Practice Set 5.2 - The Earth System

A student weighs a whole piece of paper on a balance. The paper weighs 4 grams. The student tears the paper into two pieces and weighs the pieces again. Then she tears it into 4 pieces, 8 pieces, and 16 pieces. She weighs the pieces each time she tears the paper. The student makes a graph to show the weight of the paper after each tear. Which graph shows the weight of the pieces of paper?

• Graph a

• Graph b

• Graph c

• Graph d

Answer explanation

The total weight of the paper will remain the same no matter how many times it is torn. No paper has been added or taken away. It has just changed form. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

A teacher pours water into a glass beaker. She heats the beaker and the liquid begins to boil. Soon it appears as if there is no liquid left in the beaker. Stephanie claims that the water disappeared. Tony claims that the water did not disappear. Which student's claim is accurate? Explain.

• Stephanie; the water disappeared because we can no longer see it. 

• Stephanie; the water disappeared because the beaker weighs less. 

• Tony; the water didn’t disappear, it just changed forms. 

• Tony; the water didn’t disappear, the beaker absorbed it. 

Answer explanation

Matter cannot be created or destroyed. The liquid water changed form, into a gas (water vapor). The amount of water remains the same.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

A student wants to show how the hydrosphere (water) and the atmosphere (the sky) interact. Which model could the student make to show this interaction?

• a. a model of a cloud forming in the sky

• b. a life-cycle diagram of a frog in a pond

• c. a model of a volcano releasing gas into the air

• d. separate drawings of the ocean and of the sky

Answer explanation

Clouds are made of water, so they are part of the hydrosphere. This is an interaction between the hydrosphere (the cloud) and the atmosphere (the sky). 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

Factories often release harmful substances into the atmosphere. These substances pollute the air. 

An engineer wants to reduce all of the air pollution coming from a factory. 

First, she focuses on pollution from one harmful substance, ash. She places different materials over a model of a chimney to stop particles of ash from getting into the air. She measures the amount of pollution that each material catches and makes a graph of the results. 

What should be the engineer’s next step? 

• Find and fix any problems with Material 4.

• Make and sell Material 1 to nearby factories.

• Test Materials 1 and 2 on a real factory chimney.

• Retest the materials with a different type of factory pollution.

Answer explanation

To find the best design, the engineer needs to investigate how the materials perform under a few different likely conditions. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-3

People living in a beachside town want to protect their beach from a hurricane that is headed their way. The hurricane arrives in one week. They have collected $500 for project supplies. Which of the following is a problem for their project?

• We need to fix erosion before the hurricane gets here.

• We will use the $500 to get a big truck to pile sand along the beach to protect it from the waves.

• We need to design a solution to prevent beach erosion with only $500 and complete the design in one week.

• We need to study the effects of erosion on beaches in other towns.

Answer explanation

This design problem outlines the purpose of the design and important details such as time and cost. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

A teacher wants to model for young children that matter is not destroyed when it changes. Which of the following models would best show this to the children?

• boiling an ice cube so that it changes into gas

• burning a piece of paper so that it will change into ash and smoke

• taking a cup of water, pouring it onto sand, and watching the sand absorb it

• weighing a piece of clay and then changing the shape of it and weighing it again

Answer explanation

When the teacher shows the students the same piece of clay in different shapes, they can see that the matter has not gone anywhere and that it will still weigh the same. 

Tags

NGSS.5-PS1-2

The graph above shows how much of Earth's water is fresh water, salt water, and other kinds of water. Which claim is supported by the data in the graph?

• Most of Earth's water is in the ocean.

• Most of Earth's water is in lakes, rivers, and streams.

• Most of Earth's fresh water is in glaciers or underground.

• Earth's water is split evenly between fresh water and salt water.

Answer explanation

The graph shows that most of Earth’s water is salt water. Salt water is usually found in the ocean. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Jayden lives next to a river. He noticed that several fish are dying in the river. He researched this problem, and a scientist told him that dirt and other debris from building houses was washing into the river. Jayden wants to design a container that can catch the dirt and debris before it gets to the river. Which of the following is an example of criteria he might use in developing this design?

• The container design should be tested many times.

• The container can only cost $10 to make.

• The container can only be made from available plastic in Jayden's house.

• The container must collect a large amount of debris before it gets to the water.

Answer explanation

Criteria is like a rule for an investigation. The container must catch the dirt and debris before it gets to the river.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

Pablo poured 2 cups of water in an ice tray two weeks ago and placed it in the freezer. He took the ice cube tray out of the freezer yesterday and accidentally left it on the table for a few hours. This made all of the ice melt. Pablo measured the amount of water that came from the melted ice. Which of the following measurements of the melted ice is most accurate, given what you know about matter changing?

• 5 cups

• 8 cups

• 2 cups

• 6 cups

Answer explanation

The water changed forms from a liquid, to a solid (ice), and then back to a liquid. Since the amount of matter stays the same, the amount of melted ice should be about the same as the initial amount - 2 cups. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Coral reefs are home to many different organisms, including fish. However, they are often damaged by human activity. A group of scientists wants to regrow coral in a reef damaged by chemical pollution. First, the scientists made a model of a possible solution. Next, they tested the model and collected data. They notice that their design keeps the water clean but is harmful to the fish. What should they do next?

• Redesign the product from scratch, and test it again.

• Tell scientists everywhere to start making and using their design.

• Look into how their design affects the biosphere, and make improvements.

• Look into how their design affects the hydrosphere, and make improvements.

Answer explanation

Before making and selling their product, the scientists need to make sure that their design does not hurt the fish, which are part of the biosphere (living things). 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5