London Elementary (Week 9)

Skill:Organisms and their Environment

Subject ScienceGrade 4

This test section contains EIGHT multiple-choice and ONE open-response (short-answer) questions. Please mark your answers for the multiple-choice questions in the spaces provided on your Student Response Booklet. Mark only one answer for each question. If you do not know the answer, make your best guess. DO NOT WRITE ANY ANSWERS IN THIS TEST BOOKLET. WHEN YOU FINISH, DO NOT WORK ON ANY OTHER TEST SECTION.
1. / Look at the food chain diagram below. Which of these organisms is the producer?

O / A. / seeds
O / B. / mouse
O / C. / snake
O / D. / hawk
2. / The underlying source of energy for all living things is the Sun because ______.
O / A. / all plants and animals get their energy directly from the sun
O / B. / larger animals eat smaller animals that eat plants which use sunlight to make their own food
O / C. / many larger animals usually eat more than one kind of smaller animal and some plant material
O / D. / plants use sunlight to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis

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3. / Which of these animals obtains energy by eating plants?
O / A. / Coyotes
O / B. / Jack rabbits
O / C. / Mountain lions
O / D. / Red wolves
4. / A certain species of seal would eat fish that were hunted for food and sport by fishermen. Over a period of time the seal population declined. What is the possible cause of the decline in seal population?
O / A. / Loss of habitat
O / B. / Change in sea level
O / C. / Reduced food sources
O / D. / Changes in the weather
5. /

The basic needs of plants include air, water, ______, and light.
O / A. / photosynthesis
O / B. / pollination
O / C. / nutrients
O / D. / oxygen

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6. / Cactus plants are often found in the desert. Why do they have sharp spines?
O / A. / Beauty
O / B. / Protection
O / C. / Reproduction
O / D. / To absorb water
7. / A paper mill is built in a valley. The trees are cut down to make the mill and build roads. A few weeks later, the number of a certain species of birds begins decreasing slowly and eventually all the birds die out. Which of the following is a cause of extinction of the birds in the valley?
O / A. / Excessive hunting of the birds.
O / B. / Destruction of the habitat of the birds.
O / C. / Increase in predators that eat the birds.
O / D. / Decrease in the food source of the birds.
8. / Scientists found the bones of an extinct prehistoric animal.

Which bones would provide the best clues about the animal's eating habits?
O / A. / skull
O / B. / backbone
O / C. / leg bones
O / D. / ribs
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OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTION
Read all parts of the open-response question before you begin. Write your answers to the open-response question in the space provided on your Student Response Booklet. DO NOT WRITE ANY ANSWERS IN THIS TEST BOOKLET.
SC-04-4.6.1 Students will analyze patterns and make generalizations about the basic relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem (food chain). DOK 2
9. / A food chain is the order of energy transfer in which organisms get the food they need to survive.
  1. Illustrate a food chain, containing at least one example of each of the following: producer, consumer, decomposer, and energy. Label each of the models using the following terms: producer, consumer, decomposers, and energy.
  1. Identify the role of the producers and consumers in the food chain.
  1. Explain why the function of decomposers is an important part of an ecosystem.

Do not write on this page. Please write your
answer to this open-response question in
the test answer booklet

STOP!

Scoring Guide

SCORE / DESCRIPTION
4 / Student correctly illustrates a food chain containing at least one example of each component: producer, consumer, decomposer, and energy. Student correctly identifies each of the models as a producer, consumer, decomposer, or energy. Student correctly identifies the role of both the producer and consumer in a food chain. Student correctly identifies the importance of a decomposer in a food chain.
3 / Student answers all 3 parts of the question, but lacks detail.
2 / Student answers only 2 parts of the question correctly.
1 / Student answers only 1 part of the question correctly, or attempts to answer all parts with a limited understanding of the concept.
0 / Student’s response is totally incorrect or irrelevant.
Blank / No student response.

Annotated Rubric/ Performance Expectations for ORQ

Student response should include:

  1. a food chain diagram containing at least one example of a producer, consumer, decomposer, and energy;
  2. producer – any organism that makes food, consumer – any organism that eats food made by a producer, or eats other consumers
  3. decomposers break down dead matter into chemicals/minerals they use for food; chemicals/minerals left behind provide nutrients for the soil

Academic Expectation:

2.1Students understand scientific ways of thinking and working and use those methods to solve real-life problems.

2.2Students identify, analyze, and use patterns such as cycles and trends to understand past and present events and predict possible future events.

2.3 Students identify and analyze systems and the ways their components work together or affect each other.

2.4 Students use the concepts of scale and scientific models to explain the organization and functioning of living and nonliving thing and predict other characteristics that might be observed.

Core Content:

SC-04-3.4.1

Students will:

  • compare the different structures and functions of plants and animals that contribute to the growth, survival and reproduction of the organisms;
  • make inferences about the relationship between structure and function in organisms.

SC-04-3.5.1

Students will use representations of fossils to:

  • draw conclusions about the nature of the organisms and the basic environments that existed at the time;
  • make inferences about the relationships to organisms that are alive today.

SC-04-4.6.1

Students will analyze patterns and make generalizations about the basic relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem (food chain).

SC-04-4.6.2

Students will:

  • analyze data/evidence of the Sun providing light and heat to earth;
  • use data/evidence to substantiate the conclusion that the Sun’s light and heat are necessary to sustaining life on Earth.

Ceiling DOK Level: 2Question DOK Level: 2

Question Type (circle): Scaffold, Single Dimension/Component, Two or More Relatively Independent Components, Student Choice, Respond to Provided Information

Essential Vocabulary:

producer

consumer

decomposer

energy

Resources/Technology:

Sources:

Grade 4– Subject Science – Organisms and Environment
Question / First
A.E. / First CC / Second A.E. / Second CC / DOK
Level of MC Question / Answer
Key / Rational/Annotation for MC Questions
1 / / SC-04-4.6.1
Students will analyze patterns and make generalizations about the basic relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem (food chain).
DOK Ceiling Level 2 / / 1 / A / The correct answer is (A) seeds. Students should understand that only the seed actually produces food for other organisms.
2 / SC-04-4.6.2
Students will:
  • analyze data/evidence of the Sun providing light and heat to earth;
  • use data/evidence to substantiate the conclusion that the Sun’s light and heat are necessary to sustaining life on Earth.
DOK Ceiling Level 3 / 2 / B / The correct answer is (B) larger animals eat smaller animals that eat plants which use sunlight to make their own food. Students should understand that the Sun’s energy is necessary to sustain life on Earth.
3 / SC-04-4.6.1 / 2 / B / The correct answer is (B) jack rabbits. Students should understand that jack rabbits eat only plants because they are herbivores.
4 / SC-04-4.6.1 / 2 / C / The correct answer is (C) reduced food sources. Students should understand that a decline in the food source for an organism will cause a decline in the population of that species.
5 / SC-04-3.4.1
Students will:
  • compare the different structures and functions of plants and animals that contribute to the growth, survival and reproduction of the organisms;
  • make inferences about the relationship between structure and function in organisms.
DOK Ceiling Level 3 / 2 / C / The correct answer is (C) nutrients. Students should understand that the basic needs of a plant are air, water, light, and nutrients.
6 / SC-04-3.4.1 / 2 / B / The correct answer is (B) protection. Students should understand that all organisms have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
7 / SC-04-4.6.1 / 2 / B / The correct answer is (B) destruction of the habitat of the birds. Students should understand that all changes to an ecosystem will affect the survival of the different species in that ecosystem.
8 / SC-04-3.5.1
Students will use representations of fossils to:
  • draw conclusions about the nature of the organisms and the basic environments that existed at the time;
  • make inferences about the relationships to organisms that are alive today.
DOK Ceiling Level 3 / 2 / A / The correct answer is (A) skull. Students should understand that an animal’s eating habits can be determined by the type of teeth the animal has.

Multiple Choice Item Information: