Science Supplement

Use marbles to model how particles are arranged in solids, liquids, and gases.

Question

How can we model matter that is too small to see?

Observations

Draw three labeled models in the science notebook (solid, liquid, gas). Show how the particles are arranged in each.

Scoring: Lab notebook rubric (4 dimensions). Mastery = clear CER + 3 labeled models.

Measure mass before and after melting, dissolving, and a chemical reaction in sealed bags.

Question

Is the mass of matter conserved when it changes form?

Data table

Graph

On graph paper, build a bar graph comparing mass before and after for all three trials.

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER. Sealed-bag reasoning = key indicator of mastery.

Name properties (hardness, magnetism, conductivity, density) and design tests to identify unknowns.

Part 1 — What's the property?

1. A material can be scratched easily by a fingernail. What property does this describe?
2. A material attracts iron filings. What property does this describe?
3. A material allows light to pass through it. What property does this describe?
4. A material does not let electricity flow through it. What property does this describe?
5. A material weighs a lot for its size. What property does this describe?

Part 2 — Identify the material

1. Shiny, conducts electricity, can be bent without breaking, attracted to a magnet → ?
2. Hard, allows light through, breaks when dropped, does not conduct electricity → ?
3. Soft, can be molded, does not conduct electricity, floats on water → ?
4. Hard, gray, conducts heat well, not attracted to a magnet → ?

Part 3 — Design a test

1. You have three white powders (sugar, salt, baking soda). List three different tests to tell them apart.
2. Two pieces of metal look identical. Describe an investigation to figure out which is iron and which is aluminum.

Scoring: Practice — score 80%+ before Quiz 1.1.

Mix six pairs of substances and judge which mixtures produced a new substance.

Question

When two substances are mixed, do they always make a new substance, or do they sometimes stay the same?

Test each combination

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER. Look for evidence-based reasoning about indicators of new substances.

10-question quiz on particle model, conservation of mass, and material properties.

1. Matter is made of _____ that are too small to be seen.
2. In which state of matter are particles packed most tightly together? (solid / liquid / gas)
3. When ice melts to water, what happens to the total mass? (increases / decreases / stays the same)
4. Maya weighs a sealed bag of baking soda and vinegar before they react and again after. Predict what she will find.
5. A material that lets light pass through is called _____ (a property).
6. A material that attracts iron is _____ (a property).
7. Name two observable properties you could use to identify an unknown metal.
8. A student mixes salt and water. The salt seems to disappear. Has a new substance formed? Explain how you could test your answer.
9. Baking soda + vinegar produces bubbles and feels cool. Is this a sign of a new substance? Why or why not?
10. In the particle model, how do the particles in a gas differ from particles in a liquid? Use two specific differences.

Scoring: 10 problems · 8/10 = Meets · 9–10 = Exceeds · 6–7 = Developing · ≤5 = Beginning.

15-point unit assessment: multiple choice, short answer, CER, and a performance task.

Part 1 — Multiple choice

1. Which best describes matter? (A) Anything with color (B) Anything with mass and takes up space (C) Only solids and liquids (D) Only what we can see.
2. In which state of matter do particles have the most space between them? (A) Solid (B) Liquid (C) Gas (D) All the same.
3. A sealed jar contains an ice cube. The ice melts. The mass: (A) Increases (B) Decreases (C) Stays the same (D) Cannot be determined.
4. Baking soda + vinegar in a closed bag fills with gas. The mass: (A) Increases (B) Decreases (C) Stays the same.

Part 2 — Short answer

1. List two properties you could use to identify an unknown metal.
2. A student dissolves sugar in water. Did a new substance form? Briefly explain.
3. Why does a balloon get bigger when it gets warm? Use the particle model.
4. Draw or describe how particles are arranged in a solid versus a gas.

Part 3 — CER

A student mixes vinegar and baking soda in a sealed bag. The bag puffs up. Mass before = mass after. Is this evidence that mass is conserved during the reaction? Write a CER response.

Part 4 — Performance task

1. You have three white powders (salt, sugar, baking soda). Describe a 3+ step investigation to tell them apart using their properties. Include what you would test, what you would observe, and how the results identify each one.

Scoring: 15 points · 12/15 (80%) = Meets. Save in portfolio.

Compare four planting setups (soil+water, water only, soil only, air only) to argue plants get materials chiefly from air and water.

Hypothesis

Write your prediction in the science notebook before starting.

Observations table

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER scored against the 4-point rubric. The water-only result is the key evidence.

Vocabulary, build a multi-organism food web, and trace specific energy paths.

Part 1 — Vocabulary

1. A _____ makes its own food using sunlight.
2. A _____ eats only plants.
3. A _____ eats other animals.
4. A _____ breaks down dead plants and animals.
5. The _____ is the original source of energy for almost all life on Earth.

Part 2 — Build a food web

Organisms: Sun, grass, oak tree, mouse, rabbit, owl, fox, beetle, worm, mushroom, bacteria. Draw a food web on a separate sheet with arrows showing energy flow.

Part 3 — Questions about your web

1. Which organism is the producer?
2. Name two consumers in your food web.
3. Name two decomposers in your food web.
4. If all the mice disappeared, name two organisms that would be affected and explain how.
5. Trace one energy path from the sun all the way to the fox. List every organism the energy travels through.

Scoring: Score 80%+ on Parts 1 + 3. Part 2 is graded against the food-web rubric (≥6 organisms, all arrows show energy direction).

Complete energy paths and explain that food energy was once energy from the sun.

Part 1 — Energy paths

1. Sun → _____ → deer.
2. Sun → _____ → _____ → fox.
3. Sun → _____ → _____ → person eating a hamburger.
4. Sun → _____ → person eating a salad.

Part 2 — Why energy comes from the sun

1. A polar bear eats a seal. The seal ate fish. The fish ate small shrimp. The shrimp ate algae. Where did the algae get its energy?
2. Why do scientists say almost all energy in animals' food was once energy from the sun? Explain in 2–3 sentences.
3. A friend says: 'Cows don't need the sun. They eat grass.' How would you respond?
4. Decomposers like mushrooms break down dead organisms. Did the energy in mushrooms also come originally from the sun? Explain.

Scoring: Practice. Watch for misconceptions about cows / decomposers and re-teach before Quiz 2.1.

Compare food scraps in three conditions (sealed jar, open + damp, open + soil) to show decomposers' role.

Question

What happens to dead plant material over time? Who are the workers?

Weekly observations

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER. Mastery = explicit comparison of sealed vs. open conditions.

10-question quiz spanning plant materials, food-web vocabulary, and energy flow.

1. Plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from _____ and _____.
2. In a food web, the arrows show the flow of _____.
3. A producer makes its own food. Name one producer.
4. A decomposer breaks down dead material. Name one decomposer.
5. Energy in your breakfast cereal came originally from the _____.
6. A rabbit eats grass; a fox eats the rabbit. Where did the fox's energy come from originally?
7. In a forest, leaves on the ground get smaller every winter. What happens to them, and who is responsible?
8. A student says: 'Plants need soil to grow.' How would you correct or improve that?
9. If all the decomposers in an ecosystem disappeared, what would happen over time?
10. Draw a simple food chain with 3 organisms showing the direction of energy flow.

Scoring: 10 problems · same 4-point bands as Quiz 1.1.

15-point unit assessment with a food-web model and a CER on plant materials.

Part 1 — Multiple choice

1. Where do plants get most of the materials for growth? (A) Soil (B) Air and water (C) Sunlight only (D) Decomposers.
2. Which is a decomposer? (A) Eagle (B) Mushroom (C) Deer (D) Oak tree.
3. In a food web, arrows show: (A) Animal paths (B) Energy flow (C) Where animals sleep (D) Plant growth.
4. Where did the energy in your sandwich originate? (A) The fridge (B) The sun (C) The farm (D) The bread.

Part 2 — Short answer

1. Define producer, consumer, and decomposer in your own words.
2. Trace energy: Sun → _____ → _____ → owl. Fill in two organisms.
3. Why are decomposers important in an ecosystem?
4. Explain how a plant uses air to grow. Use the word 'air' or 'carbon dioxide.'

Part 3 — Model + CER

Draw a food web with at least 6 organisms (producers, consumers, decomposers). Then write a CER: Plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water, not from soil. Use evidence from a lab investigation you have done.

Scoring: 15 points · 12/15 = Meets. Save in portfolio for the Q2 review.

Define geosphere / hydrosphere / atmosphere / biosphere and identify them in real events.

Part 1 — Define each sphere

1. Geosphere:
2. Hydrosphere:
3. Atmosphere:
4. Biosphere:

Part 2 — Identify the spheres in each example

1. A bird lands on a rock to drink from a lake. Which spheres?
2. Wind blows sand against a cliff. Which spheres?
3. A volcano erupts, sending ash into the sky. Which spheres?
4. A fish breathes oxygen dissolved in water. Which spheres?
5. A hurricane forms over warm ocean water and reaches land. Which spheres?

Part 3 — Multi-sphere interaction

1. Describe how all four spheres interact in a flood.
2. Describe how all four spheres interact in a wildfire.

Scoring: Score 80%+ on Parts 1 + 2. Use Part 3 as a conversation starter for the lab.

Build a pie chart of Earth's water and reason about scarcity.

Reference data: 97% salt water, 2% frozen, 1% liquid fresh water.

Part 1 — Pie chart

On graph paper, draw and label a pie chart showing Earth's water (97% salt, 2% ice, 1% liquid fresh).

Part 2 — Reservoirs

1. Name three reservoirs of fresh water.
2. Approximately what % of Earth's water is in the oceans?
3. Approximately what % is fresh and liquid?
4. Why is so little of Earth's water available for drinking?
5. List three ways people use fresh water.
6. A town's aquifer is being used faster than it refills. What problems might this cause?

Scoring: Pie chart graded for accuracy + labeling. Questions: 80% = Meets.

Four trials (chemical, physical, freeze-thaw, water erosion) modeling how Earth's surface changes.

Question

How do water, wind, and chemicals slowly change Earth's surface?

Observations

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER. Look for sphere-tagging in column 3.

Define conservation vocabulary, list real community actions, and research a local issue.

Part 1 — Vocabulary

1. _____ means using a resource at a rate that allows it to be replenished.
2. _____ means using something more than once instead of throwing it away.
3. _____ means breaking down items so the materials can be used again.
4. _____ means using less in the first place.

Part 2 — Real-world examples

1. How does a community protect water resources? List three actions.
2. How does a community reduce air pollution? List three actions.
3. How does a community protect forests? List three actions.
4. Why do some Native American communities use controlled burns to manage land?

Part 3 — Investigation

1. Choose a real environmental issue in your region (water use, recycling, wildfires, plastic pollution). Use one source. Write 3–4 sentences describing the issue and what your community does about it. Cite your source.

Scoring: Part 3 graded against the year-long research-citation rubric.

10-question quiz on the four spheres, water distribution, and weathering.

1. The geosphere refers to _____.
2. The hydrosphere refers to _____.
3. The biosphere refers to _____.
4. About what % of Earth's water is salt water?
5. About what % is liquid fresh water?
6. Name three reservoirs of fresh water.
7. A hurricane involves which spheres?
8. Vinegar slowly dissolves chalk. This is what kind of weathering?
9. Why is it important for communities to protect water resources?
10. List two ways your community could reduce its impact on the environment.

Scoring: 10 problems · 8/10 = Meets.

15-point unit assessment with a 4-sphere event model and a CER on a drying river.

Part 1 — Multiple choice

1. Which is in the hydrosphere? (A) Mountains (B) Lakes (C) Birds (D) Clouds.
2. Most of Earth's water is: (A) fresh and liquid (B) salt water (C) frozen (D) underground.
3. A volcano sending ash into the sky involves: (A) Just the geosphere (B) Geosphere + atmosphere (C) Hydrosphere only (D) All four spheres.
4. Chemical weathering example: (A) Rocks rubbing (B) Ice expanding in a crack (C) Acid rain dissolving stone (D) Wind blowing sand.

Part 2 — Short answer

1. Name and define the four spheres.
2. Why is fresh, liquid water such a small portion of Earth's water?
3. Give one example of each: physical weathering, chemical weathering, erosion.
4. List two specific ways a community can protect a water resource.

Part 3 — Model + CER

Choose one event (a flood, wildfire, or hurricane). Draw a model showing how all four spheres interact. Label each sphere's role.

CER: A nearby river is drying up faster than it can be refilled. Use what you know about Earth's systems and human impact to explain what could be causing this, and what your community could do about it.

Scoring: 15 points · 12/15 = Meets. Portfolio.

Drop pairs of objects of different mass and argue gravity pulls all objects toward Earth's center.

Question

Does gravity pull all objects equally toward Earth's center?

Data

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER.

Use two flashlights at varying distances to model why the sun looks brighter than larger stars.

Question

Why does the sun look so much brighter than other stars, when most stars are actually much larger?

Data

Scoring: Lab notebook + CER. Look for explicit distance reasoning.

Track shadow length and direction at five times across a day; graph and explain the pattern.

Question

How do shadows change throughout the day? What does this tell us about Earth and the sun?

Data table

Graph: Plot shadow length (y) versus time of day (x). Look for the pattern.

Scoring: Lab notebook + graph + CER. Mastery = U-shaped length pattern explained by Earth's rotation.

Order the planets, match facts, and reason about rotation, orbit, phases, and seasons.

Part 1 — Order the planets from closest to farthest from the sun

1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
7. 7.
8. 8.

Part 2 — Match

1. The largest planet:
2. The planet with prominent rings:
3. The 'red planet':
4. The smallest planet:
5. Earth's closest planetary neighbor:

Part 3 — Earth, sun, and moon

1. Earth rotates on its axis once every _____ hours. This causes _____.
2. Earth orbits the sun once every _____ days. This causes _____.
3. The moon's phases occur because _____.
4. Why does the sun look bigger than other stars in the sky?
5. Earth's seasons happen because Earth is _____ on its axis.

Scoring: Score 80%+ before Quiz 4.1.

10-question quiz spanning gravity direction, stellar brightness, and Earth-sun patterns.

1. Gravity pulls objects toward Earth's _____.
2. When you drop a heavy ball and a light ball from the same height, they land at about the same time. What does this tell you about gravity?
3. The sun appears bright in our sky because it is _____ to Earth than other stars.
4. Many stars are actually much _____ than our sun, but they look dimmer because they are _____ away.
5. Shadows are longest in the _____ and shortest at _____.
6. Earth's rotation on its axis causes _____.
7. Earth's tilt and orbit around the sun cause _____.
8. The closest planet to the sun is _____.
9. The planet famous for its rings is _____.
10. Why can we see different stars in summer than in winter?

Scoring: 10 problems · 8/10 = Meets.

15-point unit assessment with a day/night model and a CER on weight on the moon.

Part 1 — Multiple choice

1. Gravity pulls objects: (A) up (B) sideways (C) toward Earth's center (D) only on heavy objects.
2. The sun appears brighter than other stars because: (A) makes more energy (B) closer to Earth (C) the largest star (D) other stars are dim.
3. What causes day and night? (A) Earth orbits the sun (B) Earth rotates on its axis (C) Earth's tilt (D) The moon.
4. What causes the seasons? (A) Distance from the sun (B) Earth's rotation (C) Earth's tilt and orbit (D) The moon.

Part 2 — Short answer

1. Order the four inner planets from closest to the sun outward.
2. Why does a basketball fall down instead of up?
3. A star is many times larger than our sun. Why does it still look dim to us?
4. Describe how shadows change in length and direction throughout a sunny day.

Part 3 — Model + CER

Draw a labeled diagram showing Earth, its rotation, and how the sun causes day and night.

CER: An astronaut on the moon weighs less than on Earth. Use what you know about gravity to explain why.

Scoring: 15 points · 12/15 = Meets. Save in portfolio.

20-point cumulative final covering matter, conservation of mass, food webs, and energy flow.

Part 1 — Multiple choice (1 pt each)

1. Matter is made of: (A) molecules only (B) particles too small to be seen (C) only what we can see (D) just liquids.
2. When ice melts in a sealed bag, the mass: (A) increases (B) decreases (C) stays the same.
3. A producer is: (A) eats other organisms (B) makes its own food (C) breaks down dead matter (D) only animals.
4. Where does the energy in a hamburger originate? (A) The cow (B) The grass the cow ate (C) The sun (D) The fridge.
5. Plants get most of their material for growth from: (A) soil (B) decomposers (C) air and water (D) other plants.
6. A material is shiny, conducts electricity, and is attracted to a magnet. It is most likely a: (A) plastic (B) wood (C) metal (D) ceramic.

Part 2 — Short answer (2 pts each)

1. Describe how particles are arranged differently in a solid versus a gas.
2. A student dissolves salt in water. Has a new substance formed? How could you test your answer?
3. Why is mass conserved when baking soda and vinegar are mixed in a sealed bag?
4. Define decomposer and give one example.
5. Why do scientists say energy in food was once energy from the sun?

Part 3 — Models + CER (3 pts each)

Draw a food web with: sun, grass, mouse, snake, hawk, mushroom — show energy flow with arrows.

CER: A scientist places a plant in a sealed jar with only water and air — no soil. After 4 weeks, the plant has grown 6 cm. Use this evidence to explain where plants get their materials.

Scoring: 20 points · 16/20 (80%) = Meets. Use the result to guide Q3 grouping.

25-point cumulative final spanning matter, ecosystems, Earth's systems, and space.

Part 1 — Multiple choice (1 pt each)

1. Matter is made of particles too small to be: (A) heated (B) seen (C) mixed (D) weighed.
2. When ice melts in a sealed bag, the mass: (A) increases (B) decreases (C) stays the same (D) depends on temperature.
3. Plants get their material chiefly from: (A) soil (B) decomposers (C) air and water (D) other plants.
4. The energy in a steak originally came from: (A) the grocery store (B) the cow (C) the sun (D) other animals.
5. About what % of Earth's water is fresh and liquid? (A) 1% (B) 25% (C) 50% (D) 97%.
6. A flood involves: (A) hydrosphere only (B) atmosphere + hydrosphere (C) all four spheres (D) geosphere only.
7. Vinegar dissolving chalk is an example of: (A) physical weathering (B) chemical weathering (C) erosion (D) deposition.
8. Gravity always pulls objects: (A) toward the moon (B) up (C) toward Earth's center (D) in random directions.
9. The sun looks bigger than other stars because: (A) it is the biggest star (B) it is closer to Earth (C) it is the brightest (D) other stars are dim.
10. What causes seasons on Earth? (A) Distance from the sun (B) Earth's rotation (C) Earth's tilt and orbit (D) The moon.

Part 2 — Short answer (2 pts each)

1. Describe how particles are arranged in a solid versus a gas.
2. Explain why mass is conserved in a chemical reaction inside a sealed bag.
3. Why are decomposers important to a forest ecosystem?
4. List the four spheres of Earth and give one example of each.
5. Explain how shadow length changes through the day, and why.

Part 3 — Model (5 pts)

Draw a food web of at least 6 organisms (producers, consumers, decomposers, and the sun). Use arrows to show energy flow.

Part 4 — CER (5 pts)

A community is worried that a nearby river is drying up. Use everything you have learned this year about Earth's systems, water distribution, and human impact to write a CER explaining what could be happening and what the community could do.

Scoring: 25 points · 20/25 (80%) = Meets. Save final + lab notebook for the year-end conference.