3rd grade pollution

Which of these is NOT a way recycling can protect the natural environment?

• It reduces the amount of waste going to the landfill.

• It increases the amount of waste being dumped in the ocean.

• It requires less energy to recycle most products then find new resources.

• It reduces the amount of new natural resources that have to be found.

The picture shows litter in a pond habitat.

How might litter affect the underwater plants in this habitat?

• The litter might give extra nutrients to the plants.

• The litter might protect the plants from being eaten.

• The litter might make space for extra plants to grow.

• The litter might block sunlight from reaching the plants.

Which of the following would most likely cause a loss of clean drinking water?

• a potato chip bag that is thrown from a car onto the road

• a power plant with chemicals that seep into the ground

• a plastic soda bottle that is thrown into the ocean

• a cloth diaper that is dumped into a pile in a landfill

Emily is reading an article in science class about waste and pollution. She takes some notes as shown.

What question could Emily use as the title of her notes?

• What are the effects of air pollution?

• What are the sources of air pollution?

• What are the effects of water pollution?

• What are the sources of water pollution?

Read the passage about a pond.

A boy liked to go to a pond every weekend. He enjoyed putting his toes into the clean water. He liked to sail his toy boats across the clear surface. He would look for tiny creatures living in the underwater plants. His favorite thing to do was go fishing. He always caught a lot of fish.

More and more people started coming to the pond. Soon after, the pond became filled with trash. It became so bad, that he could not even see the surface of the water because of the trash. The boy was very sad about his favorite pond.

The boy wants to know how his pond had been changed by the trash. Which question could the boy ask?

• What is the temperature of the pond?

• How many fish are living in the pond?

• What type of birds live near the pond?

• What type of trees grow near the pond?

Georgia has many beautiful beaches along the coastline. The picture shows a beach with a lot of trash.

How does the trash affect ocean animals?

• Ocean animals can use the trash for food.

• Ocean animals can get caught in the trash.

• Ocean animals can make tools out of the trash.

• Ocean animals can use the trash to build homes.

Amanda and Michelle are arguing about the proper way to get rid of the plastic rings their soda cans came in. Amanda wants to just throw them in the recycling bin, but Michelle thinks they should cut them apart first. Which idea is better for the environment?

• Michelle's, because birds can get caught in the plastic rings easily.

• Michelle's, because the rings cannot be recycled unless they're cut apart.

• Amanda's, because the rings have no bad effect on the environment.

• Amanda's, because the rings cannot be recycled if they are cut apart.

The chart shows different ways to conserve resources. 

Which letter from the chart is NOT showing an actual way to conserve resources?

• letter W

• letter X

• letter Y

• letter Z

In what habitat would pollution most affect turtles, fish, and birds?

• a desert habitat

• a grassland habitat

• a pond habitat

• a rainforest habitat

Read the passage about Brayden...

Brayden goes with his mom to the car wash. There is a pond next to the car wash. He notices that some of the dirty, soapy water from the car wash runs into a nearby pond. He sees that the pond has thick, green algae covering the top. There is a bad smell coming from the water, and there are no ducks or other animals around the pond.

Which question could be answered by Brayden's observations?

• What are the effects of air pollution?

• What are the effects of land pollution?

• What are the effects of water pollution?

• What are the effects of ocean pollution?