Watershed Assessment

A student wants to create a model showing the most important reason why old gasoline should never be poured into the soil. Which of the following must be included in the model?

• gasoline evaporating from soil

• gasoline catching fire in the soil

• gasoline polluting an old septic system

• gasoline trickling down into groundwater

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-3

A family owns a vacation cabin located on a hillside below a gas station with a leaking gasoline storage tank. In which situation is the drinking water for the cabin most likely to be contaminated?

• Water is pumped to the cabin from a distant reservoir.

• Groundwater is drawn up in buckets from a private well.

• The family brings several gallons of bottled spring water.

• The family collects water in rain barrels left in the open air.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-5

NGSS.HS-ESS3-1

A student created a diagram of farmland with runoff from cornfields to a nearby pond. What was the student probably trying to model?

• how acid rain kills pond plants

• how pond water is use to irrigate crops

• how fertilizers can get into ponds and cause algae blooms

• how toxic chemicals from industrial wastes can poison pond water

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Which human activity most likely contributes to the SOLID waste pollution in streams and landfills?

• buying products packaged in disposable one time use containers and throwing them away

• combining leaves and grass clippings to use in composting

• using natural liquid fertilizers on lawns

• recycling glass, paper, and aluminum products

Which of the following is not able to become runoff?

• water from an irrigation system

• water from a hose

• precipitation

• groundwater

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

A local gardener puts fertilizer on his plants. The plants are very healthy, but what is a negative effect the fertilizers have on the environment?

• Excess fertilizer is washed into local streams, causing an overgrowth of algae.

• The fertilizer builds up in the soil and causes more weeds to grow over time.

• The fertilizer evaporates, causing acid rain to fall on the neighborhood.

• The fertilizer causes an overabundance of producers.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

As the map shows, there are multiple drainage basins in Texas.

Ft. Worth and Dallas are in the same drainage basin. What is the most likely reason that the water in the Trinity River is dirtier in Houston than it is in Dallas?

• Ocean pollutants are entering the river.

• Pollutants are entering from other drainage basins.

• The river basin picks up more human pollutants as the water moves from Dallas down to Houston.

• The water goes through a salt dome and get more polluted.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

In some areas of Texas, rain water quickly moves through layers of rock and is stored naturally underground. The water is then pumped into homes for people to use.

What would cause the biggest change in the amount of water available to people in this area?

• long periods of high temperatures

• below-freezing temperatures for many consecutive days

• long periods without rainfall

• long periods of cool weather

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

John was changing the oil in his truck. He dumped the used oil around a fence post to keep weeds from growing. John didn't know it, but he was hurting the environment because the oil

• rots the base of the fence post and attracts harmful insects

• goes deep into the soil and pollutes the groundwater

• kills weeds and they are an important part of the environment

• attracts more insects that will take over his yard

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

A student sets up this investigation.

The movement of colored water through the gravel best models

• condensation of water vapor

• surface runoff of precipitation

• conservation of water

• pollution of groundwater

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4