Environments and Survival - Benchmark Amplify

All of these habitats could produce fossils in the future over a very long time. Which of these habitats could produce fossils of birds, fish, land animals, and tree leaves?

• antarctic

• desert

• marine

• swamp

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Scientists discovered the bones of a type of dinosaur that has never been found before. They call it Dinosaur X for now. The scientists study the fossil by collecting data. They put this information into a table.

What does the data tell us about the environment where Dinosaur X lived?

• It was an ocean environment.

• It was an environment on land.

• It was an environment with a lot of snow.

• It was an environment with a lot of rain.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Scientists discover the fossil of a plant that is no longer found living on Earth. Scientists placed stars on a map to show where they found fossils of this plant.

Study the map. What can you conclude?

• The environments in these 4 locations are unknown now.

• The environments in these 4 locations are likely very similar now.

• The environments in these 4 locations were likely very different in the past.

• The environments in these 4 locations were likely similar in the past.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Tigers can blend in with their environments. This lets them get close to their prey when they hunt.

In an environment that has tall grasses, Tiger 1 has many stripes. Tiger 2 has few stripes.

What can you tell about the tigers?

• The tigers have equal chances at survival.

• Neither tiger will be able to survive in this environment.

• The tiger with more stripes has a better chance at survival.

• The tiger with fewer stripes has a better chance at survival.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

There are many different types and colors of moths (a type of insect). Moths have certain features that help them get food, hide from predators, and survive. Over time, these survival features usually become more common.

In the future, one of these two types of moths on the tree will outnumber the other one.

Which of the following explains this?

• There will be more light-colored moths because they are lighter.

• There will be more light-colored moths because they can fly faster.

• There will be more dark-colored moths because they are bigger.

• There will be more dark-colored moths because they blend into their surroundings.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Students are studying plants. They put four different kinds of plants in pots with soil and place them in the sun. They want to see which plant would grow and survive the best in a desert, so they give each plant the same low amount of water. Their test is conducted for several weeks. The results are recorded in the table below.

The students decide that Plant C would survive in the desert the best. Which argument supports this conclusion?

• Plant C is growing the most and the fastest.

• Plant C is receiving less water than the others.

• Plant C is bright green and is growing over time.

• Plant C is in a sunnier spot than the other plants.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Penguins live in different parts of the world. One type of penguin lives in Antarctica. It’s very cold there, and the land is covered mostly by ice. Another type of penguin lives in a warmer environment in Africa.

Feathers help keep penguins warm.

Why would penguins in the colder climate have more feathers than the penguins in the warmer environment?

• Keeping cold helps them swim better.

• Keeping cold helps them survive.

• Keeping warm helps them reproduce.

• Keeping warm helps them survive.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

People build houses, schools, and businesses. People also build roads to travel on and parking lots to park cars in.

Which of the following describes how human building affects natural ecosystems?

• People and animals can get along better in nature.

• People can have trouble getting along with other people.

• Animals may have a hard time finding food in their environments.

• Plants will grow faster to make up for places where they were cut down.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Farming can affect living things that live in nearby bodies of water. Some farmers use fertilizer to help their crops grow. When it rains, the fertilizer can wash from the farmland soil into streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds.

Fertilizer changes water habitats. The changes cause some fish to die. Engineers are trying to design a solution to this problem. They want to design a new type of fertilizer.

What problem do the engineers face?

• How can the fertilizer be used on larger areas of land at one time?

• How can the fertilizer help crops grow while not getting into the air?

• How can the fertilizer grow crops while not washing off into the water?

• How can the fertilizer be sold at cheaper prices so that more people can use it?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

A team of scientists has been studying a pack of wolves. Lately, the wolves have not been able

to find food in their usual areas, so they disappear for long periods of time. The scientists think

that this is because humans have moved closer to the edge of the forest, scaring the wolves.

The scientists develop a special tool that lets them track where the wolves go to find food. What

should they do to make sure their tool works the way it is supposed to?

• They should bring the tool to a science fair and demonstrate for others how the tool is used.

• They should find out if the people who moved near the forest want to try the tool out for

  themselves.

• They should test the tool and see which features in the system work best and which need to

  be improved.

• They should show the tool to other scientists and get their approval to use it in the forest

  with the wolves.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-3