4th-5th Homework Notes

DE stands for Discovery Education - our online techbook.

Concept  6.2: Fossil Fuels

1)  DE Vocabulary 

fuel, any material that can be used for energy.

natural resources, resources that are obtained from the earth.

nonrenewable resources, resources that will eventually run out.

-- coal, a fossil fuel that forms from decomposed plant materials.

-- fossil fuels, a category of fuels that were formed from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. 

NOTE: 

-- natural gas, fossil fuel that exists in the form of a gas

2)  DE Help:  Activity: Conservation Solutions

== Row 1: Situation: Darshana and Andy are neighbors. Darshana's dad drives her to a school picnic. Andy's mom drives him to the same picnic.

   Problem: Taking two cars along the same route uses double the gas or electricity.

   Solution: Riding together would use less gas or electricity made from fossil fuels.

== Row 2: Situation: Vivian turned on the computer and began typing an email. She went to get a snack, leaving the computer and the lights in her room on.

   Problem: Leaving the computer and lights on when not in use wastes electricity that is likely made from fossil fuels.

   Solution: Vivian could put the computer to sleep and turn off the lights when she leaves the room.

== Row 3: Situation: Alex throws his plastic drink bottle in the trash.

    Problem: Plastic is made from fossil fuels and should be recycled, not thrown in the trash.

    Solution: Alex could recycle the bottle or use a refillable metal water bottle.

 Concept 6.1: Value of Renewable Resources

1)  DE Vocabulary 

natural resource, a resource that is obtained from the earth.

renewable resource, a natural resource that can be replaced.

recycle, to create new materials from used products.

To conserve resources, remember the “three R’s.”:

• Reduce

• Reuse

• Recycle

We can reduce how much we use. For example, turn off water when you are brushing your teeth. 

We can reuse resources and materials. Try reusing a paper cup several times rather than throwing it away after one use. 

We can also recycle, or turn old materials into new ones. Americans commonly recycle paper, glass, metals, and many kinds of plastic. Do we recycle at our school?

Rubber Band Car race experiment: https://mysteryscience.com/energy/mystery-1/speed-energy/39#slide-id-776

Concept  5.5: Fossils

1)  DE Vocabulary 

fossil, evidence that an organism once existed in an area.

extinct, describes a species of animals that once lived on Earth but which no longer exists.

sedimentary rock, a type of rock formed by gravity pressing fragments of other rocks and minerals together (as they settle on land or under the ocean over a long period of time).

-- petrified wood, a special type of fossilized wood.

-- absolute age, the age of a fossil (or a rock) given in years (usually determined through radiometric dating).

Concept  5.4: Volcanoes

1)  DE Vocabulary 

volcano, an opening in the Earth's surface through which magma and gases (or only gases) erupt.

magma, melted rock located beneath Earth's surface.

lava, melted rock on Earth's surface.

-- erupt, the action of lava coming out of a hole or crack in Earth’s surface.

-- dormant, temporarily inactive.

NOTE:  Dormant volcanoes have not erupted for a very long time but may erupt at a future time. Scientists use that term as shorthand for “potentially active,” so a “dormant” volcano is one that is not erupting now, but that is still considered “active” because it could erupt in the future.

2)  DE Help:  Activity: Volcano Proofing.   Volcanoes can impact the lives of people, ....

Q: What data did scientists use to identify Mount Etna as a composite volcano?

== Sample response: Scientists use the shape of the volcano to help classify it. Composite volcanoes tend to be taller than other types of volcanoes. Mount Etna is 10,922 feet tall. The steepness of the volcano also is a clue to the type. As people live and conduct recreation on the side of Mount Etna, it is likely it is volcano. Scientists also would be able to view clues on how the volcano formed to help them identify Mount Etna as a composite volcano.

Q: List at least two ways Mount Etna negatively impacts the surrounding area.

== Sample response: Mount Etna affects the local area by erupting ash into the environment, which can cover homes or agricultural crops. Mount Etna also is still erupting, so it projects hot gas and rocks, which can be damaging to those living near the vents.

Q: Design a solution for one of the problems you described above. Give details about your solution, and how it will help people.

== Sample response: Ash distributed into the air can get into homes surrounding the volcano. In order to prevent additional health risks in an area where ash distribution is possible, doorways, windows, and other areas of a home will need to be properly sealed. An ash lock can be used by including two sets of doors separated by some distance. This space can be used for those entering the building to remove any clothing that may have been exposed to the ash distribution to keep it from entering the home.

Concept  5.3: Earthquakes

1)  DE Vocabulary 

earthquake, a sudden shaking of the ground caused by the movement of rock underground.

fault, a crack in a body of rock that the rock can move along.

tsunami, a giant ocean wave.

-- mantle, the layer of solid rock between Earth’s crust and core.

-- crust, the layer of rock that forms Earth's surface.

2)  DE Help:

Activity: Tsunami Warning System.  

Tsunamis can move at speeds of 900 kilometers per hour. They can be 20 meters tall and can reach hundreds of meters inland. Imagine that you are in charge of developing a tsunami warning and evacuation system. Describe what your system would include and explain your reasoning. Include in your response: 

• where you would place sensors to detect the earthquake, 

• why you would place them there, 

• where you would place the warning system to alert people, and 

• what the warning system would consist of.

== Sample response: My system would place sensors out in the ocean near a major fault line so that if an earthquake occurred, we would know about it right away. My system would have sirens all along the coast that were loud enough for people to hear even if they were indoors. The sirens would sound when the tsunami came. The sirens would be on poles taller than 20 meters, so they could keep sounding as the wave came in. I would make evacuation routes and a safe place for people to evacuate to when they heard the sirens. This place would be 400 meters inland, so the wave could not reach it.

Concept  5.2: Landforms

1)  DE Vocabulary 

landform, a large natural structure on the earth's surface such as a mountain, a plain, or a valley.

plateau, an area of land at a high elevation with a flat surface.

mountain, an area of land that forms a peak at a high elevation.

-- elevation, the height of an area of land above sea level.

NOTE: isthmus, a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land.

NOTE: Mesas are small plateaus with steep sides. 

Buttes are hills that are flat on top and even smaller than mesas. 

Plains, plateaus, mesas, and buttes are all flat landforms, given different names based on their size.

Concept  5.1: Erosion and Deposition

1)  DE Vocabulary 

weathering, the breakdown of rocks and minerals into smaller pieces.

erosion, when soil is moved from one location to another by wind or water.

deposition, the process by which a sediment or other material falls upon a surface.

-- sedimentary rock, a type of rock formed by gravity pressing fragments of other rocks and minerals together as they settle on land or under the ocean over a long period of time.

-- delta, a fan-shaped mass of mud and other sediment that forms where a river enters a large body of water.

2)  DE Help:

Activity: Evidence of Change

Choose the correct word to fill in the blanks in the story. You may use words more than once.

NOTE: You may use words more than once.

== Sample response: 

Concept  3.5: Information Transfer

1)  DE Vocabulary

No new words in this final topic of the Wave Unit. We will complete a Unit Crossword in class.

2)  DE Help:

Activity: Transferring Information:  Work with a partner to brainstorm three ways you could safely send a simple signal (such as “Shh!”, “Lunch time!”, or “Turn in your homework”), using materials already in your classroom. Then, on your own, select one of the methods you brainstormed, and explain how you sent a message. Be sure to include:

• the information you would send

• how you would encode the information

• how you would transmit the code

== Sample response: We encoded the information “it is time for lunch” into a light signal. We used one long flash to mean “lunch” and used three short flashes to mean “time.” We transmitted the signal using the light switch. We switched the light off, and then we flashed three short signals, followed by one long signal, and turned the light off again. 

Concept  3.4: Reflection

1)  DE Vocabulary 

reflect, to strike a surface and bounce back in the opposite direction

transmit (light), allow light to pass.

absorb, to take in matter or energy.

2)  DE Help:

Activity: Sight Model: Imagine using a bouncing ball to model how we see reflected light. Choose a common object to represent eyes in the model. Explain how you could use the model to demonstrate how we see reflected light from objects. Include all of the following in your response:

• Summarize which parts of your model represent how we see light from reflected objects.

• Relate your model to the way in which we see light reflected off objects.

• Explain what you learned about reflection and sight from your model.

== Sample response: In our model, we used a bouncy ball to represent light rays, a bench to represent an object, and a bucket to represent the eye. We bounced the ball off of the bench and into the bucket to show how light reflects off of an object and into the eye when we see the object. We learned that not all light that bounces off an object enters the eye because a lot of our ball bounces did not end up in the bucket.

C3.3 Light Energy  -  Explore Tab - just read

Activity: Evidence for Light Energy. Complete the table to explain how each observation provides evidence that light is a form of energy.

Q: Over several weeks, the colors of a picture hanging in the sunlight fade and become less colorful.

== Sample response: This is because light energy can interact with the molecules that make up the pigments in the picture, causing the chemical bonds within those molecules to break down and degrade over time.

Q: An ice pop melts more quickly in the sunlight than in the shade.

== Sample response: This happens because sunlight carries a type of energy that makes things warmer. When the ice pop gets warmer, it melts faster. This is another way we know that light is a type of energy.

Q: A lamp is used to warm a terrarium.

== Sample response: The lamp emits light energy, which is absorbed by the objects in the terrarium, including the air, the plants, and the soil. This absorption of light energy causes an increase in temperature, as the energy is transformed into heat energy. This demonstrates that light is a form of energy that can be converted into other forms, such as heat energy.

Concept  3.2: Sound Waves

1)  DE Vocabulary 

energy, the ability to do work or cause change; the ability to move an object some distance.

volume, the loudness or softness of a sound that you hear.

pitch, the perceived frequency of a sound wave.

Concept  3.1: Waves

1)  DE Vocabulary 

wave, a disturbance caused by a vibration.

wavelength, the distance between two similar parts of a wave, such as between the tops of two waves.

amplitude, the distance of a wave's peak from its flat point.

-- sound, a vibration that travels through a material, such as air or water.

Crossword:  Review the vocab words for Unit 4:

Science DE Unit4: Brain - Species (Shelter, Defense)

species, a group of organisms that share similar characteristics and can mate with each other to produce offspring.

reproduce, to make more of a species; to have offspring.  

egg, an animal's female reproductive cell.

senses, taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing.

nervous system, the system of the body that carries information to all parts of the body.

brain, the main control center in an animal body; part of the central nervous system.

shelter, a location or structure that gives protection.

defense, a behavior or feature of an organism that helps protect it from predators.

predator, an animal that hunts and eats another animal.

habitat, the location in which an organism lives.

Concept  4.5: Shelter and Defense: Why Do Animals Need Shelter?

1)  DE Vocabulary 

shelter, a location or structure that gives protection.

defense, a behavior or feature of an organism that helps protect it from predators.

predator, an animal that hunts and eats another animal.

-- habitat, the location in which an organism lives.

-- camouflage, ...

2)  DE Help:  

Activity: Describe a New Species!  Imagine you are a scientist who has just discovered an amazing new species. In the table below, name your animal and describe it, and then describe its habitat, shelter, and defenses. Use all you have learned about animals and their habitats to give your animal a good chance of survival!

== Sample response: 

Name the Animal: Dole

Describe the Animal: A dole is a new species of rodent. It is like a mouse or a vole, but it eats dog food. It is about 5 inches long and has long claws and webbed feet for digging. Its face looks more like a cat, though.

 Describe Its Habitat: Doles live in backyards and farms where dogs are fed. They live near people with pet dogs. So, it lives in dirt and near houses. It can live anywhere there is dog food year-round and good soil for tunnels.

 Describe Its Shelter: Doles dig burrows like other rodents. They like to build a tunnel near a dog’s food dish so they can push the dog food right down the hole where it rolls into a room they use as storage. They sleep in their shelter until after the dog is fed.

 Describe Its Defenses: A dole can make a sound like a screeching cat. This surprises any dog or birds that attack it when it tries to gather dog food. While the dog or bird is caught off guard by the catlike screech, the dole runs into its shelter. It mimics

___

Vocab Answer: the coloring or patterns on an animal's body that allow it to blend in with its environment

Concept  4.4: Receiving and Using Information

1)  DE Vocabulary 

senses, taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing.

nervous system, the system of the body that carries information to all parts of the body.

brain, the main control center in an animal body; part of the central nervous system.

== nerve, a cell of the nervous system that carries signals to the body from the brain, and from the body to the brain and/or spinal cord.

2)  DE Help:  

Activity: Technology and Sound: An announcement comes on over the school’s loudspeaker system telling you that a special program is getting ready to begin and that students should move to the all-purpose room. Describe how technology has improved the transmission of sound and explain what happens in your body when the sound reaches your ear. Be sure to include all the things that happen and how your body reacts.

== Sample response: The school loudspeaker system improves the sound by making it louder than the speaker’s voice, and it carries it into different rooms using wires. When the sound waves hit our ears, the sound is amplified and then converted into electrical nerve impulses. These electrical impulses carry a message to the brain. The brain then identifies the sound and determines what to do about it. In this case, the brain sends a message to the muscles in the legs to start moving toward the all-purpose room. 

Concept  4.3: Animal Reproduction

1)  DE Vocabulary 

species, a group of organisms that share similar characteristics and can mate with each other to produce offspring

reproduce, to make more of a species; to have offspring.

egg, an animal's female reproductive cell.

-- fish, an animal that lives in water, has fins and scales, and breathes through gills.

NOTE: The word "species" (type) is both the singular and the plural form.

2)  DE Help:  

Activity: Protecting the Egg (the last activity):     Choose one of these animals: alligators, turtles, fish, horses, or penguins. Then discuss how this animal’s method of fertilization protects the animal’s egg. Use evidence from this concept in your answer.

== Sample response: A horse’s fertilized egg stays inside its body. It is a mammal and most mammals reproduce this way. The female horse keeps the egg inside until it is ready to be born. That protects the baby horse while it is growing and developing.

Concept  4.2: Physical Features

1)  DE Vocabulary 

animal, an organism that is made of many cells, cannot make its own food, and can move during at least part of its life.

plant, an organism that is made up of many cells, makes its own food through photosynthesis.

reproduce, to make more of a species; to have offspring.

-- survive, to continue living or existing: An organism survives until it dies; a species survives until it becomes extinct. 

2)  DE Help:  

Activity: Plants and Animals (the last activity):

See the table with the Sample Answers below:

Concept  4.1: Growth and Development

1)  DE Vocabulary (Review (covered in 3rd grade). Look up the vocab words in DE and add them to your notebook's Vocab section)

metamorphosis,

offspring,

food chain, 

-- larva,

-- pupa, 

2)  DE Help: 

Activity: Kangaroo Parenting (the last activity):

NOTE: To select a sentence, you should just click on any part of that sentence.  See the answers below.

Concept  2.3: Thermal Energy

1)  DE Vocabulary 

conduction, the transfer of energy through a solid material.

convection, the process by which heat is transferred through air, water, and other gases and liquids.

radiation, the transfer of energy through space in the form of electromagnetic waves.

-- thermal energy, energy in the form of heat.

-- matter, anything that takes up space and has mass.

2)  DE Help:  

Activity: Heat that Oven!

Ovens use heat to cook food. It is your job to heat green beans for dinner. Order the events to show how the oven produces heat and how that heat will warm the green beans.  See the Solution below:

Concept  2.2: Electric Circuits

ACTIVITY that we did in Class:  BUILD an Atom 

1)  DE Vocabulary 

circuit, a closed path that electricity can flow through.

series circuit, an electric circuit in which all the working parts are on one line (from positive to negative terminal).

parallel circuit, an electric circuit with multiple paths through which current can flow.

-- battery, a device that changes stored chemical energy into electrical energy.

-- insulator, a material that do not readily conduct electricity or heat.

2)  DE Help:  

Activity: Energy Transformations

Read the assignment carefully. Note it says: You can have more than one connection per object.

For example, for the toaster the correct connections are: Thermal and Mechanical.  The light bulb also has two connections.

Activity 4 (of 4): Lights Out!

A kitchen light circuit connects five ceiling lights. The homeowner is concerned because when he flips the kitchen light switch, none of the lights come on. He has asked you what might be wrong. Describe why the lights won’t work and explain how to fix the problem, depending on whether the circuit is series or parallel.

Sample response: If it is a series circuit, the circuit must be broken. This can happen if one of the bulbs goes out or if the wire is broken. To fix it, identify the break in the circuit and replace the bulb or the wire. If it is a parallel circuit, one dead bulb cannot break the circuit. However, if the wire coming in or out of the fuse box is broken, none of the lights will work. There needs to be a path for the electricity to make a closed loop. To fix it, examine and replace the wire coming in or out of the fuse box.

Concept  2.1: About Electricity

1)  DE Vocabulary 

electron, a subatomic particle with a negative charge.

static electricity, electric charges that build up on an object.

current, the flow of electrons through a material.

-- proton, a subatomic particle with a positive charge.

-- conductor, a material that allows electricity to flow through it. 

2)  DE Help:

Activities 1 (of 2): Static Electricity.

To correct the mistakes, click on the incorrect word, a text field will appear (see the image below):

Concept  1.3: Changing the Speed of Motion

1)  DE Vocabulary 

motion, a change in the position of an object compared to another object.

speed, distance traveled per unit of time.

friction, a force that opposes the motion of a body across a surface.

force, a pull or push that is applied to an object

2)  DE Help:

Activities 1 and 2: Practiced together in class.

Concept  1.2: Changing the Form of Energy

1) If you have not turned in the Super Science Worksheet Packet (from 2 weeks ago) , turn it in.

2)  DE Vocabulary 

mechanical energy, the form of energy that an object has because of its motion and its position. 

sound, a vibration that travels through a material.

heat energy, the form of energy that flows from hot objects to cool objects. 

chemical energy, the energy that is stored in the bonds between atoms.

light, electromagnetic energy that people can see.

NOTE:  Mechanical energy can be either kinetic (energy in motion) or potential (energy that is stored). The sum of an object's kinetic and potential energy equals the object's total mechanical energy. 

3)  DE Help:

Activity 3: Easy Life Tool

Use Studio or the Whiteboard tool to design a tool that would make your lives easier as students. Your diagram should describe the purpose of the tool as well as a label for each part and describe its function. You also will need to write a paragraph under your drawing. The paragraph should identify the energy transformations involved when your tool is used and explain how energy is conserved through your tool. 

Sample response: My tool is a robot hand that when turned on, draws power from batteries to open bottles with caps that are hard to open. Stored energy from the batteries is transformed to electrical energy, which gives power to the robot hand. The electrical energy is transformed into mechanical energy when the robot hand moves itself to open the bottle. Energy is not created or lost when transferred from the battery. There is a conservation of energy when the robot arm is in use.

DE Concept  1.1: Forms of Energy

1)  DE Vocabulary  (DE stands for Discovery Education - our online techbook)

energy, the ability to do work.

kinetic energy, the energy of motion.

potential energy, stored energy or the energy of position.