Maritza is investigating to find out if mowing affects the health of grass during a drought. To find out, she collected data on how often her neighbors mowed their grass.

Based on the information she collected, what is the best conclusion Maritza can make?

Ian and Jacob wanted to find out which material would insulate their teacher's coffee cup and keep the coffee hot for the longest period of time. They first wrapped her cup with bubble wrap and recorded the temperature of the coffee once every 15 minutes for 2 hours. Ian and Jacob repeated the investigation, this time using newspaper instead of bubble wrap, but they got the same results for both materials. Which of the following would be the best way to make sure their results are valid?

The students in Mrs. Williams’ class built devices to launch small and large marshmallows across the room. The table below shows the distances in centimeters (cm) that the marshmallows traveled.

Which of the following statements best describes the students' data?

Richard's class wants to determine if boys or girls recycled more paper each day. They set up separate recycling bins in the classroom and labeled them "Boys" and "Girls." The students then placed their paper items in the right bins. Which of the following best describes what the students should do each day before emptying the bins?

During the recent hurricane season, Shelly noticed some of the pools in her neighborhood had clear, blue water while others had cloudy green water. Shelly believes the difference has to do with how often her neighbors treat their pools with chemicals. What of the following should Shelly do to find out if her prediction is correct?

Lisa wants to find out if a hamster can learn a maze as quickly as a mouse can. She has researched mice and hamsters and predicts which rodent she thinks will learn more quickly. What of the following would be the best step to take next?

Which of the following consists of gas, dust, and many stars?

Chang is working on a science report. He learns that in space there are many different objects. In his report, he includes the picture below that an astronomer might be able to see with a special telescope

Which of the following describes the picture Chang draws for his report?

What is the Milky Way?

In addition to the many stars in the Milky Way galaxy, which of these best describes the parts that makes up most of the galaxy?

Mrs. Kinder's class is studying galaxies. She asked a student to describe a galaxy. Which statement is the best description of a galaxy?

There are lots of objects in our solar system, but only eight of them are planets. What do all planets have in common?

Which answer describes how the inner planets are similar to each other?

Which of the inner planets listed below is closest to the sun?

Howard and his friends were talking about what it would be like if they could go live on Mars someday. Summer said it would be much colder there than on Earth and it would hardly ever get above freezing, even in summer. Gabriel said there would be time periods on Mars like there are on Earth. What else might they experience if they ever went to live on Mars

Which of the following describes one way that Mars and Earth are different?

Arelly and Maritza are trying to write a general description of a planet that could apply to any planet in our Solar System. So far, their list looks like this:

a. orbits the sun

b. is nearly round

c. rotates on its axis

What else can they add to their list?

Ian wants his friend, Robby, to guess which planet he is describing. He tells Robby that the planet is rocky and doesn't have any moons. What other clue would let Robby be certain which planet Ian is describing?

Of the outer planets, which one is closest to the sun?

When comets come close to the sun, they develop a tail that glows so we can see it from Earth. Asteroids do not develop tails like this. In what other way are asteroids different from comets?

The chart below describes the characteristics of two objects in the Solar System.

Which statement correctly identifies the two objects described in the chart?

Which statement about moons is NOT true?

Which of these statements correctly identifies some characteristics of asteroids and comets?

Bryce and Brianna are building a model of the Solar System that shows the positions of all the planets. Between which two planets should they put the representation of Earth?

Which of these statements comparing the planets to asteroids in the Solar System is true?

Amy walks to school one morning when there is a lot of dew on the grass. As she is walking through the grass, she observes her shoes getting wet. This makes her think of the Water Cycle in a Bag model her classmates made the day before to study the water cycle

Which of the following connections should Amy make to the water cycle model as she is walking to school through the wet grass?

Wyatt makes a model of the water cycle using materials he finds in his kitchen. He uses his stove, a teapot, ice, a metal spoon, and a glass. He fills the teapot with water and places it on the stove. After 5 minutes, the water in the teapot begins to boil.

Which of Wyatt’s materials best represents the sun in the water cycle?

Taylor’s class draws diagrams of the water cycle. Phases of the water cycle are numbered 1-4. This is Taylor’s diagram:

Which number represents precipitation?

Dahlia and Olivia are lab partners. Their teacher asks them to model how condensation forms. Dahlia fills a glass with ice water, and Olivia fills a glass with room temperature water. They observe both glasses for 5 minutes. Which of the following best describes what the lab partners observe after 5 minutes?

Which of the following best describes what clouds are made of?

Lulu is making a model to show how water can evaporate from the ocean. Lulu fills a round tray with water. Which of the following steps will Lulu take to complete her model?

Water is constantly returning to the atmosphere from Earth’s surface. Where on Earth does most of the evaporation take place?

During the day, a family was at the beach when they noticed clouds forming over the ocean. Later, at night, they saw no clouds. Why would fewer clouds form over the ocean at night?

More water leaves the oceans through evaporation than is added to the oceans through precipitation. Which process keeps ocean water levels from dropping

Oceans cover over 70% of Earth's surface, and precipitation constantly adds freshwater to the oceans. Yet, ocean levels remain relatively constant. Which of the following is the best explanation for why ocean levels remain constant?

Mark wants to measure the speed of air movement. Which of the following weather components should Mark measure

Mark wants to measure the speed of air movement. Which of the following weather components should Mark measure?

Baxter observed that the air temperature at his home was 22°C in the morning and then it was 22°C again in the afternoon. However, Baxter felt like the morning was hotter than the afternoon and that the air felt moister on his skin. Which of the following statements best explains this observation?

The Robinson family is taking a drive through the country. They pass a weather instrument on top of a barn. They take a picture of the top of the barn using their cell phone

The oldest brother asks his father what is on top of the barn and what is it used for. Which of the following is a correct statement the father should say

During a class investigation, each student records information about the weather conditions every 2 hours. The following table below shows the information that Akili records

Which of the following weather tools could Akili use to provide more accurate information

Jody observes snow under a microscope during a class investigation. Her teacher has bought some artificial snow for classmates to use. Jody draws a diagram of one snowflake to show what she observes

How is the snow in Jody’s diagram different from a raindrop she usually sees in Florida?

Rita is speaking with her grandmother on the telephone. Rita’s grandmother says that she thinks there might be a thunderstorm soon. Which of the following questions should Rita ask her grandmother in order to predict whether there will be a thunderstorm

Which answer choice lists the weather conditions that would most likely result in snow?

Which type of cloud is associated with thunderstorms?

There are many different environments in the United States. The picture below shows an environment you might see in the southwestern United States.

Which set of weather conditions are most common in the summer in the environment shown above?

There are swamps in the Everglades of Florida. In Arizona, there are deserts. These two environments can have high temperatures in the summer. How would the weather in a swamp in the Everglades most likely differ from the weather in an Arizona desert?

Some environments have rainfall every day. Which of the following environments receive more than 100 inches of rain per year?

The tundra is an environment where polar bears live. These bears are able to survive in this environment because of the layer of flubber they have just inside their skin. They also have white fur that blends into their surroundings. Which of the following weather conditions do these bears most likely experience in the tundra?

The following environments are all in a temperate zone. Which of the following environments would you expect to be the most hot and humid?

Which answer choice correctly lists environments from most dry to least dry?

Deserts in the temperate zones can be extremely hot in the afternoon and below freezing at night. Which answer best explains why this happens?

Many rainforests are found in the tropics, but only a few are found in cooler temperate zones. What makes a forest a rainforest?

Angelo is studying the weather in Gabon, a country in Central Africa. He finds the position of Gabon on a world map.

What kind of weather can Angelo expect Gabon to have?

Two towns in Florida have about the same latitudes and elevations. One town is on the coast and the other is far inland. How would summer weather of the inland town most likely be different from the weather in the coastal town?

One factor that affects climate is latitude. Look at the following map.

Based on their locations, which places shown on the map are most likely to have a temperate climate?

A group of hikers begin hiking up the mountains early in the morning. They leave the valley around 8:00 a.m. and arrive at the peak at 4:00 p.m. As they climb in elevation throughout the day, the weather conditions change.

Which of the following changes do the hikers experience as they climb in elevation?

Which climate zone experiences the greatest variety of

weather with the seasons of the year