snake eats a mouse, and the mouse eats seeds. The hawk is this type of consumer.

What is a predator?

200

A student mixes salt into water until it disappears. Did the salt cease to exist? Explain.

No. The salt is still present; it has dissolved into the water

200

Two students push a box from opposite sides with equal force, but the box doesn't move. What can you conclude about the forces?

Balanced or equal forces

200

A student notices that a plant near a window is taller than a plant across the room. This is an example of what?

Observation

300

You see lightning, then hear thunder several seconds later because this travels faster.

What is light?

300

This structure acts like the “brain” or control center of most cells. (Hint: it's in the center of the cell)

What is the nucleus?

300

Ice melts into liquid water. Is this a physical or chemical change?

Physical change — the substance remains water

300

A soccer ball is sitting still. You kick it, and it starts moving. What caused the ball's motion to change?

Force

300

A scientist thinks plants near the window are taller because they receive more sunlight. This is an example of what?

Inference

400

This is why astronauts on the Moon would weigh less than they do on Earth.

What is weaker gravitational pull?

400

A disease kills most of a population of animals except for ones that happen to have a genetic trait that provides resistance. Those survivors reproduce and pass the trait to their offspring. What is this an example of?

What is natural selection?
400

What happens to the particles of a substance when it is heated? Do they move faster or slower?

They move faster

400

What is kinetic energy? What is potential energy?

Kinetic = energy by motion. Potential = stored energy.

400

Two identical ice cubes are placed in different rooms. One melts faster. What is the most likely explanation?

The rooms have different temperatures.

500

If it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, what season is it in the Southern Hemisphere?

Winter

500

This process allows plants to turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into food.

What is photosynthesis?

500

A sealed container of water is heated until some becomes vapor. Does the total amount of matter in the container change? Why?

No. In a sealed system, matter is conserved; the water simply changes state

500

A roller coaster starts at the top of a hill and rolls downhill without an engine. What happens to its potential energy and kinetic energy as it moves downhill?

Potential energy decreases while kinetic energy increases.

500

Scientists observe that an area has fewer frogs than it did 10 years ago. Which question would be the best scientific question to investigate the cause?

Environmental changes caused the number of frogs in an area to decrease.