READING MATERIAL

Read About Chemical and Physical Changes

DEFINITIONS OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES

In a chemical change, a new substance is made, like when you burn a candle. In a physical
change, no new substance is made, like when water turns to ice.

To better understand the difference between chemical vs. physical changes….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Chemical changes make new substances

Anytime a new substance is made, a
chemical change takes place. Usually
two or more materials are combined
and a new substance is formed. A
chemical change can produce amazing
explosions, like fireworks. Some chemical
changes are a little more difficult to
spot, like when a nail rusts.

If you notice bubbles being formed, or a

change in color or temperature, there is
a good chance a chemical change has taken place, but not always. Scientists can determine if a
chemical change has occurred by asking this question: Was the substance formed present before?
If the answer is no, then it is a chemical change.

Since chemical changes make new substances, most of them cannot easily be undone. For
example, when you burn wood, you can't really turn the gases back into a log very easily.

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Physical changes do not make a new substance.
Physical changes come in many forms.
It can be a change in the shape or
appearance of an object, like crumpling
a piece of paper, or cutting, bending, or
dissolving something.

Since objects do not become a different

substance during a physical change, it
is usually easy to reverse the change.
For example, if you dissolve sugar in
water you can easily reverse the
change by evaporating the water from the solution. When all the water evaporates, sugar crystals
will be left behind.

Physical changes also happen when matter changes

states.
There are three common states of
matter: solid, liquid, and gas. When a
substance changes states (from a liquid
to a gas, for example), it is undergoing a
physical change.

In the video, when the gallium spoon

melted in hot water, the gallium did not
become a different metal. Melting is an
example of a phase change, where a
solid is changed to a liquid. Freezing and
boiling are also physical changes.

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Chemical and physical changes are all around us.
Chemical and physical changes take
place around you all the time. When you
make cereal for breakfast, combining
the milk and cereal is a physical change.
When you eat the cereal, a chemical
change happens during digestion.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell if a

chemical or physical change is taking
place. In the video, Dr. Jeff and the team
explore a few different reactions to
determine if they are chemical or physical changes, by figuring out if the material made after the
reaction was present before the reaction.

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 EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES

Chopping a banana. Since Burning a gummy bear. In Coke and Mentos. Mixing
cutting a banana only the video, when the gummy Coke and Mentos looks like
changes its appearance, a candy was placed into a a chemical change, but
new substance is NOT test tube with the oxidizer, since the gas released is
formed. That makes this an the gummy candy burned carbon dioxide AND it was
example of a physical up and created new present before the foaming
change. chemicals. Since new happened, it is actually a
chemicals were formed, it is physical change.
an example of a chemical
change.

VOCABULARY FOR PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES

Catalyst A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction.

A type of change in which a new substance is formed. For example: burning

Chemical Change
something.

Physical Change A type of change in which a new substance is NOT formed. For example: water boiling.

Oxidizer A chemical that provides a lot of oxygen to help things burn.

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 A gas without any color or smell that is commonly found in soda. It is also called CO2
Carbon Dioxide
and comes out the back of a car or bus that is running.

A gas less dense than air that has no color or smell. It is extremely flammable
Hydrogen
meaning it can burn.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PHYSICAL VS. CHEMICAL CHANGES

What happens when Zoe stirs the very hot water with the spoon made from
Gallium metal? What kind of change happens?

When Zoe stirs the hot water with the Gallium spoon, the metal melts. This is an example of a
physical change because the Gallium changed forms, but it didn’t change into a new substance (it
is still Gallium).

What kind of change happens when Dr. Jeff puts the gummy candy into a tube
containing oxidizer? Why?

When Dr. Jeff drops the gummy candy into the tube containing oxidizer, the gummy candy bursts
into flames producing smoke and carbon (new substances). Therefore, this is a chemical change.

What method did the team use to test what type of gas was produced in the
reaction between the Mentos and soda?

Dr. Jeff, Izzy and Zoe used a balloon to collect some of the gas produced when soda and Mentos
were combined. They then tested this gas to determine its properties. They concluded that it was
carbon dioxide by observing that it extinguished candles.

When Zoe pours the carbon dioxide gas onto the candles, why do they go out
one by one?

Carbon dioxide gas is heavier than air. This is why it stays inside the pitcher. When Zoe pours it at the
top of the steps, it flows down the steps because it is heavier than the air that was there. When the
carbon dioxide displaces the air, the candle doesn't have enough oxygen, so it goes out. This
process happens to each candle as the carbon dioxide sinks lower and lower.

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What evidence did the team find that the reaction between the Mentos and
soda was a physical change?

It was unclear at first whether the reaction that caused the soda to fizz uncontrollably was a
chemical or physical change. The team investigated and determined that the gas produced was
carbon dioxide, which is the same gas already used to make the soda fizzy. That means it is not a
new substance, making this a physical change.

What is a flame test and what can we learn from it?

A flame test is a way to tell different types of gases apart. Scientists know how different types of gas
will react when exposed to a flame. For example, oxygen would make the match glow brighter,
carbon dioxide would make it go out, and hydrogen can burn so it makes a POP sound when next to
a flame. These are the most common gases tested in a flame test but there are others as well.

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Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
CHEMICAL VS. PHYSICAL CHANGES

1. If two substances are mixed and a new substance is formed, what type of change is it?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Placing the spoon in hot water was a physical change since the melted metal was still…

a. gallium b. iron c. steel d. aluminum

3. When a substance changes states (melts, evaporates, etc.) it is often what type of change?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Fill in the blank using physical change or chemical change.

When something burns, it is a __________________________________________________

5. True or false: since gas is detected during the candy + soda demo, it is an example of a chemical change.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What is the evidence that the gas made in the mentos + soda demo was carbon dioxide?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Which of these is the most reliable way to see if a new gas has formed?

a. Fill up a balloon b. Flame test c. Measure temperature d. Look at it

8. How does hydrogen react in a flame test? __________________________________________________________

9. Milk spoiling is an example of which type of change? ________________________________________________

10. What type of change is mixing air into egg whites to make frosting?___________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Variations of Traits

INHERITED TRAITS DEFINITION

Traits are your physical characteristics, like your hair or eye color. Every living thing has traits
that make it unique. Most traits are passed down from parents, however, they can also
come from your grandparents or even your great-grandparents. Some traits are also
influenced by the environment.

To better understand how inherited traits work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Genetics for Kids: Most traits are passed down from

parents.
Parents pass their physical
characteristics, or traits, to their
offspring. Offspring are the children of
animal parents (and that includes
humans, too).

When baby animals are formed, some

of the traits from the mom and some of
the traits from the dad are combined to
create a unique baby.

Sometimes traits can skip a generation. That’s why you might be the only one in the family with a
nose that looks like your grandfather’s nose.

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Inherited Traits: Different individuals can have different
traits.
If you have siblings, you might have
some of the same traits. However, other
traits may be different, like your eye
color or height.

You cannot have all of your mom’s traits

AND all of your dad’s traits! It's always a
mixture. When babies are formed, they
get some traits from each parent. It’s
kind of like shuffling a deck of playing
cards. Each time you shuffle the deck
and pass out the cards, the players will have a different set of cards to play with.

Animals of the same kind share a common set of physical traits. For example, all giraffes have long
necks and all birds lay eggs. Animals also have common behavioral traits. We can expect that all
bumblebees will gather nectar and pollen and take it back to their beehive.

Passing Down Traits: Variation of traits among individuals

may provide advantages in surviving.
Some traits are very helpful for animals
in the wild. If a newborn deer blends into
the grass where it was born, it will have a
better chance of staying hidden from
predators.

Camouflage is a trait that helps animals

survive. Other traits, such as fur color,
speed, and how well an animal can hear
also help it survive. Having the prettiest
feathers is a helpful trait for findings
mates.

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Environmental Factors: Some traits are influenced by
environment.
We are all born with the information that
will determine our traits. However,
different factors in a living thing’s
environment can influence the trait. If a
person is born with the potential to grow
very tall, but they don't get proper
nutrition, it is unlikely that they will be tall.

Poison dart frogs are the most brightly

colored, and the most poisonous, frogs
in the world. They are another good
example of how traits can be influenced
by the environment. Scientists think that
poison dart frogs get their poison from
the insects they eat. It is not simply
something they are born with.

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 EXAMPLES OF INHERITED TRAITS

An alligator’s scales can Puppies of the same litter A tiger’s stripes are an
help it survive. If the color do not all look the same. inherited trait from its
of the alligator’s scales can Since offspring receive parents. Tigers may either
help it stay camouflaged, it different traits from their have wide stripes or narrow
will have a better chance of parents, animals born in the stripes. The type of stripes a
sneaking up on its prey. same litter can have very tiger has depends on the
Also, darker scales will help different appearances. traits that were passed
the alligator warm up faster These puppies have down from the tiger’s mom
in the sunlight. different fur color and snout and dad.
shapes.

INHERITED TRAITS VOCABULARY

Traits Characteristics of an individual that can be inherited from parents.

Offspring The children of animal parents (that includes humans too!)

Inherit The process of traits being passed down from parents to offspring.

Predator An animal that eats other animals.

Prey An animal that is eaten by other animals.

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 A pattern, color or shape that helps a living thing blend into its environment. It is usually
Camouflage
used to help prey avoid predators or for predators not to be seen by prey.

INHERITED TRAITS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why do the puppies look different from their mom and dad?

The puppies look different from their mom and dad because they have inherited traits from both
the mom and the dad. Each puppy inherited slightly different traits.

What are some examples of types of traits?

Common examples of traits you can see include eye color, height and hair color in humans. In the
puppies, common examples include fur color, ear shape, tail length, size and snout length.

How might the position of a baby alligator’s eyes affect its chance of survival?

If one alligator’s eyes are positioned so that it can see more than another, it may be more likely to
survive because it can better detect predators.

What were some of the similarities between the individual lemurs?

The lemurs were similar in shape and size. They all had long tails and pointed ears.

What were some of the differences between the individual lemurs?

The different lemurs had differences in fur color and patterns. One had a bump on its nose. Another
had large eyebrows. One had a different color fur on its head. There were also differences between
males and females.

Why might different species in the same environment share some traits?

Different species in the same environment might have similar challenges in surviving. For example,
white fur on polar bears and white fur on arctic bunnies helps both of them blend into the snow.

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Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
VARIATION OF TRAITS

1. Most traits that animal have are passed down to them from what?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. True or false: the environment can also influence traits of living things. _________________________________

3. List two traits that are similar between the puppies.

1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. List two traits that are different between the puppies.

1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. If a mom and dad are both large, what size do you predict their offspring will be?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Which of these environmental factors might positively impact a plant’s traits?

a. fertilizer b. dry soil c. flooding d. too much sunlight

7. Why is a tiger’s pattern of stripes important?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. True or false: a white tiger and an orange tiger can be brother and sister. ______________________________

9. What are some differences between baby alligators?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What is one trait that you likely inherited from your parents?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Forces

DEFINITION OF FORCE
A force is a push or pull. Sometimes forces cause objects to move, and sometimes forces
slow, stop, or change the direction of an object’s motion. Gravity is an example of a force
that pulls all objects toward the center of the Earth. When you jump on a trampoline, gravity
constantly pulls you down.

To better understand how balanced and unbalanced forces work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Forces are all around us!

Forces are needed to lift, turn, move,
open, close, push, pull, and so on. When
you throw a ball, you are using force to
make the ball move through the air.

More than one force can act on an

object at the same time. Think about all
the different forces you need to ride
your bike. Your feet push on the pedals,
your hands push and pull the
handlebars, and the muscles in your
body help you stay balanced. The tires are pushing against the pavement, while the pavement is
pushing back on them. Wow, that’s a lot of forces!

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A force has strength and direction.
When soccer players kick the ball to
another player, they are using a certain
amount of strength to push the ball in a
certain direction. Forces always have
strength and direction.

Forces can be weak, like in the video

when Zoe lightly hit the golf ball. Or a
force can be strong, like when Izzy hit the
ball really hard.

Forces also have direction. Rocket scientists must be very careful about the direction that a rocket
is launched. If there is even a small mistake in calculations, the rocket's direction will be off course
and the mission will not be successful.

The strength and direction of a force are equally important.

Unbalanced forces can cause an object to change its

motion.
Unbalanced forces change the motion
of an object. This happens in two ways. If
an object is at rest and an unbalanced
force pushes or pulls the object, it will
move. Unbalanced forces can also
change the speed or direction of an
object that is already in motion.

A game of tug-of-war is a great way to

illustrate an unbalanced force. If the
players on one side of the rope use
more force than other side, they will win the game.

Another good example is when you and your dog play with a tug toy. If you let go of the toy when
the dog is tugging, the dog will fall backwards because it experiences an unbalanced force.

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Balanced forces do not cause a change in motion.
When two forces are the same strength
but act in opposite direction, they are
called balanced forces. Again, tug-of-
war is a perfect example. If the people
on each side of the rope are pulling with
the same strength, but in the opposite
direction, the forces are balanced. The
result is no motion.

Balanced forces can cancel each other

out. Any time there is a balanced force,
the object does not move.

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 EXAMPLE OF BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORCES

Forces have direction. To Forces can be balanced or Gravity pulls objects down.
steer the hovercraft, Zoe unbalanced. Tug-of-war is In Zoe’s DIY, the force of
needed a way to change a great example of gravity pulled the egg down
the direction of the force. balanced and unbalanced into the cup when the other
forces. objects were forced out of
the way.

BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORCES VOCABULARY

A push or a pull that can cause the motion of an object to change. It has two
Force
important properties: strength and direction.

When two equal forces act in opposite directions the result is that the forces are
Balanced Force
balanced and there is no motion.

Motion The process of moving or changing position.

Unbalanced Force When one force is stronger than the other the result is motion.

Strength The amount of force that is applied to an object.

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Gravity A force that attracts objects toward the earth. "What goes up, must come down!"

BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORCES DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why did Izzy’s golf ball fail to go in the hole?

Izzy hit the ball too hard. He used too much STRENGTH when applying a force.

What was the difference between Zoe’s first and second golfing attempts in
terms of force?

In Zoe’s first attempt she used the right amount of STRENGTH when applying a force to the ball, but
did not know the right direction because she was wearing a blindfold. In Zoe’s second attempt she
applied just the right amount of strength and knew the right direction to win. (A force has both
strength and direction.)

How did Zoe make Izzy fall down while they were playing tug of war?

When Zoe pulled with a lot of force while Izzy wasn’t pulling at all, the strength of the force was
greater in Zoe’s direction. That made Izzy move in that direction.

Explain how Dr. Jeff cutting the tug of war rope is an example of unbalanced
forces causing motion.

Before Dr. Jeff cut the rope, the forces were balanced. The force from Izzy pulling in one direction was
cancelled out by the force of Zoe pulling with the same amount of force in the other direction. When
the rope was cut, suddenly the forces were no longer balanced and the result was motion!

What makes the ping pong ball hover above the hair dryer?

The moving air from the hair dryer pushes the ball upward and the force of gravity pulls the ball
downward with a force that is equal and opposite. The upward and downward forces on the ball
cancel each other out so it is not in motion. When the hairdryer is turned off, the upward force is
removed and the force of gravity causes the ball to fall down.

Page 5
How could Zoe have kept from crashing her hovercraft?

Zoe’s hovercraft only moved in one direction. The force pushed her forward. If she wanted to stop,
she needed to apply an equal force in the opposite direction, which she could have done by aiming
the fire extinguisher in front of her.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
BALANCED & UNBALANCED FORCES

1. What 2 things do all forces have? _________________________________________________________________

2. When playing tug of war and neither side moves, forces are…

a. unbalanced b. balanced c. multiplied d. unequal

3. In tug of war, when one team moves toward the other, what can be said about the forces?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. When floating a ping-pong ball with a hairdryer, which two forces are balanced?

Force pulling down: ____________________________ Force pushing up: ________________________________

5. If the hairdryer was put on full power, what would happen? Why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. When Dr. Jeff jumps on a skateboard and uses the fire extinguisher to move, which of these does he

change to move BACK to where he started?

a. amount of force b. type of force c. direction of force d. skateboard wheels

7. True or false: balanced forces are important for a hover board to float. _________________________________

8. In Zoe’s egg drop experiment, which two forces are balanced that keep the egg from moving before she

hits the pan?

1. ______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

9. True or false: the downward motion of the egg in Zoe’s experiment is due to unbalanced forces.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. When Izzy applied a force to the golf ball, it went in the right direction, so why didn’t it go in the hole?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Weathering and Erosion

WEATHERING AND EROSION DEFINITION

Weathering breaks down the Earth’s surface into smaller pieces. Those pieces are moved in
a process called erosion, and deposited somewhere else. Weathering can be caused by
wind, water, ice, plants, gravity, and changes in temperature.

To better understand how the erosion and weathering process works….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

The Earth’s surface gets broken down through weathering.

For as long as the Earth has existed,
weathering has helped shape the
landscape. Weathering wears away
rocks and soil.

Water is often the main cause of

weathering, either as rain or ice.
Rainwater can easily enter cracks in
rocks or sidewalks. If this happens during
cold months, the water may freeze and
expand in the crack. Working as a
wedge, the ice splits the rock. Many times, road crews have to patch up potholes caused by
weathering from ice.

Wind can also cause weathering. Over long periods of time, wind can wear away rock and carry
tiny pieces of the rock to new places. This is can create amazing landscapes, such as rocks that
look like mushrooms.

Sometimes living things can cause weathering. Plant roots can wedge their way in between small
cracks in rocks. As the plant grows, the roots increase the size of the crack little by little. Eventually,
pieces of the rocks break off and get carried away by wind or water.

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Erosion moves pieces of the Earth.
As pieces of the Earth are broken down
by weathering, they are carried away in
a process called erosion.

Water is a common way that pieces of

the Earth are moved to a new location.
Wind also contributes to erosion by
blowing the particles away. Glaciers can
pick up pieces of the Earth and drag
them to new locations. They are slow but
powerful.

Although erosion has helped shape some of the most amazing features on Earth, it can be harmful
to the environment. When soil is washed away from one place to another, it can carry harmful
materials like chemical, fertilizers, or pesticides. These dangerous chemicals can pollute our water
supply.

Deposition is when pieces of the Earth are deposited

somewhere else.
It is important to remember that when
weathering happens, tiny pieces of the
Earth do not disappear. They are moved
through erosion, and deposited
somewhere else through deposition. It
could be very close, only a few feet
away, or it can be many miles away
such as if the tiny pieces were washed
into a river.

The deposited materials can also create

new landforms. For example, in Hawaii black sand from eroded lava is deposited on several
beaches.

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Weathering happens at different rates.
We see the effects of weathering and
erosion every day. Splits in roads or
sidewalks are caused by the expansion
of ice, or the daily heating and cooling of
the ground.

Sand on the beach is created from

ocean waves pounding on rocks and
eventually creating sand.

Sometimes erosion can happen very

quickly like with mudslides. Mudslides are caused by moving water and gravity, and happen in only
minutes.

Most weathering, however, is a slow process that happens over thousands or millions of years. The
speed at which weathering and erosion take place depends on the type of material that is being
worn away. Some hard rock, like granite, wears away slowly, while softer rock like limestone, wears
away much more quickly.

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 WEATHERING AND EROSION EXAMPLES

Weathering and erosion Mushroom rocks are Split Apple Rock in New
from water created the created by wind erosion. Zealand was caused by ice
Grand Canyon. This huge The wind carried sand close expanding and splitting
canyon was carved by the to the ground, carving the rocks apart. Geologists
flow of the Colorado River bottom of these rocks more believe that this huge
over millions of years. than the top. boulder was split during
one of the Earth’s ice ages.

WEATHERING & EROSION VOCABULARY

Weathering The process by which earth’s surface is broken down into smaller pieces.

After pieces of the Earth are broken down through weathering, those pieces are moved
Erosion
through erosion. It’s the process of moving things from one place to another.

After pieces of the Earth are carried by erosion they are deposited somewhere else.
Deposition
Deposition means to deposit things somewhere else.

An extremely cold liquid made from nitrogen gas being squeezed (compressed) really

Liquid Nitrogen hard. It is -321 degrees Celsius (-196 degrees Fahrenheit) and is used to freeze things

very quickly.

Page 4
 A slowly moving mass of ice formed by the buildup of snow. They are usually found on

Glacier mountains or near the poles of the Earth where it is cold. Movement of glaciers can

cause weathering and erosion.

A five-thousand-foot-deep canyon located in Arizona. It was carved by the Colorado

Grand Canyon
River over millions of years and is one of the best examples of weathering and erosion.

WEATHERING & EROSION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How did Split Apple Rock form in New Zealand?

Split Apple Rock was formed by weathering from ice! When water gets into a small space and
freezes, it expands and can crack whatever is containing it (just like the metal pipe in the video.)

How does a crack in the sidewalk form?

Izzy mentioned that cracks in the sidewalk formed because the concrete expanded and contracted
over time. When the sun heated the sidewalk it caused the concrete to expand. At night the sidewalk
cools and the surface contracts. Since this happened many times, the sidewalk eventually cracked.
It’s like bending something over and over again – eventually it breaks!

How did mushroom rocks form?

Wind carried sand particles close to the surface and they hit the bottom of the rock more than the
top. Since the bottom is carved more it looks like a mushroom.

What are the four main ways weathering can happen?

Water, wind, freezing and gravity.

Does weathering affect different materials differently?

Sometimes weathering happens really fast while at other times it happens very slowly. The amount
of time is mostly due to the properties of the rock that is experiencing weathering. For example, soft
surfaces like soil will weather really fast but hard surfaces like rock take longer.

Page 5
Why does deposition occur after erosion?

Deposition means that small pieces of the Earth are deposited, or end up somewhere else. In order
for something to end us somewhere else it first has to be moved – that’s erosion!

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
WEATHERING & EROSION

1. Which of these might be carried by the wind, which causes the weathering of rocks?

a. fog b. mud c. pollen d. sand

2. What caused the pipe in the team’s demonstration to crack? _________________________________________

3. List three things that may cause the weathering of rocks.

1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________

4. What is the process called when Earth’s surface is broken down into smaller pieces?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is the process called when pieces of Earth’s materials are moved to another location?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Which of these does not cause erosion?

a. liquid water b. ice c. sunlight d. wind

7. True or false: sedimentary rock is formed by deposition. _____________________________________________

8. What is a major land feature formed through weathering and erosion by the Colorado River?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Which two weathering agents form mudslides?

1. _____________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

10. Explain how sunlight can cause a crack in the street.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Structure and Function

STRUCTURE OF LIVING THINGS DEFINITION

A structure is anything made up of parts held together. Plants and animals have many
structures that help them survive. Some structures are internal, like the lungs, brain, or heart.
Other structures are external, like skin, eyes, and claws. Some structures are unique, like the
long neck of a giraffe. Other structures are more common, like a heart.

To better understand the structure and function of living things….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Animal Structure: All animals have structures that help

them survive.
All animals have structures that help
them survive in their environment. Some
structures help animals find food, like
the amazing eyesight of an eagle. Other
animals have camouflage to help them
hide from predators. Some structures
are very unique to certain animals, like
the water monitor lizard’s long, forked
tongue. They use it to smell and find food.

One special structure that insects have

is their hard outer skeleton, called an exoskeleton. Exoskeletons are like wearing armor. It protects
insects from predators and keeps insects from drying out. Exoskeletons can also have special
structures on them, like the horns on some beetles that are used to compete with other beetles for
mates.

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Plant Structure: Plants also have structures that help them
survive.
Plants have different parts, like roots,
stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. These
structures help them survive.

Some plants have really long roots that

help the plant gather water from deep
below the surface of the Earth.

Other plants have flowers that are the

perfect shape for insects to visit and
help with pollination.

Plants that live in really dry areas, like a desert, have special leaves. The spines on a cactus help
protect it from animals that might try to eat the cactus in order to get the water stored inside.

Animal and Plant Structures: Each structure has a specific

function.
Each plant and animal structure has a
special purpose. When you think of
elephants, you probably envision their
long trunks and floppy ears. Both of
those structures have a specific
function that helps elephants survive. An
elephant’s trunk is a special structure
that helps gather food. The big floppy
ears help elephants hear noises that are
far away.

Plant structures also have specific functions. Corn has special roots that help support the plant and
keep it from falling over when fruit is growing on it.

Pine trees have leaves that look like needles instead of big and flat leaves like an oak tree. This helps
them conserve water.

Page 2
 EXAMPLES OF THE STRUCTURES & FUNCTIONS OF LIVING THINGS

Whip spiders capture prey Geckos have the ability to The “sea coconut” is the
with unique legs. The stick to almost any largest and heaviest seed
special claw-like grabbers surface. Scientists were in the world. These extra
are a specialized structure inspired by the gecko to large seeds hold nutrients
used for gathering food. create a super sticky tape for the growing plant, and
that is really strong but they also float so they can
doesn’t leave residue when travel far across the ocean.
it is taken off surfaces.

ANIMAL AND PLANT STRUCTURES VOCABULARY

Structure Anything made up of a number of parts held together in a particular way.

Internal
Structures found on the inside of living things, such as the heart, lungs or brain.
Structures

External
Structures found on the outside of living things like skin, eyes and claws.
Structures

Also called a tailless whip scorpion, they are harmless to humans. They have eight legs

but only six are used for walking. They are found in tropical regions worldwide and like
Whip Spider
to come out at night. They eat mostly insects and have many interesting internal and

external structures discussed in the video.

Page 3
 A type of skeleton found on the outside of a living thing that covers its body for

Exoskeleton protection. Common examples include ants, beetles and crabs. While an exoskeleton

provides protection, it also needs to be shed for an animal to grow larger.

“Endo” means internal or within so an endoskeleton is a skeleton that is on the inside of

Endoskeleton a living thing. Humans and all mammals have endoskeletons. Bugs and beetles for

example have exoskeletons.

ANIMAL AND PLANT STRUCTURES DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What are some of the functions of Bob the Monitor Lizard’s claws?

Bob’s claws are used for digging, climbing and catching prey.

What structure gives the Monitor Lizard an enhanced sense of smell?

Bob the Monitor Lizard has a forked tongue, which enhances his sense of smell and helps him find
prey. This is the same type of tongue a snake has. It is very sensitive to particles of matter in the air.

What are some of the structures and functions of the whip spider?

The whip spider has big arm-like jaws at the front of its body to help it catch prey. It also has a pair
of very long thin legs covered in hairs that it uses to sense things in its environment.

What is an exoskeleton?

Exoskeletons are hard structures found on the outside of the body of some animals. Common
examples include ants, beetles and crabs.

What is the function of the coloring on a butterfly wing?

Some butterfly wings are colored to look exactly like a leaf, which camouflages it and protects it
from predators.

Page 4
What are some functions of different plant seed structures?

Some seeds are large to provide lots of nutrients to the new plant that grows from it. Some seeds
are tiny and light enough to be moved long distances by the wind. Some plants have seeds that
float and can be carried long distances on ocean currents.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
STRUCTURES OF LIVING THINGS

1. True or false: all structures are made by humans. ___________________________________________________

2. Sort these into the correct category: skin, heart, eyes, lungs, brain, claws

Internal Structures External Structures

3. What is the function of the water monitor lizard’s claws?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is a disadvantage of having an exoskeleton?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Fill in the blanks using the words small and large.

Very _______________ seeds might allow them to be carried by the wind easier, while very ______________

seeds provide the plant with additional nutrients to grow.

6. What type of animal has a structure that inspired humans to make glow sticks?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What function might butterfly wings that look like leaves have?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What is the function of the horn structures that some male beetles have on their heads?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Name one structure that the whip spider has and mention its function.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Explain one function of the tiny, needle-like leaves of a pine tree.

________________________________________________________________________________________________
© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.
Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About the Water Cycle

WATER CYCLE DEFINITION

The water cycle is the process of water moving around between the air and land. Or in more
scientific terms: the water cycle is the process of water evaporating and condensing on
planet Earth in a continuous process. This process has been happening continuously for
millions of years and without it, there would be no life on Earth!

To better understand how the water cycle steps work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Water Cycle Step #1: Water evaporates from the Earth’s

surface.
If you spill a glass of water outside you
will notice that a few hours later the
water is gone! That is because water
slowly turns from a liquid into a gas
called water vapor. The process of water
turning from a liquid into a gas is called
evaporation.

Evaporation happens faster on a hot

day. That is because the evaporation of
water outside is powered by the sun!
The hotter it is outside, the faster water will evaporate. Since water in its gas form has no color, we
cannot see it. It just goes into the air.

Page 1
Water Cycle Step #2: Water condenses to form clouds.
Water vapor rises up in the sky due to
the sun’s heat. Once the water vapor
rises high enough it condenses into
water droplets. Condensation is the
process of water turning from a gas into
a liquid.

You have probably experienced

condensation if you have had a cold
glass of water at a restaurant. As the
cold glass sits on the table, water vapor
from the air condenses into water droplets on the glass. The same thing happens as water vapor
rises into the sky – it turns into liquid water.

It’s important to remember that not ALL water condenses to form clouds. Some of it condenses
close to the ground to form dew and some of it rises up only a little bit to form fog, but most of it
rises high in the sky to form clouds.

Fun fact: Clouds are made of tiny water droplets -- billions and billions of them!

Water Cycle Step #3: Water falls back to the Earth as

precipitation.
When water droplets get heavy enough,
they fall back down to Earth as rain! We
call this precipitation because it can
happen in a few different ways: rain
(liquid water), snow (frozen water), and
hail (big pieces of frozen water).

Precipitation brings the water back

down to earth and the cycle repeats...
the sun shines on the water and it starts
evaporating again. This is why we call it
the water cycle.

Page 2
 WATER CYCLE EXAMPLES

Drying clothes outside. The weather this week. If it Snow days. The water cycle
Before people had drying rains or snows this week, is not just about rain –
machines they washed that’s thanks to the water water can fall from the sky
their clothes and then dried cycle. Scientists called in many different forms,
them outside. This is meteorologists study how such as snow and hail.
possible because of water moves around the Sometimes you can thank
evaporation (water turning atmosphere in order to the water cycle when there
from a liquid into a gas). predict the weather. is no school due to a snow
day!

WATER CYCLE VOCABULARY

Evaporation When a liquid turns into a gas.

Condensation When a gas turns into a liquid.

Water Vapor Water in gas form.

The cycle of the water evaporating and condensing on earth. It has been
Water Cycle
happening for millions of years.

Dew Condensation found on the ground, usually on grass.

Page 3
Clouds Tiny droplets of condensed water vapor floating high above the ground.

WATER CYCLE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How do we know there is water vapor in the air?

Some evidence that there is water vapor in the air include clouds, feeling moisture on our skin on a
humid day, and seeing droplets form on the outside surface of cold drinks (condensation).

What causes water to change from a vapor to a liquid, or a liquid to a solid?

Water changes form in response to changing temperatures. When the temperature becomes
colder, water vapor becomes liquid water. When the temperature becomes warmer, liquid water
becomes water vapor.

Does water become cleaner when it evaporates into a water vapor? Why or Why
not?

Yes, generally, water becomes cleaner when it evaporates. Particles in water typically do not
evaporate into vapor when water does, so particles are left behind when water vapor rises.

What happened to the dirt and grass in the DIY Solar Bowl investigation when
the water condensed on the plastic covering? Why?

The dirt and grass were left behind in the bowl because they were too heavy to evaporate

What happens in the distillation process?

In the distillation process, water is heated until it becomes water vapor. The water vapor rises and
enters into a special tube that allows the vapor to cool and become liquid once again.

Page 4
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
WATER CYCLE

1. Water vapor is the way to describe which form of water?

a. liquid b. gas c. solid d. ice

2. As temperature rises, water evaporates faster or slower? ____________________________________________

3. What was initially inside the big black barrel (before Dr. Jeff sealed it)?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What happened inside the barrel after it was placed in ice that made it collapse?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is it called when a gas turns into a liquid? _____________________________________________________

6. What is it called when a liquid turns into a gas? _____________________________________________________

7. True or false: when water droplets form on the outside of a glass of water, that water is seeping through

the glass from the inside. _________________________________________

8. What process formed the clouds inside the bottles? _________________________________________________

9. Explain how it can be that the water we drink today was also around millions of years ago.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What is dew and how does it form?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

11. On the back of this page, draw and label a model of the water cycle.

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About the Properties of Matter

PROPERTIES OF MATTER DEFINITION

Matter is anything that has weight and takes up space. Everything you can see and touch is
made up of matter. Matter exists in three main forms: solids, liquids, and gases. It also has
properties that we can describe through density, solubility, conductivity, magnetism, etc.

To better understand the properties of matter…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

When scientists use the word “matter” they are talking

about solids, liquids, and gases.
Matter can be found on Earth in three
main forms: solids, liquids, and gases.
Solids are materials that have a defined
shape and volume that stays the same.
Rocks are a good example of a solid -
they have a rigid shape that isn’t easily
changed.

Liquids are a type of matter that

changes shape depending on the
shape of its container. For example,
when you pour milk into a cup, it takes up the cup’s inner shape.

Matter that spreads out to take up all the space available in the container is called a gas. Air is a
gas. So is helium, which is put inside birthday party balloons.

Page 1
Matter can be identified through its properties.
One clue to helps us identify matter is
magnetism. Magnetism is the ability of a
material to be attracted by a magnet.
Only certain materials are attracted to
magnets, like iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Another property that can help us

identify matter is solubility. Solubility
describes how well a substance can be
dissolved. Some substances, like salt, are
easily dissolved by water but not easily
dissolved by other liquids, like acetone. Acetone is a chemical found in nail polish remover. Acetone
does a great job dissolving nail polish, but it cannot dissolve salt.

Density is an important property of matter.

An object’s density depends on how
closely the tiny particles are packed
together. Objects with a high density
have particles that are more tightly
packed than objects with a low density.

To better understand density you can

think about the difference between a
golf ball and a ping-pong ball. Even
though they are about the same size,
golf balls are heavier because they have
a higher density.

How something floats or sinks is also related to its density. In the video, one balloon was filled with
helium and the other was filled with sulfur hexafluoride. The helium balloon went up because its
density is less than air. The balloon with sulfur hexafluoride sank because its density is greater than
air.

Page 2
Knowing the properties of matter can help you pick the
right materials for the job.
If you are going on a canoe trip and
want to take along some cold sodas,
taking a Styrofoam cooler would be a
good choice of materials. Styrofoam is
not dissolved by water and is a good
insulator. However, if you wanted to
store some acetone for a science
project, a Styrofoam container would
not be a good choice. Acetone easily
dissolves Styrofoam, meaning it would
melt through.

If you are making a rocket engine, it might seem like a good idea to make it out of aluminum
because it is a light metal, however aluminum would also melt from the rocket's heat. In this case,
you might want to choose ceramic (same thing pottery is made of) because it has better
properties (withstands heat).

Page 3
 PROPERTIES OF MATTER EXAMPLES

Sulfur hexafluoride is Handles on pots do not Sodium metal creates an

denser than air. When a foil conduct heat. Making exciting reaction with
boat was placed in a tank handles out of plastic water. In the video we
of sulfur hexafluoride, the prevents the handle identified which metal was
boat floated. That’s from becoming too hot to sodium by using a magnet.
because the air in the boat touch. Sodium also has some
is less dense than the sulfur interesting chemical
hexafluoride gas in the fish properties — it bursts into
tank. flames when put in water!

PROPERTIES & FORMS OF MATTER VOCABULARY

Matter Anything that has weight and takes up space.

Properties Characteristics or attributes.

A gas that has no color or smell and is less dense than air. It is often used to make
Helium
party balloons float.

A property of matter that measures how close together the particles are inside a
Density
substance. This can determine things like if something will float or sink.

Page 4
 A gas that is six times more dense than air. It is heavy for a gas and a balloon filled
Sulfur Hexafluoride
with it sinks.

Solubility A property of matter that measures how well one thing can dissolve in another.

PROPERTIES & FORMS OF MATTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Which property did Zoe use to figure out which metal was sodium and which
was iron?

Zoe knew that iron is magnetic and sodium is not so she tested each with a magnet.

What property of sodium metal did you observe?

Sodium metal reacts with water causing an explosion.

Which is more dense: sulfur hexafluoride or helium? How do you know (what
evidence did you see)?

Sulfur hexafluoride is more dense than air. When placed inside a balloon, the balloon falls to the
ground. Helium is less dense than air. A helium-filled balloon floats in air. A boat filled with air floats
on top of Sulfur hexafluoride gas.

What properties of propane make it a good choice for grilling?

Although other gases could be burned for cooking in BBQ grills, propane gas is easily compressible
into tanks.

What properties make metal a bad choice of material for the handle of a pot?

Metal conducts heat, which means that it might cause your hand to be burned if used as the handle
of a pot. Plastic is a better choice because it does not conduct heat as well as metal.

What properties make stainless steel a better choice for a knife and fork than
Swiss cheese?

Swiss cheese is too soft to be an effective material for a knife and fork. It squishes rather than cuts.
Stainless steel is hard and strong. It is even better than iron because iron rusts.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
PROPERTIES OF MATTER
1. Why does a balloon filled with AIR weigh more than an empty balloon?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which of these is matter?

a. Energy b. Air c. Peace d. Love

3. Which property did Zoe use to tell Sodium and Iron apart? ___________________________________________

4. Name a substance that is less dense than air. _______________________________________________________

5. What property did the team use to tell the two gases apart?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

6. True or false: the team identified the clear liquids using the property of magnetism.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What is it called when something dissolves into something else?

a. liquidity b. density c. viscosity d. solubility

8. What causes the Styrofoam to disappear into the acetone?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What ingredient gave Charlotte’s slime magnetic properties?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What property makes a metal pot good for cooking?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Why is it important to know the properties of matter?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Earth's Orbit and Rotation

EARTH’S ORBIT AND ROTATION DEFINITION

The Earth moves in two different ways. Earth orbits the sun once a year and rotates on its
axis once a day. The Earth’s orbit makes a circle around the sun. At the same time the Earth
orbits around the sun, it also spins. In science, we call that rotating on its axis. Since the Earth
orbits the sun AND rotates on its axis at the same time we experience seasons, day and
night, and changing shadows throughout the day.

To better understand Earth’s rotation around the sun….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Earth’s rotation on its axis occurs every 24 hours.

Earth is always moving. Each day, the
Earth makes one complete rotation on
its axis. The axis is the imaginary line
through the earth that extends from the
North Pole to the South Pole.

As Earth rotates, it seems like the sun is

moving across the sky, but it’s really the
Earth that is spinning. It takes 24 hours to
complete one rotation, which is why
there are 24 hours in one day.

In other words, if the sun is visible in the morning starting around 6:00 AM, the Earth will spin
completely around by the next morning at 6:00 AM and you will see the sun in about the same
place.

Page 1
The Earth orbits around the sun every 365.25 days.
While the Earth is rotating on its axis, it
also orbits the sun. It takes a little more
than 365 days for the Earth to make a
complete trip around the sun.

Other planets have different orbital

times. It takes only 87 days for Mercury
to orbit the sun, but 12 years for Jupiter
to make the journey.

Scientists used to think that the Earth

was the center of the universe, but phenomena such as stellar parallax have proven that this is not
true because the position of some stars change as we orbit.

Earth's rotation causes observable patterns like night and

day.
The light from the sun shines on half of
the Earth at any given time. That side is
warmer and brighter. The other side of
the Earth faces away from the sun (it's
dark) so it is cooler and darker. Since the
Earth is always spinning, there is a line
between day and night and we pass
through it each day.

Another pattern caused by the Earth’s

rotation is the length of our shadows.
Shadows are longer in the afternoon than at noon. If you study shadows and their appearance
throughout the day, you can use this information to help estimate the time. Sundials are designed
using this idea.

It is important to remember that the sun doesn’t travel across the sky. It looks that way because
the Earth is spinning.

Page 2
Earth’s orbit causes some stars to be visible only in certain
months.
Another pattern we can observe due to
the earth’s orbit around the sun has to
do with constellations. The night sky
looks different throughout the year
because we can only see in one
direction (away from the sun). As the
Earth orbits, our view changes. This is
why we see different constellations at
different times of the year.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF EARTH’S ORBIT AND ROTATION

Scientists use the Leap years have one extra There are 24 time zones on
movement of pendulums day added to February. Earth. The globe is divided
to provide evidence that Since it takes 365.25 days to into time zones to help us
the Earth is rotating. A complete one orbit, we account for the movement
pendulum is a weight account for the extra .25 of the sun’s light across the
hanging from a fixed point days by adding an extra globe. This way 9:00 am is
so that it can swing freely day to our calendar every morning everywhere.
back and forth. When you four years. So most of the Otherwise, 9:00 am would
move the base of the time our calendar has 365 be morning for you but
pendulum, the weight days, but in a leap year it night somewhere else — it
continues to travel in the has 366 days! would get confusing.
same path.

VOCABULARY ON EARTH’S ORBIT AND ROTATION

An orbit is the path an object follows as it moves around another one. Earth moves
Earth’s Orbit
in a circle around the sun once every 365.25 days. We call that path Earth’s orbit.

The action of the earth turning or spinning around its center. If you stand in one

Earth’s Rotation place and turn all the way around, you have rotated. The earth rotates (spins) once

every 24 hours.

Our solar system is made up of the sun, 8 planets and their moons. The planets all
Solar system
orbit around the sun and moons orbit around a planet.

Page 4
 A dark shape made when an object blocks light. When you stand outside, your body
Shadow
blocks sunlight and that makes a shadow.

A tool that provides evidence that the earth is rotating. It is made of a heavy weight

Foucault pendulum hanging from a long wire which swings back and forth. The direction of the swinging

ball appears to change due to Earth’s rotation.

A group of stars that form a recognizable shape such as the big dipper. Today there
Constellations
are about 90 constellations.

EARTH'S ORBIT AND ROTATION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The shadow of a groundhog (or anything else) is determined by what?

The length of a shadow is determined by where the sun appears to be in the sky. If the sun is close to
the horizon, a shadow will be long. If the sun is directly overhead, the shadow will be very short.

What happens when Earth rotates on its axis and how long does it take?

Earth rotates once on its axis once every 24 hours. During that time, all locations on Earth experience
day and night because they will be facing toward the sun for part of the day and away from the sun
for another part (night).

How many times does Earth rotate on its axis in one year?

Earth rotates (spins) 365.25 times in a year. It rotates once every twenty four hours, while also
orbiting the sun once every 365.25 days. These two motions are happening at the same time.

Why do we have a leap year in our calendar every four years?

Since it takes Earth 365.25 days to orbit the sun, but our normal calendar is 365 days, we add an
extra day to our calendar every four years. (4 years x 0.25 day = 1 day added every 4 years.)

Page 5
What evidence do we have that the Earth rotates?

An invention called a Foucault pendulum provides evidence that the Earth is rotating on its axis. The
swinging pendulum would always trace a straight line as it swings back and forth if it were sitting on
an unmoving surface. However, as time goes by the path of the pendulum changes, providing
evidence that the surface it is sitting on (the earth) is rotating.

What is a geocentric view of the universe? What evidence showed us it is not

correct?

A geocentric view of the universe is the idea that everything orbits around the Earth. Since the sun
appears to move across the sky, it is easy to understand why humans believed this for a long time. A
concept called stellar parallax provided evidence that we orbit the sun.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
EARTH’S ORBIT AND ROTATION
1. How long does it take the Earth to rotate on its axis? ________________________________________________

2. Why do we have a leap year every four years?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. True or false: Earth’s orbit around the sun is what causes night and day. _______________________________

4. What causes the length of shadows to change over the course of the day?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. True or false: all constellations are visible from the Earth each night. __________________________________

6. List two observations that would lead you to believe that the Earth rotates on its axis.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What kind of instrument, developed by Leon Foucault, provides physical evidence that Earth is rotating on

its axis? ________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Fill in the blank using the word the same as or different than.

Other planets, such as Mars and Jupiter, have year-lengths that are ___________________________________

the length of a year on Earth.

9. If it is 9 am in San Francisco, is it also 9 am in New York? Why or why not?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. A sundial uses patterns of what to tell time?

a. sunny days b. shadows c. clouds d. stars

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Fossils and Extinction

FOSSIL DEFINITION
Fossils are the remains or traces of plants and animals that live a long time ago. Fossils help
scientists understand what life was like millions of years ago. Some fossils provide evidence
of living things that have gone extinct, which means they no longer found alive anywhere on
earth today.

To learn more about fossils and extinction…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

A fossil is the remains or traces of prehistoric life.

Fossils are the preserved remains of an
animal, such as the animal’s bones, or
impressions of the animal's activities,
such as footprints. Even poop can be
considered a fossil.

It's important to remember that plants

can be fossils too!

Fossils can be found all over the world,

however, there are areas that have a lot
more fossils than other areas.

Page 1
An extinct animal is one that is no longer found on Earth
today.
When an entire type of animal dies out,
they are extinct. Extinct animals are
gone forever.

Fossils help us understand why an

animal went extinct. Some extinctions
were caused by sudden changes in an
organism’s habitat such as floods,
wildfires, or other natural events.
Hunting, habitat loss, and pollution are
common reasons why organisms go
extinct today.

Fossils provide evidence about past life and their

environment.
Scientists can learn a lot about the
history of life from fossils, such as what
types of animals live in a particular
location.

We know that the area that is now Mt.

Everest was once at the bottom of the
sea because scientists found fossils of
ocean animals there.

By looking at the teeth of extinct

animals, scientists are able to determine their diet. When fossils with long pointed teeth are found,
scientists know that the animal was a carnivore (animals that eat meat). If a fossil with flat, smooth
teeth is found, the animal is likely a herbivore (animals that eat plants).

Also, the size and shape of the skull are used to determine the size of an animal. Scientists can even
use dinosaur footprints to determine how fast the dinosaur ran, how many legs it had, and if it
traveled alone or in groups.

Page 2
How did plants and animals become fossils?
Fossils can be made from the actual
remains of an organism (like bones,
teeth, shells or leaves), or they can be
preserved records of a living thing's
activity (like footprints or animal
droppings). Only a small number of
organisms have become fossilized.

When living things die, they typically

don’t leave anything behind. If an animal
was quickly buried after it died, the
bones or shells may have been left behind. Over time, the sediment over the dead organism
hardens into rock. Fossils are revealed when something like erosion brings their remains to the
surface and they are discovered.

Page 3
 FOSSIL EXAMPLES

Many fossils have been Most dinosaur fossils have Paleontologists and
discovered at the La Brea been found in North dentists use the same
Tar Pits in Los Angeles, America, China and types of tools. These small
California. Ancient animals Argentina. So many fossils tools help paleontologist
got stuck and were have been found in the carefully remove debris
preserved as fossils in United States that each around tiny fossils without
asphalt pits, thousands of state has its own breaking them.
years ago. designated fossil.

FOSSILS AND EXTINCTION VOCABULARY

Fossil Remains or traces of plants and animals that lived a long time ago.

Extinct A living thing that is no longer found alive anywhere on earth today.

A huge cat with two long, saber-shaped teeth that it used for hunting. It went extinct
Saber-Toothed Cat
about 11,000 years ago and fossils of it are found in places like the La Brea Tar Pits.

A fossil dig site located in the middle of Los Angeles. They have found over 1 million

fossils there. About 50,000 years ago, many animals were trapped here in a sticky
La Brea Tar Pits
black substance that oozes from cracks in the earth’s surface (asphalt). Animals got

stuck and were preserved as fossils.

Page 4
Paleontologist A scientist that studies fossils.

A type of wolf that lived in North America, but went extinct about 10,000 years ago. Its

Dire Wolf teeth are larger than wolves of today and it ate horses, ground sloths, mastodons,

bison, and camels!

FOSSILS AND EXTINCTION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why are so many fossils found in the La Brea Tar Pits fossil dig site?

Many animals became trapped in a thick, sticky liquid called asphalt that seeped through cracks at
the Earth’s surface. They got stuck and died and their bones were preserved.

What tools are used to remove fossils from the rock?

Dental picks are used to carefully scrape away small amounts of rock from the fossil. Other tools
include brushes to sweep away dirt and a chisel and hammer, which is used to chip away at harder
surfaces.

What happens to the fossils after they are removed from the tar pit?

When fossils are dug out of the ground, they still have rock or asphalt around them. The fossils are
taken to a lab to be further cleaned before they are categorized and studied.

What does a Fossil Preparator do?

Fossil Preparators receive fossils that come from the dig site and clean them! At the La Brea Tar Pits,
asphalt can be dissolved from the fossils using a special liquid. For types of rock other than asphalt,
Fossil Preparators must clean fossils using additional tools.

What are some of the types of animals that are found at the La Brea Tar Pits?

Animal fossils found at the La Brea Tar Pits include horses, saber-toothed cats, short-faced bears,
mammoths, giant sloths and dire wolves. In total they have found over 1 million fossils.

Page 5
Explain how we know that one of the skulls is a carnivore and the other is a
herbivore.

Zoe notices that the teeth from one of the skulls are flat and the teeth from the other one are sharp.
She knows that animals that exist today that have flat teeth (like cows or horses) eat grass and that
animals with sharp teeth, like cats, eat meat.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
FOSSILS AND EXTINCTION
1. What is the definition of a fossil?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you call a scientist that studies fossils?

a. Ecologist b. Paleontologist c. Zoologist d. Fossilologist

3. What can we learn about an animal by studying its teeth?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What might fossilized poop tell us about an animal’s activity?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What are microfossils and what can we learn from them?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. True or false: all fossils come from dinosaurs. ______________________________________________________

7. True or false: all fossils come from animals that are extinct. __________________________________________

8. Fill in the blank with the words on top of or buried under.

Fossils form _______________________________________ Earth’s surface.

9. What does it mean if a plant or animal is extinct?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Which of the following animals lived 40,000 years ago and still lives today?

a. giant sloth b. mountain lion c. mammoth d. saber-toothed cat

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Energy Transfer

DEFINITION OF ENERGY TRANSFER

Energy is the ability to do work, or in more simple terms: energy makes things happen. You
use energy to ride your bike, play video games, bake cookies, and drive to school. Energy is
exciting! Energy can be transferred from one object to another, and energy can be
transferred into different forms, such as light, sound, and heat.

To better under how energy transfer works…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

What is energy?
Energy is the ability to do work. There are
many different kinds of energy, such as
light, sound, and heat.
We need energy for our homes to power
lights, refrigerators, air conditioners, and
computers. We use energy when we
drive cars or pedal a bike. We power our
devices with energy stored in batteries.
Even sleeping requires energy!

Page 1
Energy moves and changes form.
Energy transfer takes place when energy
moves from one place to another.
Energy can move from one object to
another, like when the energy from your
moving foot is transferred to a soccer
ball, or energy can change from one
form to another.

When energy in a battery is used to

power an electronic device, chemical
energy is transformed into electrical
energy, which moves along wires.

Three more ways energy can be transferred are through light, sound, and heat.

Energy can be transferred as light.

Light energy is the only form of energy
we can see. Light from the sun helps
plants grow and makes food for us to
enjoy. The sun’s energy also powers
solar cells, which can be used to create
electricity.
Light bulbs can also transfer energy, just
like in the video when the light bulb’s
energy powered the singing fish. The
light energy moves through space until
it encounters a solar cell. The solar cell converts it to electrical energy, which powers the singing fish.

Page 2
Energy can be transferred as sound.
Have you ever felt sound? Loud concerts
or even marching bands can
sometimes produce enough energy
that you can feel the vibrations in your
body.
Sound energy is transferred when a
sound wave travels from its source, like
a drum, to another object. If the sound is
loud enough, the waves will create very
intense vibrations that you can feel in
your chest.

Energy can be transferred as heat.

When you sit by a campfire, you can feel
the heat warm your body. The heat from
the burning wood is transferred to your
marshmallow, causing it to get soft and
gooey. Perfect for your s’mores!
Heat can move from warm objects to
cool objects, just like in the video when
the heat from the wires made the paper
ignite.

Page 3
 ENERGY TRANSFER EXAMPLES

Humans and other animals The sun is not the only The sun’s energy can be
use sound energy to source of light. Light bulbs transferred to make
communicate. When you and candles also produce s’mores. The DIY activity
speak, you create sound light, and so do some living with Zoe shows you how to
waves that travel through things such as fireflies. Light make your own s’more
the air. When the sound energy powers most things maker without electricity. It
wave reaches the ears of in nature because plants relies on energy transfer
someone nearby, their use light energy to grow, from the sun. Yum.
brain is able to translate the and then most animals get
sound waves into words. their energy from eating
plants.

ENERGY TRANSFER VOCABULARY

Energy It makes things happen! (Or more formally: the ability to do work)

Energy Transfer Energy being moved from place to place.

Generator Changes energy from one form to another.

Batteries Store energy and change it from one form to another.

Solar Cell Converts energy of sunlight into electrical energy.

Page 4
Motion Energy The energy something has due to movement.

ENERGY TRANSFER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

At the beginning of the video, where did Bert’s energy go?

Bert’s energy was transferred to several different devices that run on electricity such as Izzy's
popcorn maker.

How does Dr. Jeff's mom transfer energy to Bert?

Dr. Jeff’s mom uses motion energy to pedal a bike, which spins a wheel that is attached to a
generator. The generator changes the motion energy into electrical energy, which flows through
wires to Bert. Bert then stores energy in his batteries to use later.

Why is the name "generator" a misnomer (a non-appropriate name)?

Generators don’t actually generate energy. Instead, they convert one type of energy to another. In
the video you can see a generator convert motion energy into electrical energy when Dr. Jeff’s mom
pedals the bike.

Can you think of a device that converts electrical energy into heat? How about
into light? Sound?

A toaster is an example of a device that converts electrical energy into heat energy. A lamp
converts electrical energy into light energy and a boom box converts electrical energy into sound
energy.

What are some ways electrical energy can be generated at a power plant?

Power plants might generate electricity by using the power of moving water to spin a generator or
by burning coal to produce steam, which also spins a generator.

Do power plants “produce” electricity? Why or why not?

Power plants do not produce energy, they only convert energy from one form to another. For
example they can convert the energy from burning coal (chemical energy) into electricity
(electrical energy).

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
ENERGY TRANSFER

1. “The ability to make things happen” is the definition of what word?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The bike Dr. Jeff’s mom is riding uses a generator to convert _________________________________________

energy to _____________________________________ energy, which is then used to charge BERT.

3. True or false: a generator PRODUCES energy. ______________________________________________________

4. List two things that might spin a generator to produce electricity.

1. _____________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

5. Where does the energy in your home electrical outlets come from?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. True or false: batteries store energy as chemical energy. _____________________________________________

7. Explain how Dr. Jeff provides energy to make the singing fish work.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What is an example of energy transfer by heat?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Zoe’s s’more maker is an example of transferring energy through:

a. light b. sound c. electricity d. lasers

10. What does a solar cell do?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About the Sun and Stars

STAR DEFINITION
A star is an exploding ball of burning gas held together by gravity. Our sun is a star! It
produces great amounts of energy in the form of light and heat that provide the perfect
conditions for life on Earth.

To better understand how our sun and stars work….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

What is the definition of a star and how does it work?

When you look at the night sky, the dots
of light you see are stars! They are
millions of miles away. Billions of stars
exist in the universe, but many are too
far away from Earth to see, even with a
telescope.

Stars are huge balls of burning gases,

most of which are made of hydrogen. As
the hydrogen gas in a star is squeezed
due to gravity, it produces huge
amounts of energy, which make it glow. The size, temperature, brightness, and color of stars vary.

The color of a star is determined by its temperature. Red stars are cooler in temperature, blue stars
are hottest, and other stars like ours (which is yellow) are an in-between temperature.

Page 1
Stars come in different sizes and distances from Earth.
Stars are really far away from Earth. With
a strong telescope, we can see stars
that are millions of light years away.

A light year is how far light can travel in

one year. Since light travels at 186,000
miles per second, it takes 8 minutes for
light from the sun to reach the Earth.

The next closest star to Earth is Proxima

Centauri, which is a little over 4 light
years away from Earth. That is 250,000 times farther away than the sun.

The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius, located 500,000 times further away than the sun. Sirius is
also 20 times brighter than the sun, which is why it is so easy to see at night.

Our sun is a medium star of average size and brightness.

Our star, the sun, is average in terms of
size and brightness. However, our star is
extraordinarily important! Earth is the
perfect distance from the sun.

The sun provides heat and light to our

planet, supporting life on Earth. Earth is
in the habitable zone of the sun. We are
close enough to the sun to benefit from
the light and heat, but far enough away
to prevent Earth from being too hot and
vaporizing all the water.

The sun is much larger than Earth. By comparison, if the sun were the size of a basketball, the Earth
would be the size of a pencil point.

Page 2
Stars that are farther away appear smaller and dimmer.
Because the sun is so much closer than
other stars, it looks much bigger and
brighter. Objects that are closer to you
seem larger than objects that are
farther away.

If you were to light two candles, hold one

and have a friend hold the other on the
opposite side of a room, the candle you
are holding would appear brighter and
bigger. The same is true of stars.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF THE SUN AND STARS

Solar flares interfere with Stars were used for Orion is on the most
cell phone reception, centuries to navigate the recognized constellation. It
satellites and radio sea. Using measurements was named after a hunter
broadcasts. Solar flares are taken between the stars in Greek mythology. There
bursts of high energy and the horizon, sailors are about 88 official
radiation from the surface were able to calculate constellations and each
of a star that can travel to where in the world they one has a
Earth. were. different meaning based on
your culture.

SUN AND STARS VOCABULARY

Star An exploding ball of burning gas held together by gravity.

Light year How far light can travel in 1 year. Light travels at 186,000 miles each second.

It is a reddish star about 1000 times bigger than the sun and more than 600 light years

Betelgeuse away. It is also the ninth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the

constellation of Orion.

An area around a star that is approximately the right distance to support liquid water on
Habitable Zone
the surface of a planet.

Page 4
Sirius The brightest star in the night sky. It is also 500,000 times further from us than the sun.

A blue-white star in the constellation Orion. It is also one of the brightest stars in the
Rigel
night sky. It's 40,000 times brighter than our sun but it is also 864 light years away.

SUN AND STARS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why should you never look directly at the sun?

Looking directly at the sun can damage your eyes. It is very bright!

What are stars made out of?

Stars are gigantic balls of exploding gas held together by gravity.

What do stars produce?

Stars produce light and heat.

What is a light year and what is it used to measure?

A light year is the distance light travels in a year. Since light can travel at 186,000 miles per second, it
can travel very far in one year. Light years are used to measure very large distances in space, such
as distances between stars.

How long does it take sunlight to travel to the Earth?

Sunlight travels 93 million miles from the sun to the earth in about 8 minutes.

Why did Zoe’s candle appear brighter than Izzy’s candle even though they are
the same size?

Zoe and Izzy’s candles are the same size, but Zoe’s candle is much closer to the camera than Izzy’s
so it appears larger and brighter.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
SUN AND OTHER STARS

1. True or false: the sun is the closest star to Earth. ___________________________________________________

2. What is a star? __________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why does the sun appear so large and bright compared to other stars?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. The distance light travels in a year is called a _______________________________________________________

5. What are two things that stars produce? ___________________________ and ____________________________

6. Why does the star Sirius appear brighter even though it is much smaller the star Rigel?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What makes our sun special?

a. It’s bigger than other stars

b. It’s brighter than other stars

c. It’s the right distance from Earth to support life

d. It’s part of the Orion constellation

8. What can travel 186,000 miles per second? ________________________________________________________

9. What is one way that ancient people used the stars and constellations?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Why might you need a planisphere to help determine which constellations are visible in the sky at a

certain time of year?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Senses

DEFINITION OF SENSES
We use our senses to gather information about the world around us. Senses refer to the
ability to see, taste, touch, smell, and hear. Our sense receptors send signals to the brain. The
brain analyzes the sensory information and tells the body what to do in response. Animals
use sensory information to find food, avoid danger, and find mates.

To better understand how the human brain works to process sensory information….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Information collected through the senses is processed by

the nervous system.
Our eyes, ears, and nose all help us
gather sensory information. Each organ
has special structures that collect the
information and send it to the brain
through the nervous system. The brain is
also part of the nervous system and tells
us how to act and react to sensory
information. The nervous system also
includes the spinal cord and miles of
nerves spread throughout the body. The
nerves are kind of like wires which send electrical signals to and from the brain.

Example: Frogs have an amazing sense of hearing. When a frog’s ears hear another frog making
noise, the ears send the information to the brain. The brain then processes the information and tells
the frog how to respond. That response might be to move away from another frog’s area, or to go
toward the other frog in hopes of finding a mate. Frogs also hear and respond to many other
sounds that help them locate food and avoid predators.

Page 1
Animals use sensory information to help them survive.
When sensory information is gathered
and sent to the brain, the brain tells the
animal how to respond. That response
could be to run from predators or to find
a mate. This information helps the
animal survive.

Example: Chameleons have a unique

sense of sight. They are able to see in
every direction because their eyes
move independently. That means one
eye can look forward while the other eye looks backward. Chameleons are able to use their
amazing eyes to gather important information about their surroundings, such as the location of a
predator.

Animals collect sensory information in different ways.

Most animals are able to collect sensory
information in the same way as we do,
through touch, taste, smell, hearing, and
sight. The way they gather this
information may be very different. Some
animals may have more heightened
senses than we have. For example, dogs
and cats can hear higher pitched
sounds than we can.

Other animals have more developed

senses that allow them to gather information in ways we cannot.

Some bats, whales, and dolphins are able to find prey through echolocation. These animals send
out noises which echo back and allow them to “see” their prey.

Snakes smell with their tongues and then transfer the smell to special organs on the roof of their
mouths.

Sharks are sensitive to electrical fields made by other animals moving in the water. They use this
information to help them find their prey.

Page 2
Animals respond to sensory information in different ways.
Most animals are born knowing how to
use their senses. When fall approaches,
certain types of birds sense the
changing of the season and fly south for
the winter. Other animals choose to
hibernate instead.

Both types of animals are gathering

information about the changing
temperature, amount of daylight, and
the different smells in the environment.
However, each animal’s response to the information is different.

At the beginning of the video, Zoe and Izzy were trying to locate a dog. They choose to use a high-
pitched whistle to call it. Bolt was not born knowing that the whistle means dinner time. He was
trained to learn that when he hears the whistle, he will get food.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF OUR SENSES & HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

This termite is following a Honeybees detect the Tarantulas gather sensory

scent trail. Termites send Earth’s magnetic field. They information through tiny
signals to other termites can use this information for hairs. The hairs allow them
through the sense of smell, navigation. to detect chemicals,
to lead them to food. vibrations, and even wind
direction.

HUMAN SENSES & BRAIN PROCESSING VOCABULARY

Senses Ways that living things can detect what is happening around them.

Made up of our head, spinal cord and a network of nerves. It tells us how to act
The Nervous System
and react to things.

Nerves Send electrical signals to and from the brain.

The specific part of the body that experiences one of the senses, like taste buds
Sense Receptors
on our tongue.

Signal A message to or from the brain.

Page 4
Taste Buds Found on our tongue and help us taste.

HUMAN SENSES & BRAIN PROCESSING DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do all animals have the same kinds of senses? What are some of the senses you
saw in the video?

Animals have many different kinds of senses. Some that are in the video are the tarantula’s sense of
touch, the snake's sense of smell, the frog’s hearing, and the honeybee’s ability to detect earth's
magnetic field.

Describe the pathway in a living thing's body from sensing something to taking
action.

The path starts with one of your senses detecting something. When this happens, a signal is sent
through the nervous system to the brain. The brain processes the information and then decides on
the action to take. It then sends a signal through the nervous system to the body part to take action.
This entire process takes a split second to complete.

Do animals learn to use their senses or are they born knowing how to use them?

Animals learn to use their senses as they grow and develop, but they are also born with instinctual
responses to input from their senses.

What do you think can affect an animal’s reaction time, and why would that
matter to their survival?

An animal’s reaction time can be affected by many factors – if it’s sick, tired, sleepy, hungry, or
scared. It would matter to an animal’s survival because if they are too slow they might be eaten by
a predator, starve or not be able to find a mate.

How did Izzy’s reaction to getting scared in the graveyard help him?

Izzy’s reactions were due to the increased adrenaline in his body, which helped to speed up his
reaction time so he could either run away faster, or fight strongly against whoever was attacking
him. His reaction was a "fight or flight" reaction, which helps him survive threatening situations.

Page 5
Is it possible to improve your reaction times? Why or why not?

Yes, it is possible! Your brain will create nerve pathways specifically for repetitive actions. It's true
that practice can make perfect!

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
BRAIN PROCESSING OF SENSES

1. Which body system includes the brain and spinal cord?

a. Digestive b. Circulatory c. Muscular d. Nervous

2. Fill in the missing word: “Similar to the way wires carry electricity, _________________ carry electrical signals

between our senses and the brain.”

3. True or false: a signal from your senses reaches the brain instantly. ____________________________________

4. Which sense does Woody the termite use to follow Dr. Jeff’s special pen line?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What are two things chameleons use their sense of sight for?

1. ______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

6. What body part does a snake use to smell?

a. skin b. tongue c. tail d. eyes

7. List these events in the order they occur. ___________________________________________________________

a. a rabbit nibbles some food

b. information about the food is sent to the rabbits brain through its nerves

c. the rabbit’s 17,000 taste buds gather information about the food

d. the rabbit decides to eat the whole carrot

e. the rabbit’s brain recognizes the food is a carrot

8. Why do human hearts beat faster when we are afraid?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What is reaction time?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. True or false: sharks have a special sense that allows them to sense electrical signals from their prey.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Adaptations

DEFINITIONS OF PLANT & ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS

An adaptation is a characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive in its environment. An
environment includes everything living and non-living in the area that a plant or animal lives
in. All living things have adaptations, even humans.

To better understand how adaptation work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Animals adapt to their environment.

Adaptation is all about survival. When
the environment changes dramatically,
some animals die, others move to
another location, and some develop
adaptations over generations that help
them survive.

Sometimes the environment changes

dramatically due to a natural disaster
and sometimes it changes slowly over
thousands of years. In each case, over
many generations, animals may develop new adaptations to help them survive in their new home.

Page 1
Animals adapt to protect themselves.
Many different animals have
adaptations that protect them from
predators. Some of these adaptations
are behavioral, allowing them to act a
certain way to avoid being seen by a
predator.

For example, sloths move very slowly

through trees making them hard to spot.
Their long, hairy bodies have algae
growing on them to blend in with the
trees.

Some adaptions allow animals to escape, such as lizards with tails that snap off when a predator
tries to capture it.

Other adaptations make animals difficult to eat, such as an armadillo. This unique animal is
covered by “armored” plates and it can roll into a tight ball when it feels threatened.

Adaptations help animals obtain food.

Hummingbirds have long, skinny beaks
that help them drink nectar deep inside
of flowers. This special adaptation, plus
its ability to hover over flowers, make the
hummingbird very specialized. Since it
can use a food source that most other
birds cannot get to, it does not need to
compete with most other birds for food.

Other birds have interesting beak

adaptations that help them gather food.
Pelicans have large pouch-like beaks to scoop up fish. Hawks have hook-like beaks to rip apart their
prey. In all these cases, the special beaks help the animal survive.

Page 2
Some animals have unique adaptations.
Some animals, such as giraffes, have
more than one unique adaptation. A
giraffe’s long neck allows it to reach
food sources in the Serengeti region of
Africa that other land animals cannot
reach. Giraffes also have very long
tongues, reaching 16-18 inches. They use
their tongues as tools to pull leaves from
branches. Look carefully at the tip of the
giraffe’s tongue. The end is darker than
the back! That protects the tongue from sunburn.

Echidna are found in the deserts of Australia and also have unique adaptations. Their long nose
helps them locate food by sensing the electrical movements created by ants and termites. Then
they use their long tongues to get into ant and termite mounds.

Their large feet are powerful digging tools which they use to bury themselves underground to keep
cool.

Page 3
 PLANT AND ANIMAL ADAPTATION EXAMPLES

A dog’s sense of smell is 1 A cat’s eyes are adapted The strong leg muscles of
million times more for night-time hunting. deer help them run up to 30
sensitive than humans. Cats also have retractable miles per hour. Speed is an
This adaptation allows claws used for climbing, adaptation that animals
them to find their food and hunting, and defending use to escape from
detect territorial markings themselves. predators. It helps them
from other dogs. Some survive.
dogs are trained to use
their powerful sniffers to aid
in search and rescue
operations.

PLANT AND ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS VOCABULARY

Adaptation A characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive in its environment.

The environment includes everything living and nonliving in an area. For example the

Environment environment of a giraffe has grass, tress, water, other animals and non-living things like

rocks and soil.

A mammal that is covered in armor made of bony plates. They are usually the size of a
Armadillo
small dog and some can roll into a ball to protect themselves.

Page 4
 A slow-moving mammal found in tropical forests that hang from trees and eat mostly
Sloth
leaves. Sloths are known for moving extremely slowly.

Predator An animal that eats other animals.

Prey An animal that is eaten by other animals.

PLANT AND ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why is a giraffe’s long tongue an adaptation?

Giraffe’s long tongues help them obtain food in the wild, which are leaves from very tall and thorny
plants. Their long tongues help them bend back the thorns to pull the leaves off without getting
pricked by the thorns.

What evidence supports the argument that giraffe’s tongues are protected
from sunburn?

The tip of giraffe’s long tongue is exposed to the sun for many hours a day as they feed. Having a
dark colored tongue is thought to be an adaptation to keep the tip of the giraffe’s tongue from
getting sunburned.

What is an adaptation besides its tongue that helps a giraffe obtain food?

A giraffe’s long neck is an adaptation that helps the giraffe reach foods that other animals can’t eat,
such as leaves that are very high up in trees.

What adaptations does the armadillo have to defend itself?

The armadillo has tough plates on its back to defend it from predators. The armadillo in the video
also has the ability to roll into a ball to further protect its soft underside.

What types of adaptations do sloths have to help them survive?

Sloths have long arms and claws to help them hang from trees. They also have camouflage, which
means they are similar in color to the trees around them, which makes it difficult for predators to
see them. They also move slowly, which makes them even more difficult to see.

Page 5
What adaptation do echidnas have that helps them find their food?

Echidnas have elongated noses that can sense where food is based on electrical movement of their
prey. This is similar to how a shark can sense fish hiding around them.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
ADAPTATIONS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
1. What do you call a characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What part of a hummingbird is adapted to help it obtain food from inside flowers?

a. beak b. wings c. eyes d. head

3. True or false: all animals have adaptations. _________________________________________________________

4. What three things could happen to an organism if its environment changes?

a. _________________________________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________________________________

c. _________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Which type of bird has a beak adapted to help it scoop up fish?

a. hawk b. pelican c. finch d. hummingbird

6. List two adaptations an armadillo has to protect itself.

a. _________________________________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________________________________
7. How does the coloring of a giraffe’s tongue help it survive?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What adaptations does a sloth have to help protect it from predators?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What is an important adaptation to human hands and what does it allow us to do?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. List two adaptations that can help an echidna find and eat food.

1. __________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Collisions

COLLISION DEFINITION
A collision happens when one object runs into another. When objects collide, the energy
transfers from one object to the other. Energy is the ability to do work (or in more simple
terms: energy makes things happen). The amount of energy transferred during a collision
depends on the weight and speed of the moving object.

To better understand how energy transfer and collisions work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Collisions happen all around us.

Every day, we see and experience
hundreds of collisions. A collision could
be as gentle as a puppy licking your
face, or as dramatic as a wrecking ball
smashing into a building.

Collisions are part of our everyday lives.

People drop things which collide with
the ground. Drumsticks collide with
drums to make sounds.

Sports involve numerous collisions. Think about baseball. The batter tries to collide the bat with the
ball. At the instant of impact, the energy transfers from the swinging bat to the ball, which makes it
fly.

Page 1
Energy transfers when two objects collide.
Do you enjoy going bowling? When you
bowl, you are transferring the energy
from the moving ball to the bowling pins.

Bumper cars are another great

example. In this case, all the cars are
usually in motion. When one bumper car
hits another car, the energy is
transferred and the passengers in the
cars feel a change in their motion. The
cars may stop or change direction due
to the impact of the collision.

The faster an object is moving, the more energy it can

transfer.
The amount of energy transferred
between moving objects depends on
the object’s speed. Objects that are
moving faster have a bigger impact
because they transfer more energy.

In the video, Dr. Jeff’s mom was able to

knock Izzy farther when she ran faster.
That's because she had more energy to
transfer. That energy was transferred to
Izzy when they collided.

This has an important real-world application for car safety. When cars are traveling fast and they
have an accident, the crash is typically much worse than if the car was traveling slowly. Speed limit
signs are posted to keep drivers safe for this reason.

Page 2
The heavier an object, the more energy it can transfer.
Heavier objects carry more energy. This
explains why car accidents involving
trucks are so damaging to cars. During a
collision, the energy carried by the
heavy truck is transferred to the lighter
car.

Have you ever noticed that the biggest

football players have the most stopping
power? If a 300-pound lineman tackles
a 100-pound quarterback, the
quarterback doesn’t have a chance.

Animals sometimes fight over territory. The larger animal is usually more successful in these fights,
because it has more weight and can transfer more energy during a collision.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF COLLISIONS

Engineers build cars with Newton’s cradle uses a Rube Goldberg machines
special crumple zones. The series of swinging balls show energy transfers. This
crumple zone absorbs the that collide. This is a ice dispensing machine
impact. This reduces the common toy seen on from our video transfers
amount of energy people’s desks. As the balls energy through a series of
transferred to passengers continue to collide, energy collisions. It may not be very
during a crash. is transferred from one ball useful, but it sure is fun!
to the next. Over time the
balls stop because some of
the energy in each collision
becomes sound and heat.

COLLISIONS VOCABULARY

Energy It makes things happen! (Or more formally: the ability to do work)

A complex contraption that performs a simple task, such as pouring a glass

Rube Goldberg Machine
of lemonade.

Energy Transfer When one objects runs into another, energy is transferred.

Collision When one object runs into another.

Page 4
Contact When two objects touch each other.

Stationary Object An object that is not moving.

ENERGY TRANSFER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

True or false: Only humans use energy.

False. People use energy to make things happen, such as lifting weight, but it's not just people that
use energy. Water uses energy to turn a water wheel, wind use energy to spin wind turbines and
animals use energy when running or butting heads.

Explain how energy is transferred to make the Rube Goldberg Machine work.

The weight drops the top ramp, which collides with the metal ball. The metal ball rolls down a series
of ramps and collides with a rod that releases the spinning circle. The spinning circle travels down
as it spins, which eventually pulls the large hanging metal ball loose. The ball drops slowly as it
unwinds, turning the windmill. That eventually pulls a pin holding the ice. The ice slides down the
tube and drops into the pitcher. During each collision energy is transferred between objects.

Explain how energy is transferred from a baseball bat to a baseball.

At the moment the bat touches the ball, energy from the moving bat is transferred to the ball,
setting it in motion.

What evidence did you see in the video that suggests energy is transferred by a
moving object?

In the video we observe a baseball flying after the bat hits it, the chain reaction of motion during the
Rube Goldberg machine demonstration and Izzy flying back after Dr. Jeff’s Mom collides with him.

Does Izzy fly back further when Dr. Jeff’s mom runs faster or slower? Why?

When hit with more speed, Izzy flies back farther.

Page 5
Explain how the energy transfers when the drum stick hits the gong.

The energy of motion from the swinging drum stick is transferred to the gong, which then vibrates
producing sound.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
COLLISIONS

1. What makes things happen? _____________________________________________________________________

2. At what point in a collision does energy transfer occur?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. True or false: you can hold energy in your hand. ____________________________________________________

4. When one object runs into another and energy is transferred, we call that a….

a. explosion b. hit c. strike d. collision

5. True or false: when Dr. Jeff’s mom collides with Izzy, they both fly backwards. __________________________

6. How many variables should be changed at a time in a fair test? _______________________________________

7. Fill in the blank using the word(s) increases, decreases or stays the same.

As an object’s speed INCREASES, the energy it has to transfer __________________________.

As an object’s weight INCREASES, the energy it has to transfer __________________________.

8. Where is the crumple zone in a car and what is its purpose?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How do plexiglass barriers keep people safe at a hockey game? Use the word “energy” in your answer.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. In a collision some of the energy is transferred into (select all that apply)

a. sound

b. matter

c. heat

d. electricity

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Magnets and Static Electricity

MAGNETS & STATIC ELECTRICITY DEFINITION

Forces can be applied at a distance through magnetism and static electricity. A magnet is an
object that can attract some metals like iron. Static electricity can also attract objects
without touching them, but it works a bit differently. It can attract and repel due to electrical
charges.

To better understand magnets and static electricity…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

All magnets produce a magnetic field.

All magnets have a north and south
pole. Magnetic poles are the strongest
parts of a magnet.

North and south poles of magnets

attract each other. The two south poles
and the two north poles repel each
other.

A magnetic field is the area around a

magnet that attracts and repels objects.
If you place an object inside the magnet’s field, it will be attracted to the magnet. The simplest way
to see a magnetic field is to sprinkle iron filings around a magnet.

Iron filings are tiny pieces of iron. When sprinkled around a magnet, they reveal the magnetic field.

The Earth also has a magnetic field - it is like a huge magnet. Compasses work because the needle
inside the compass is a magnet. One side of the needle is the north pole and the other side of the
needle is the south pole. The north pole of the needle is attracted to the North Pole and the south
pole of a needle is attracted to the South Pole.

Page 1
The closer magnets are, the stronger the force.
Magnetism works over a distance.
However, the closer the objects are to
each other, the stronger the magnetic
force. If you try to pull magnets apart it is
very hard because the magnets are so
close to each other. Once you get them
a little bit apart it is much easier.

Electromagnets can be turned on or off with electricity.

An electromagnet is a magnet that uses
electricity. The strength of an
electromagnet can be changed by
changing the amount of electricity that
it is connected to.

By taking away the electricity running

through the electromagnet, it can be
turned off. In the video, Dr. Jeff used an
electromagnet to pick up paper clips.
When he pulled the wires off the battery,
the paper clips fell off.

Electromagnets are used to power doorbells, construction cranes, and speakers.

Magnets called permanent magnets cannot be turned off. These magnets do not need electricity
to work.

Page 2
Static electricity can push or pull things without touching
them.
Static electricity is the buildup of the
electrical charge in an object when it is
rubbed against another object.

Static electricity causes objects to stick

together when they have opposite
charges and repel when they have the
same charge.

Common examples of this include

rubbing a party balloon on your head.
Electrical charge is transferred between the balloon and your hair. They develop OPPOSITE charges
which make the balloon be attracted to your hair.

Also, if you shuffle your feet across the carpet and then touch a doorknob, that is static
electricity too. The charges were built up when your feet were rubbing on the carpet, and then the
charge was transferred to the metal doorknob.

Page 3
 MAGNETS & STATIC ELECTRICITY EXAMPLES

Electromagnets are used in Ferrofluid is a magnetic Neodymium magnets are a

MRI machines. liquid. Ferrofluid is a made type of very strong
Electromagnets are of ultra tiny pieces of iron permanent magnet. This
commonly used in motors, suspended in oil. It makes magnet is so strong it can
speakers, and doorbells. cool shapes when a smash fruit. You must be
magnet comes close to it. very safe when handling
large neodymium magnets.

MAGNETS & STATIC ELECTRICITY VOCABULARY

Electromagnet A type of magnet that can be turned on and off using electricity.

When magnets with different charges come together we say they "attract" or
Attract
come together.

When magnets with the same charges come together we say they "repel" or
Repel
push each other apart.

Magnet An object that produces a magnetic field.

Magnetic Field The invisible space where a magnet can exert its force on another object.

Page 4
 A black liquid made up of ultra tiny pieces of iron mixed in oil. It changes shape
Ferrofluid
in the presence of a magnetic field.

MAGNETS & STATIC ELECTRICITY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

If magnetic fields are invisible, how do we know they are there?

We know they are there because magnets push and pull magnetic materials. We can also visualize
magnetic fields using certain materials such iron filings or ferrofluid seen in the video.

Is an aluminum can magnetic or non-magnetic? Why or why not?

An aluminum can is not attracted to a magnet. We see this during the “magno-board” investigation.
Only certain kinds of metal like iron, nickel and cobalt are attracted to a magnet.

Why do the neodymium magnets come together and pulverize the fruit?

The neodymium magnets are set up with opposite poles facing each other so that they are
attracted to each other. These types of magnets are VERY strong and when they are pulled together
with a lot of force, fruit can be smashed!

How are magnetic force and distance from an object related?

The closer a magnet is to an object, the stronger the force.

How can a nail become an electromagnet and magnetically attract paper clips?

An iron nail wrapped in wire is not magnetic, but when electricity from a battery flows round and
round through the coil of wire it creates a magnetic field. When the electricity stops flowing the
magnetic field disappears and the nail is no longer magnetized.

Do the balloon and plastic bag used in the levitation device have the same or
opposite charges?

The balloon and plastic bag have the same charges. Evidence: they repel each other.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
MAGNETS & STATIC ELECTRICITY

1. What are the invisible lines revealed by the iron fillings surrounding a magnet called?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. True or false: all metals are attracted to magnets. ___________________________________________________

3. Which of these materials is magnetic?

a. banana b. iron c. plastic d. aluminum

4. What type of metal is NOT attracted to magnets? ___________________________________________________

5. If OPPOSITE poles (N and S) of a magnet are placed near each other, what happens?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why can neodymium magnets be dangerous?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Which of these items did Dr. Jeff not use when building an electromagnet?

a. magnet b. wire c. nail d. battery

8. True or false: magnets need to touch something to apply a force.______________________________________

9. What keeps the plastic floating above Zoe’s balloon? ________________________________________________

10. Fill in the blank using the word same or opposite.

a. Zoe’s hair flies apart because each hair has the _________________________ charge.

b. Balloons stick to Izzy because Izzy and the balloons have the ________________________ charge.

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Food Webs

FOOD WEB DEFINITION

To understand how plants and animals interact, scientists make diagrams called food
chains. A food chain shows a sequence of living things in which one organism eats the one
below it. Most animals eat more than one thing, so to show ALL the feeding relationships, we
use food webs which are made of many intersecting food chains.

To better understand the food web definition….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Energy in food can be traced back to the sun.

Living things need a constant supply of
energy. The sun provides that energy,
which is transformed into food by plants
through photosynthesis.

Herbivores (plant-eating animals) eat

the plants and receive energy. When the
herbivore is eaten by a carnivore
(an animal that eats herbivores), the
energy from the herbivore is transferred
to the carnivore. The transfer of energy
from one organism to another makes up a food chain.

Page 1
Animals eat to get energy and building blocks.
All living things need food to provide
materials for growth. Food chains start
with organisms that make their own
food, called producers. Plants are the
most common producers. Animals are
called consumers because they do not
make their own food -- they eat, or
consume, other organisms.

A food chain typically only has a few

steps (usually 4 at the most). This is
because each time one organism eats another, some of that energy is used up and released as
heat.

In fact, you are releasing heat energy right now as you read this because your body is burning food
to keep warm! Since some energy gets used up in each step of the food chain, there can only be a
few steps, otherwise there is not enough energy left for the organism at the top.

A food web is a model of intersecting food chains.

Most organisms can eat, and be eaten,
by many different animals. A food chain
wouldn't be able to show this. Food webs
show all these connections. They are
more complicated but more accurate.

In the African savannah food web

shown here, we can see multiple arrows
pointing to different animals. The arrows
show the direction the energy is
transferred. For example, we can see
that zebras eat trees and grasses, so arrows from trees and grasses are pointing to a zebra.

The arrows pointing from the zebra to cheetahs, hyenas, and lions tell us that the zebra is eaten by
these animals.

The lions are at the top of the food web, which means they are not eaten by any other type of
animal (except by decomposers when it dies). We call this an apex predator.

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Decomposers break down dead organisms.
One group of consumers that are often
not shown in food webs are
decomposers. Decomposers are
organisms (mostly bacteria and fungi)
that break down dead plants and
animals, eventually turning them into
nutrients that will be added to the soil.

These nutrients are very important to

continue the cycle in the ecosystem.
Slugs, earthworms, millipedes, and
centipedes also help break down dead things. Without decomposers, nutrients would not get
recycled and we would have dead material piled up everywhere.

Page 3
 FOOD WEB EXAMPLES

The great horned owl is an Overhunting can make an Common soil creatures,
apex predator. They eat ecosystem out of balance. such as earthworms, are
mice, rats, frogs, snakes, If wolf populations are decomposers. They recycle
and rabbits. That keeps the reduced, the population of nutrients in the ecosystem
prey populations from deer would increase through decomposition.
getting too high and dramatically. This causes
overgrazing the ecosystem. areas to be overgrazed,
meaning there is not
enough grass for other
animals. Everything needs
to be in balance.

FOOD CHAIN AND FOOD WEB VOCABULARY

Food Chain A sequence of living things in which each one feeds on the living thing below it.

Food Web A food web is a model made of intersecting food chains.

A process by which plants use sunlight to make sugar from carbon dioxide and
Photosynthesis
water.

A living thing (almost always a plant) that takes energy from the sun and make its
Producer
own food. They are found in the first level of a food web.

Page 4
 An animal found at the top of a food web and is not eaten by any other animals.
Apex Predator
Examples include sharks, owls and lions.

Living things that break down dead and decaying organisms. The most common
Decomposer
decomposers are bacteria and fungi.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS

Why do animals eat other animals?

Animals eat other animals to obtain energy and building blocks (nutrients) in order to grow and
repair.

What are producers and consumers and how do they get their names?

Plants are producers because they produce their own food through photosynthesis. Animals are
consumers because they consume plants or other animals.

What role in the food web does the eagle play?

An eagle is an apex predator, meaning it is at the top of the food web. Nothing else will attack and
eat an eagle. Eagles will eat things like birds, snakes, mice and other animals.

What is an apex predator and why are they critical for the health of the
ecosystem?

An apex predator is an animal that feeds on other animals but is at the top of the food web,
meaning that it has no predators. Apex predators help control the balance of an ecosystem by
keeping the populations of other animals in check.

What do zebras eat and what eats zebras?

Zebras eat grass and they are eaten by predators like hyenas and lions.

Page 5
What is the role of worms, bacteria and fungi in a food web?

These living things are decomposers. They recycle matter, by breaking down dead and decaying
matter. They turn it into nutrients in the soil, which plants use. If ecosystems didn’t have
decomposers, dead plants and animals would just pile up.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
FOOD WEBS

1. Food of almost any kind can be traced back to what? _______________________________________________

2. True or false: animals eat other animals to get energy and building blocks to help them grow and repair.

____________________

3. Which is an example of a producer?

a. Lettuce b. Mouse c. Human d. Fish

4. What is an animal that eats producers called? _________________________________

5. Fill in the blanks below using the following words to model the flow of energy from the sun to a human:

cow, grass, human, sun.

Grass uses energy from the __________________ to grow. A _________________ then eats the grass. When a

____________________ eats a hamburger, energy is again passed up the food chain.

6. Draw a 3-step food chain from left to right starting with the sun:

7. What is a food web? _____________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. True or false: a zebra is an example of an apex predator. ____________________________

9. What role do apex predators play in ecosystems? ___________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What do decomposers do? _____________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About the Conservation of Matter

THE CONSERVATION OF MATTER DEFINITION

The Law of Conservation of Matter says that the amount of matter stays the same, even when
matter changes form. Sometimes it may seem that matter disappears during a science
experiment, but this law tells us that matter cannot magically appear or disappear, it simply
changes from one form to another. Another way to explain the law of conservation of
matter is to say that things cannot be magically created or destroyed.

To better understand how the law of conservation of matter works….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Matter never vanishes.

Matter is anything that has weight and
takes up space. Anything you can see
and touch is matter. Remember, matter
has three main forms: solid, liquid, and
gas.

Matter can change from one form to

another. For example, water can be
boiled, which turns it into a gas. It might
seem like the boiling water vanished, but
it just changed into a form we cannot
see, called water vapor.

Page 1
When a substance dissolves, it simply changes form.
Some matter, like sugar, can also be
dissolved into a liquid. This is another
way matter can change form. In our full
properties of matter episode, we show
that when sugar is dissolved in water, it
seems to disappear. It didn’t.

The sugar simply dissolved into the

water and you could no longer see it.
Later, when the water was evaporated
through boiling, the sugar crystals
reappeared. They were there the whole time.

When a new substance is made, it is created from existing

matter.
Some science experiments make it
seem like new things are magically
created. Like when Dr. Jeff made a fire
snake in the video, it seemed like the
snake magically appeared.

To prove that nothing magical took

place, the materials were weighed
before and after the experiment. The
weight after the experiment was almost
exactly the same as the weight before
the experiment. That’s because the amount of matter was conserved.

Page 2
The amount of matter is conserved when a substance
changes form.
When matter changes drastically it is
not actually destroyed. This can be
tested by weighing all the materials
involved in an experiment before
starting it, and again after the
experiment. Comparing the weights
proves that there is still the same
amount of matter. It simply changes
form.

For example: dry ice is made of solid

carbon dioxide. If you watch dry ice, it might seem like it is disappearing. By putting it in a flask and
sealing it off with a balloon, you can capture the gas and show that the weight of all the materials
together does not change.

Page 3
 CONSERVATION OF MATTER EXAMPLES

When something burns up, When you bake, food Candles change form
the matter does not vanish. seems to magically get when they are burned.
The materials simply turn larger. Expanding air It looks like the candle wax
into gases you cannot see. bubbles caused the baked is disappearing, but it is not.
treats to expand, but more Burning a candle turns the
matter was not formed. wax into carbon dioxide
and water.

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MATTER VOCABULARY

Matter Anything that has weight and takes up space.

Tells us that the amount of matter stays the same even when a
Law of Conservation of Matter
substance changes form.

To mix in with another substance. For example: when salt is added to

Dissolve
water, it forms saltwater.

A scientific unit of measuring how heavy something is. A US dollar bill

Gram
weights about 1 gram.

Page 4
 A solid form of carbon dioxide that is very cold and turns directly from
Dry Ice
a solid into a gas.

Conserve Saved, kept the same.

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MATTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

When the team mix 25 grams of sugar into 150 grams of water, the sugar seems
to disappear! Where does it go?

The sugar dissolves into the water. It is still there, it simply changes into a form we can't see.

What evidence tells us that the sugar is still there, even though we can’t see it?

The sugar water weights 175 grams which is the same as all the sugar (25g) plus all the water (150g).
This is evidence that the sugar is still there even though we can’t see it.

When Dr. Jeff boils the sugar water, what happens?

As the water is heated it changes forms from liquid to gas. The sugar is left behind as a solid,
providing us with evidence that it was in there the whole time.

During the fire snake investigation, what caused the snake to be so much larger
than the ingredients it came from (sugar and baking soda)?

When the sugar and baking soda were heated, a chemical reaction caused the ingredients to
release gases that formed bubbles. Those bubbles expanded and made the snake look much larger
than the original amount of ingredients.

Why did the fire snake weigh a little bit less than the ingredients it came from?

When Zoe weighs the ingredients (sugar and baking soda), it weighs 25 grams in total. When she
weighs the “snake” it weighs 23 grams. This is because some carbon dioxide gas produced during
the chemical reaction escapes into the air.

Page 5
When dry ice appears to be smoking, what is actually happening?

The “smoke” coming from dry ice is actually carbon dioxide gas, which is turning from a solid into a
gas. (Dry ice, or solid carbon dioxide, changes directly from a solid to a gas without becoming a
liquid first.)

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
CONSERVATION OF MATTER

1. According to the Law of the Conservation of Matter, if you dissolve 25 grams of sugar into 150 grams of

water, the mixture should weigh how much? ________________________________________________________

2. Why was the weight of the fire snake slightly less after it was lit on fire?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. True or false: matter must have weight, but doesn’t have to take up space. ____________________________

4. Why does the weight of the dry ice go down while it’s sitting on the scale?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What evidence did the team examine that matter is conserved when dry ice changes into a gas?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Where does the wax go as the candle burns?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. If you could see the weight on the scale before and after Izzy burns the candle do you think it would

increase, decrease, or stay the same?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. True or false: cinnamon rolls grow bigger when baked because they absorb water from the hot air in the

oven. __________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Was Zoe’s flash paper trick magic? Why or why not?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. If you were to weigh a car’s sealed air bag before and after it inflates the weight would …

a. increase b. decrease c. go to zero d. stay the same

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Ecosystems

DEFINITION OF ECOSYSTEMS
An ecosystem is a community of interacting organisms and their environment. Living things
interact with each other and also with non-living things like soil, water and air. Ecosystems
often contain many living things and can be as small as your backyard or as large as the
ocean.

To learn how the different types of ecosystems work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

An ecosystem is a community of interacting organisms

and their environment.
Many people only think of animals when
they learn of ecosystems, but in reality,
an ecosystem has animals, plants, and
NON-living things too. Animals need to
hide inside rocks and dead trees. Water
is needed to drink and some animals
live in the water. Air is a non-living part
of an eocsystem as well -- all animals
need air.

Some ecosystems provide special

services for the entire world. For example, even though rainforests only cover 6% of Earth, they
produce about 40% of the oxygen in the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Other ecosystems
produce food, medicine, and helpful materials like rubber and lumber.

Page 1
Organisms only survive in an ecosystem when their
specific needs are met.
All organisms have needs, such as food,
water, and air. If the needs of the
organisms in the ecosystem are not
met, they cannot survive.

Animals usually need food, water, and

shelter. For example: if deer need to eat
grass and the place they live in (their
ecosystem) no longer has grass, they
have to move somewhere else or risk
not surviving.

A healthy ecosystem has many different kinds of

organisms.
When you think of an ecosystem, such
as a forest, there are many organisms
that are important. Trees, deer, plants,
birds, squirrels, and insects are
prominent members of the ecosystem.
There are many more organisms that
live in an ecosystem that are not as
noticeable.

We often forget about all the bacteria,

fungus, and tiny insects that are equally
important. Ecosystems depend on many organisms to keep them in balance.

When that balance is disrupted organisms cannot thrive, and some may even die. Possible
disruptions caused by humans include pollution, deforestation, land development, or removing too
many resources like water. Making wise choices to protect ecosystems will help all the living things
continue to live and thrive. It's important to remember that not all disruptions are caused by
humans, some happen naturally.

Page 2
Newly introduced organisms can throw off the balance of
an ecosystem.
Another way humans impact
ecosystems is by introducing invasive
species. Invasive species are living
things not naturally found in that
ecosystem.

They upset the natural balance. Wild

pigs were introduced to the United
States centuries ago. Each year they
cause billions of dollars of damage to
crops. Wild pigs eat turkey eggs and
other animals. Since they are no longer in their native environment, wild pigs do not have any
natural predators, so their population is difficult to control.

In nature, an ecosystem is balanced with predator-prey relationships that keep populations from
getting too high.

When invasive species are introduced three possible things can happen to existing animals. (1) The
animals can adapt and stay in that ecosystem. (2) The existing animals die or (3) the animals can
move somewhere else to find a new home.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT TYPE OF ECOSYSTEMS

A small puddle can be its Using too much fertilizer Ecospheres are
own ecosystem. All the can damage ecosystems. ecosystems you can have
organisms needed to have In some cases, pesticides on your desk. These mini
a well-balanced ecosystem kill a lot more bugs than ecosystems are completely
can exist on a small scale. they are intended to. This balanced and only require
means less bugs to eat for a source of sunlight. They
some animals. It causes a contain algae and shrimp
disruption in the balance of which make food for each
the whole ecosystem. other.

ECOSYSTEMS VOCABULARY

A community of interacting organisms and their environment. Living things interact with
Ecosystem
each other, and also with non-living things like soil, water and air.

Botanist A scientist that studies plants.

Nectar A sweet, sugary liquid made inside flowers. Insects and hummingbirds feed on.

An area densely packed with lots of different kinds of plants, tall trees and animals.

Rainforests get a lot of rain (about 100 inches of rain per year). All that rain allows lots of

Rainforest different plants to grow and lots of animals live near those plants. Rainforests also produce

a lot of oxygen that humans breathe and scientists estimate that there are millions of

different kinds of living things still undiscovered in rainforests.

Page 4
Invasive Living things not naturally found in that ecosystem. They usually cause damage or throw off

species the balance of the natural ecosystem.

Living Things Anything living such as an animal, plant, insect, bacteria, etc.

ECOSYSTEMS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How big is an ecosystem?

Ecosystems range from the size of your backyard to an entire ocean.

How do the components of Dr. Jeff’s ecosphere interact to help each other
survive?

In the enclosed ecosphere, the algae uses sunlight to grow. The algae is then eaten by the shrimp.
The shrimp’s poop provides food for bacteria which convert the poop to nutrients that help the
algae to grow. It’s a cycle!

Why would the shrimp in the ecosphere die if there was no sunlight?

The shrimp in the ecosphere depend on the algae for food. If there was no sunlight, the algae would
die, which leaves no food for the shrimp.

What are some of the components of a rainforest ecosystem and how do they
interact?

Rainforest ecosystems contain lots of plants. Plants provide food and homes for animals like birds
and butterflies. Birds build nests in plants. Bugs eat leaves of plants and birds drink nectar from
flowers. Some plants also make fruit which animals eat.

Why are rainforest ecosystems important?

Rainforests cover only about 6 percent of the planet but are responsible for producing about 40% of
the oxygen we breathe!

Page 5
What are some parts of a freshwater ecosystem?

There are many examples. Some of the examples in the video include fish, crabs, shrimp, turtles,
algae, plants, dead wood and rocks. All these are part of a freshwater ecosystem.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
ECOSYSTEMS
1. What is a community of interacting organisms and their environment called?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. True or false: only living things interact in an ecosystem. _____________________________________________

3. What might an organism do if there is a change to its ecosystem?

a. Move b. Die c. Survive d. All of these

4. Why is the rainforest important?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is a living thing that is not normally found in the ecosystem called?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What makes a healthy ecosystem? ________________________________________________________________

7. True or false: the only thing plants do in an ecosystem is provide food. ________________________________

8. Which ecosystems did the team NOT explore?

a. rain forest b. freshwater c. saltwater d. desert

9. Explain how living and non-living things might interact in a saltwater ecosystem.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What size can an ecosystem be? Give some examples.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________
© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.
Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Patterns of Motion and Friction

PATTERN OF MOTION DEFINITION

Motion is the process of an object moving or being moved. Motion that repeats is said to
occur in a pattern. We can observe patterns of motion to make predictions about how
things will move in the future. The force that slows down moving objects is called friction.

To better understand patterns of motion and friction…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Force and Motion: A pattern of motion is the repeated

processes of an object moving.
Motion can be straight (like an arrow
being shot at a target), circular (like a
merry-go-round), up and down (like a
pogo stick), zig-zag (like skiing), side-to-
side (like dancing).

Some motion is a combination, like a

swing. When you are swinging you are
moving up and down, as well as forward
and back. When the same motion
repeats over and over, it creates a
pattern.

A pendulum is a weight on a string that hangs from a single point. Pendulums swing to create a
pattern of motion. The length of the string affects the pattern it creates. For example, short strings
swing fast. Pendulums will continue to swing in the same pattern until a force, such as friction, stops
them.

Page 1
Predicting Motion: Patterns of motion can be used to make
predictions.
If we know the pattern that a moving
object is following, we can make
predictions about where it will be in the
future. For example, when you jump rope
you are using the pattern to
predict when to jump.

You can use information from patterns

to make lots of predictions, like how
many swings you can do at recess or
when to swing your baseball bat to hit a
ball.

Types of Friction: When one surface rubs against another

we get friction.
When you rub your hands together on a
cold day to warm them up, you are
using friction.

Friction slows things down and creates

heat. All types of matter can cause
friction, even air! Air resistance is a form
of friction that slows down cars, trains,
and airplanes. Scientists design their
shape to reduce friction from the air.
This is called streamlining.

Page 2
Effects: Friction slow things down.
Some surfaces cause more friction than
others, like rough surfaces. The treads on
the bottom of your sneakers keep you
from slipping. In this case, friction is
beneficial.

Sometimes you want less friction. Air

resistance is a form of friction that slows
down all moving objects. Cars, trains,
and airplanes are designed to reduce
air resistance. This is called streamlining.

Another way to reduce friction is to change the types of materials that contact each other. If you
have a squeaky door hinge, the noise is created when parts of door rub against each other. Adding
a lubricant, such as oil or grease, will make the squeak go away.

Page 3
 MOTION & FRICTION EXAMPLES

Air hockey tables have Bowling lanes are coated Car tires are made out of
very little friction. Air is with an oil to reduce rubber with patterned
pumped through tiny holes, friction. This allows the ball treads. This helps the car
preventing the puck from to slide more smoothly. grip the road better so it
touching the table. Game does not slide when turning.
on!

MOTION & FRICTION VOCABULARY

A weight on a string that hangs from a single point. It swings and creates a
Pendulum
pattern of motion!

Motion The process of an object moving or being moved.

Pattern A series of repeating events.

Pattern of Motion When a moving object makes the same pattern again and again.

Outcome The results of tests after we make predictions.

Friction The force resisting motion. It slows things down.

Page 4
 MOTION & FRICTION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Explain how the motion of a jump rope creates a predictable pattern.

When Izzy jumps rope, he knows when to jump because the rope moves up, over, down and around
him in a repeating pattern.

If a ball is thrown straight up into the air, what do you predict its pattern of
motion to be? Why?

We can predict that a ball thrown straight up will fall straight down again because we have likely
done it before and noticed a pattern that happens every time.

Explain the relationship between string length and motion for pendulums.

The longer the string length, the slower a pendulum swings. The shorter the string length, the faster a
pendulum swings.

If the length of the strings for all the pendulums in Zoe and Izzy’s model were the
same, would they still create the same kinds of patterns we see?

No. The difference we see in Izzy's and Zoe's pendulums is because the strings are different lengths. If
the length of the pendulum strings were the same, it is predicted that they would all swing with the
same pattern of motion.

What is friction?

Friction is the force that resists motion.

How does rubbing two sticks together cause a fire to start?

The force of friction between the sticks creates heat. When the flammable wood gets hot enough, a
fire can start.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
PATTERNS OF MOTION & FRICTION
1. What is a pendulum?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is resistance to motion called? _______________________________________________________________

3. Why can rubbing two sticks together quickly start a fire? _____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How is friction reduced between an air hockey puck and the table?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Which of these increases the friction of someone walking on the floor?

a. sand paper b. grease c. oil d. banana peel

6. True or false: the tread on car tires is just for decoration. _____________________________________________

7. List two things affected by friction.

1. _____________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________

8. In the big pendulum Izzy and Zoe made, how does each component swing?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How are the interesting patterns created by the swinging blocks?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What causes a swinging pendulum to slow down over time? ________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Renewable Energy

DEFINITIONS OF RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE ENERGY

Nonrenewable energy sources, like coal, oil, and natural gas, cannot be easily replenished. A
renewable energy source can be more easily replenished. Common examples of renewable
energy include wind, sunlight, moving water, and Earth’s heat.

To better understand renewable vs. nonrenewable energy….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Page 1
Fossil fuels are sources of energy made from prehistoric
plants and animals.
Our main sources of energy today are
fossil fuels. They formed millions of years
ago from dead plants and animals. Their
remains became covered in mud and
rock deep in the earth. The pressure
from the ground above, combined with
the Earth’s heat, converted this matter
into substances that can be pumped
out of the Earth by humans to be used
as energy today.

There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas.

Coal is a solid material that is burned to create heat in homes, or used in power plants to produce
electricity.

Oil is a liquid fossil fuel, used to produce gasoline.

Natural gas can be used for cooking, heating, or generating electricity.

Fossils fuels are our primary source of fuel because they are relatively inexpensive, and historically
they have been readily available. It is possible that we could run out of fossil fuels in the future so it
is a good idea to think about alternatives.

Page 2
Nonrenewable energy comes from sources that could
eventually run out.
All fossil fuels are nonrenewable
resources. It took millions of years to
form fossil fuels and we are currently
using it up faster than it is being made.

Another challenge to using

nonrenewable energy sources is that
they can cause pollution. Burning fossil
fuels releases chemicals into the air and
water. Reducing our dependence on
fossil fuels is important, so governments
are working hard to encourage scientists and industries to find new sources of energy and to
improve alternatives.

Renewable energy comes from sources that can be more

easily replenished.
Renewable energy comes from natural
resources that can be more easily
replenished. Sunlight, which we will
never run out of, is also a renewable
source of energy.

Other sources of renewable energy

include wind, water, sunlight, and
geothermal energy. These sources
cause little to no pollution and will last
thousands, or maybe even millions, of
years.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF RENEWABLE VS. NONRENEWABLE ENERGY

Electric cars store energy Algae can be used to make Ethanol is another type of
in batteries. Electricity can biodiesel. This aquatic renewable fuel. Ethanol is a
be stored in batteries and organism is similar to plants type of alcohol made from
then used to turn the and grows quickly, corn. It is very
wheels of an electric car. If producing high-energy oils flammable and can be
the electricity is made from that can be burned as fuel. used as a fuel in an engine.
wind turbines, it is green, if it It’s renewable because it Since corn and be grown
is made at a coal power can be grown again and and converted into ethanol
plant, then it is not. again. relatively quickly (months),
it is a renewable fuel.

RENEWABLE VS. NONRENEWABLE ENERGY VOCABULARY

The main source of energy today (gasoline, coal and natural gas). It was formed

Fossil Fuel millions of years ago out of plants and animals and is usually extracted from deep

underground.

Sources of energy that can be more easily replenished. Things like wind, sunlight,
Renewable Energy
waves, and earth's heat (geothermal energy).

Non-Renewable
Sources of energy that can't be easily replenished like coal, oil and natural gas.
Energy

Energy It makes things happen! (Or more formally: the ability to do work)

Page 4
Generator Changes energy from one form to another.

A machine that converts chemical energy from burning fuel to motion. Used to
Engine
make trains, cars and buses go.

RENEWABLE VS. NONRENEWABLE ENERGY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do different types of fuels create different types of energy?

All types of fuels can be burned for energy. Burning coal, oil and natural gas produces heat, which is
then converted to other energy forms, like electricity.

Are energy sources unlimited?

Some energy sources are more limited than others. Coal, oil and natural gas are used a lot right now
but they could run out in only a few generations. Renewable sources like wind, sunlight, biomass,
geothermal, and water power can be easily renewed and are almost unlimited!

Why are renewable energy sources important for Earth’s future?

If we are still dependent on non-renewable energy sources when they run out, we will not have
enough energy to meet our needs.

What are some impacts of our energy use?

Impacts of our energy use include pollution, damage to the environment, reduced air quality and
climate change.

Do renewable energy sources have little or no impact, compared to non-

renewable sources?

Some renewable energy sources can have environmental impacts as well, but the benefits of
renewable energy sources is that they are much more easily replenished.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
RENEWABLE VS. NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES

1. Name a type of fuel that is a solid? ________________________________________________________________

2. List three types of fossil fuels.

1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________

3. Why are fossil fuels nonrenewable?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. List three types of renewable energy sources.

1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________

5. What does ethanol come from and why is it renewable?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. True or false: energy from moving water can be converted into electricity. ______________________________

7. Explain how an electric car might still run on fossil fuels.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. List two reasons why algae is good for making renewable fuel.

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________________________

9. True or false: a car engine must have fossil fuels to work. ____________________________________________

10. Which extremely flammable gas is most commonly burned for fuel in a home?

a. oxygen b. ethanol c. natural gas d. hydrogen

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Human Body Systems

DEFINITION OF HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS

A body system is a group of organs that work together to perform a specific function. The
human body has 11 body systems. The systems studied in elementary school are usually the
circulatory system, respiratory system, muscular system, digestive system, and nervous
system. The other systems are just as important but more complex, so they are studied at
higher grade levels. They are the endocrine system, immune system, lymphatic system,
reproductive system, skeletal system, and urinary system.

To better understand how the human body systems work….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

The human body is made up of multiple interacting

systems.
Each system in the human body has a
special function. Your skeletal system
gives your body support and structure,
so you can stand up. Your immune
system helps you stay healthy by
fighting off diseases. Each of these
systems also interact with each other.
For example, the bones in your skeletal
system would not be very useful without
the muscular system to help them move
around. And how would your muscles know where to move your bones if your nervous system didn’t
tell them?

Page 1
The circulatory system pumps blood through your body.
The circulatory system consists of your
heart and blood vessels. The heart’s job
is to pump blood throughout your body.

The left side of the heart takes oxygen-

rich blood from the lungs and pumps it
to other parts of the body to use. The
right side of the heart pumps blood to
the lungs to add oxygen to it.

The heart has a very busy job! When you

are resting, your heart pumps between 60-100 times each minute. When you are exercising, it
pumps much faster to deliver blood to your muscles.

The heart is responsible for getting the oxygen to your muscles, but it is the respiratory system’s job
to provide the oxygen. This means that the circulatory system is directly linked to the respiratory
system.

The respiratory system gathers oxygen and removes

carbon dioxide.
The main part of the respiratory system
is the lungs. It is the lungs’ job to bring air
into and out of the body. Oxygen from
the air you inhale moves through small
blood vessels and enters the
bloodstream. It then hitches a ride on
red blood cells and travels to all parts of
the body.

The blood coming back to the lungs

contains carbon dioxide. When you
exhale, you remove carbon dioxide which your body does not need anymore.

Page 2
The muscular system allows the body to move.
You have over 600 muscles in your body.
Muscles are attached to bones and are
controlled by nerves that communicate
with the brain. Movement takes place
when a muscle gets shorter (contracts).

Most muscles work in pairs, allowing

movement in more than one direction.
For instance, there are two sets of
muscles that move your arm. When you
lift your arm up, your bicep contracts. At
the same time, the muscle on the back of your arm, called the tricep, relaxes.

The digestive system breaks down food to release

nutrients.
Digestion begins when we break food
down into little pieces in our mouth with
the help of teeth, the tongue and saliva.

After that, food travels down the

esophagus and into the stomach, where
it’s further broken down by stomach
acids.

From the stomach, it heads to the small

intestine. Here, your body removes
nutrients it needs from food, and sends the nutrients to parts of the body through the circulatory
system.

Finally, the digested food is sent to the large intestine, out of your body... and beyond!

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF THE HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS

Olympic athletes train for Lifting weights can Someday, it might be

years to increase the increase the size of your possible to make artificial
strength and efficiency of muscles. When you hearts on a 3D printer.
their body systems. All the exercise your muscles, they Scientists are working to
body systems must work at need lots of oxygen-rich develop this technology,
their peak performance to blood with nutrients, which which can potentially save
compete at such a high involves your respiratory thousands of lives. Not
level. Training just one and digestive systems! everyone has body systems
system is not enough. that work right all the time.
With science, we can help
these people.

VOCABULARY ON HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS

Body Systems All the systems within a living thing that work together to help it survive.

Heart Rate The number of times your heart beats each minute.

Blood Vessels A structure of thin tubes that carry blood throughout the body.

Pumps blood throughout the body providing it with oxygen and removing
Circulatory System
waste.

Page 4
Respiratory System Its main component is the lungs. It gets oxygen into your blood stream.

Muscular System Made up of all your muscles, it helps us perform actions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS

What would happen if one body system did not interact with the other systems?

It would be hard for the body to perform its important functions. Since all systems are
interconnected, if one does not work this affects how the others will function too.

If a person’s heart rate increases how will this benefit the muscular system?

When the heart rate increases more blood is pumped through circulatory system. This blood is sent
to the muscular system to help your muscles work and keep the body moving.

How is the left side of the heart different from the right side of the heart?

The left side of the heart receives blood from the lungs, which contains oxygen. The right side of the
heart has blood with less oxygen. This is because the oxygen has been used up to help power your
other body systems.

What happens when muscles contract?

They get shorter in size, which plays a role in helping a person move.

How does the small intestine function differently from the large intestine?

Nutrients from food digested in the stomach are absorbed as they pass through the small intestine.
Then the large intestine helps absorb water and remove waste from the body. The small intestine is
four times longer than the large intestine - Wow!

Page 5
How are the body systems used to address the basic needs of survival: food,
water, air, shelter and sleep.

Food: The digestive system takes in food and breaks it down, then the circulatory system sends the
nutrients to all parts of the body.

Water: The digestive system also takes in water which ends up in your blood. The circulatory system
distributes it around your body.

Air: Taken in by your respiratory system. The oxygen in the air passes into your circulatory system.

Shelter: Found or built using your nervous system, muscular system, skeletal system and more.

Sleep: While you sleep, all your systems are still working, though some work more than others during
this time.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
HUMAN BODY SYSTEMS
1. Fill in the blanks using the following words: circulatory, muscular, digestive, respiratory

When exercising, your ___________________________________ system helps you get oxygen from the air,

and your _______________________________________ system helps move the oxygen throughout your body.

2. True or false: the body is made up of only four systems that all work together.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Which body system includes the heart? ____________________________________________________________

4. Which body system includes the lungs? ___________________________________________________________

5. True or false: chewing your food is the first step of digestion. _________________________________________

6. When Dr. Jeff pedals the bike, what three major body systems he is using?

1. _____________________________ 2. ______________________________ 3. _____________________________

7. Which body systems is your blood a part of? _______________________________________________________

8. Fill in the blanks using the words increases, decreases, or stays the same.

When you exercise, your heart rate ___________________________ and your breaths per minute

__________________________________.

9. Fill in the blanks using the words contract and relax.

When you straighten your leg, the muscles on top of your leg ___________________________ and the

muscles on the bottom of your leg ______________________________.

10. What does oxygen hitch a ride on to move from the lungs to the blood and eventually the heart?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Natural Disasters

NATURAL DISASTER DEFINITION

Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornadoes are all examples of natural
disasters. Natural disasters are natural events that can cause great damage. We can’t stop
natural disasters from happening, but engineers and scientists try to minimize their impact.

To better understand the natural disasters definition….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

A volcano is an opening in Earth’s crust.

A volcano is an opening in the Earth that
allows molten rock, called magma, from
inside the earth to escape. When the
magma escapes, it is called an eruption.
Volcanoes are formed when molten
rock from inside the earth works its way
to the surface. Volcanic eruptions may
be very destructive/

The Earth’s crust is made up of huge

plates that move very slowly. Volcanoes
are commonly found along the boundaries between these plates.

Page 1
Earthquakes cause the Earth to shake.
Just like volcanoes, earthquakes happen
in certain regions around the world. An
earthquake is a sudden, violent shaking
of the ground that sometimes causes
great destruction.

A seismograph measures the size of an

earthquake. Earthquakes tend to form
along plate boundaries, just like
volcanoes, but they can also occur in
other locations.

When the Earth’s surface along a plate boundary moves suddenly, it causes the ground to shake.
Earthquakes can destroy buildings!

Many buildings in California are made to withstand small earthquakes. Engineers are always
looking for ways to build stronger and safer structures in areas that have frequent earthquakes.

Earthquakes can cause tsunamis.

Tsunamis are huge waves caused by an
abrupt movement in the ocean floor,
often caused by an underwater
earthquake.

These waves can travel thousands of

miles and reach enormous heights.
Since they can travel great distances,
people far away can be affected by
tsunamis.

For example, an earthquake in Japan can cause a tsunami that affects the coastline of California.
Since tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, they usually originate along plate boundaries.

Tsunamis can cause a great deal of flooding, which causes a lot of damage as well as loss of life.
Scientists are working on better ways of predicting when and where tsunamis may occur and
installing warning systems to protect us.

Page 2
Humans cannot eliminate these hazards, but we can take
steps to reduce their impact.
Natural disasters can’t always be
accurately predicted, but we can
reduce their impact with the help of
science and engineering.

Houses near volcanoes typically use

different building materials. Some
homes are made with stone, since stone
has a very high melting temperature
and can withstand a lot of heat.

In earthquake zones, buildings that are closer to the ground experience less destruction than tall,
thin buildings. Engineers take this into account when designing buildings.

For example, in California, most schools are built with only one level, so they can withstand damage
during earthquakes. In areas of the country that are not in earthquake zones, schools can be built
with multiple floors.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF NATURAL DISASTERS

In areas with volcanoes, In areas with earthquakes, Storm shutters are used to
engineers have designed engineers have designed prevent windows from
homes with steep roofs so skyscrapers that sway on breaking during disasters
volcanic ash can slide off purpose when the Earth like a hurricane. It’s a
more easily. The roofs are moves. This adds stability simple solution to prevent a
also strong enough to and prevents damage lot of damage. Flying debris
withstand the added when the Earth shakes. can break windows or even
weight from the ash. hurt people inside.

NATURAL DISASTERS VOCABULARY

Seismograph An instrument used to record data about earthquakes.

A sudden, violent shaking of the ground caused by movement of giant plates in

Earthquake
the earth's crust.

Natural Disasters Natural events that can cause great damage.

A huge ocean wave caused by a disturbance in the ocean floor. Usually caused
Tsunami
by an underwater earthquake.

An opening on Earth's surface that allows molten rock, called magma, to escape
Volcano
from inside the earth.

Page 4
Magma Molten rock inside the earth.

NATURAL DISASTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How are the formation of earthquakes and volcanoes similar?

Both earthquakes and volcanoes form along plate boundaries. An earthquake is caused by sudden
movements in the plates that make up Earth’s crust. Also, at these areas where the plates meet is
the ideal place for molten rock to flow the surface and form a volcano!

What are humans doing to help reduce the impact of natural disasters?

They are designing and constructing buildings that can withstand things like earthquakes. They are
also testing the best types of materials that can be used to build houses near volcanoes.

Can you think of one constraint or factor that engineers must take into account
when designing buildings in areas with a lot of earthquakes?

One important consideration is the height of the building. When a building is very tall and heavy it
can crumble or topple over. A building that is closer to the ground can better withstand the shaking.

Why are tsunamis called underwater earthquakes?

These natural disasters begin far off in the ocean. They are big waves that occur when there is an
abrupt movement on the ocean floor, usually caused by an underwater earthquake. This means
tsunamis originate near plate boundaries.

Why would an engineer not choose material such as concrete when designing
an earthquake proof building?

Some building materials are able to resist the shaking of earthquakes due to their properties.
Concrete is not the best material to use because it can crack as Earth shakes during an earthquake.
This type of cracking can weaken structures, which can be dangerous to living things.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
NATURAL DISASTERS

1. What is the scientific equipment that measures the size of an earthquake called?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which of these is the best material to use if building a house near a volcano?

a. metal b. stone c. foam d. wood

3. What are the large moving pieces of rock that make up the Earth’s outer layer called?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is molten rock inside a volcano called? _______________________________________________________

5. True or false: tsunamis are waves caused by wind. __________________________________________________

6. Which of these natural disasters can humans prevent or eliminate?

a. tsunamis

b. earthquakes

c. volcanos

d. humans cannot prevent natural disasters

7. What is one way buildings are made in areas where earthquakes occur?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Volcanoes and earthquakes tend to occur near what?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Which natural disaster causes most of its damage due to shaking?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. True or false: all volcanos occur along plate boundaries. _____________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Extreme Weather

DEFINITION OF EXTREME WEATHER

Extreme weather is any weather that falls outside of normal patterns. This includes heavy
winds, thunderstorms, floods, heat waves, tornados, hurricanes, hail, and blizzards.

To better understand the different types of extreme weather…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Extreme weather is a result of natural processes.

All over the globe, weather is something
people experience every day. However,
there are some types of weather that
are so intense that they deserve special
mention. This type of weather is known
as extreme weather.

Extreme weather causes a lot of

damage. Unfortunately we can’t
eliminate this natural hazard, but we
can reduce its impact. One way to
lessen the impact is by being prepared.

For example, based on data collected over centuries, we know that the period of time between
June 1st and November 30th of each year is when hurricanes are expected to develop in the
Atlantic Ocean.

So each year, the people that live near the coast know they should get prepared. Also, engineers
develop solutions to protect us from extreme weather, such as with new building methods or
inventions to help lessen the damage.

Page 1
Engineering solutions for coastlines.
Coastal areas experience high waves
from extreme weather events such as
hurricanes. There are several techniques
engineers use to protect coastal areas
from flooding or erosion.

Seawalls are concrete walls built along

beaches that experience large waves.
These physical barriers can block water
and prevent flooding as water rises up
from storms near the coast.

Seawalls with a curved surface, known as recurved walls, not only block waves but also send waves
back out toward the ocean.

Engineers have found that recurved walls are one of the more effective ways to reduce flooding on
the coast. Another way to protect against flooding is to construct buildings on stilts or on top of
garages to keep water from entering homes.

Engineering solutions for high winds.

Engineers have designed homes with
roofs that can stand up to high winds. It
is well-known that gable roofs do not
hold up well in high winds.

Gable roofs have sides that are straight

up and down. When wind hits a gable
roof, the wind can push directly against
its surface. The force of the wind against
the flat roof may push the roof
completely off a home.

Engineers recommend a different kind of roof for areas that receive high winds, called a hip roof
which has sides that are all slanted up. Instead of the wind pushing directly against the side, it gets
deflected up.

Page 2
Engineering solutions for lightning.
Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of
the United States, is famous for using a
lightning rod. He wanted to capture
electricity to better understand it. He
discovered that lightning is electricity
moving through the air. When lightning
strikes homes, it can damage homes
and appliances. We can’t prevent
lightning, but we can direct its energy
into the ground to prevent an electrical
surge, which can damage electronics. Lightning rods are made of metal and used to transfer the
energy of a lightning bolt to the ground through wires. This directs the electricity through the rod
and then straight to the ground, instead of through the building.

Engineering solutions for tornadoes.

Tornadoes are columns of air that spin
violently. Tornado winds can reach up to
300 miles per hour, which is strong
enough to destroy houses and make
trees fly. Engineers are coming up with
ways to reduce their destruction. For
example, they have developed special
building panels that can withstand the
winds of a tornado.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF EXTREME WEATHER

Special building panels can Painting over roads with Tornado Alley stretches
withstand the winds of a reflective white paint is one from Texas to North
tornado. They can be used strategy to lower Dakota. This area of the
to build a safe room in your temperatures on paved United States is known for
home. So even if a tornado surfaces. This is one way to having more tornadoes
destroys the house, the lessen the impact of high than any other area.
room will be intact. heat in urban areas.

EXTREME WEATHER & SOLUTIONS VOCABULARY

Extreme Weather Any weather that falls outside the realm of normal patterns.

Patterns A series of repeating events.

New inventions and building methods that can help reduce the effects of
Engineering Solutions
extreme weather.

Gable Roof A type of roof in which two sides form an "A" shape.

Hip Roof A type of roof in which ALL sides slope down.

Page 4
 A metal rod mounted on or near a building that protects it against electrical
Lightning Rod
surges. It redirects the electrical energy into the ground.

EXTREME WEATHER & SOLUTIONS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Can extreme weather be predicted? Explain.

Sometimes. By looking at patterns of where and when different types of extreme weather occurred
in the past, we can predict the most likely times and places it will occur again. For example, we know
that hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean occurs each year between June and September
because that’s when hurricanes have hit that area in the past. However, predicting exactly when a
tornado will touch down is very difficult.

How can predicting extreme weather reduce its impact?

By knowing when, where and what kind of extreme weather might occur, people can be prepared
and hopefully reduce the impact when an event does happen.

What different types of solutions for flooding did the team test out with the
water wave machine and how was each designed to address the problem of
flooding?

Dr. Jeff, Izzy and Zoe tested out a high sea wall to block more water from coming over, rocks to slow
the speed of the water by spreading out the energy of the waves and a recurved wall which
redirected the energy of the wave back out to sea.

What evidence did the team find that some engineering solutions for flooding
might work better than others?

Dr. Jeff, Izzy and Zoe tested three possible solutions to reduce flooding using the water wave
machine. The evidence that helped them determine which worked best was the amount of water
that flooded the area representing land. Without any barrier, they collected over 1000 mL of water.
The high sea wall was better, but 300 mL was collected. With the rocks, only 100 mL flooded and even
less water flooded with the recurved wall.

Page 5
What evidence did the team find to support the idea that the shape of a roof can
reduce the impacts of high winds?

Dr. Jeff, Izzy and Zoe built models of two types of roofs and tested them using a powerful air blower
to represent strong winds. They observed what happened when testing their models. They saw that
hip roofs, which have angled ends, stand up better to strong winds than gable roofs, which have flat
ends.

What evidence did the team find to support the idea that metal rods placed
alongside a house and into the ground can reduce the impact of lightning?

The team built models of two homes with lights on inside. One house had a lightning rod and the
other did not. They then simulated a lightning strike on both houses. The evidence they found to
support that lightning rods reduce the impact of lighting is that the lights stayed on in the home
with the lightning rod. In the house without the lightning rod, the lights were blown out.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
EXTREME WEATHER SOLUTIONS

1. Which of these is not an example of extreme weather?

a. a sunny day b. heavy wind c. floods d. heat wave

2. How can looking at past patterns of hurricanes help us lessen the impact of future hurricanes?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Explain how a lightning rod works.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which solution was most effective at preventing flooding, according to the team’s tests?

a. no barrier b. barrier wall c. rocks d. recurved wall

5. Fill in the blanks using the words slanted ends and flat ends.

A hip roof PROTECTS against damage from heavy winds because wind is deflected off of its

_________________________________. The force of heavy winds can push against the

_____________________________ of a gable roof making it more likely to break.

6. True or false: heat waves can lead to wild fires. _____________________________________

7. True or false: to lessen the impact of heat waves, roads can be painted white. __________________________

8. What can humans do about extreme weather?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What is the purpose of a safe room?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Which type of extreme weather is more likely in the Midwest of the USA than other parts of the world?

a. tornadoes b. hurricanes c. heat waves d. flooding

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Food and Energy

DEFINITION OF FOOD
Food is any nutritious substance that people or animals eat to give them energy and
building blocks to grow and repair. Our bodies tell us when we need food by feeling hungry.
The types of food we eat determine what types of building blocks and energy sources our
bodies use.

To better understand food and nutrition….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

The food we eat gives our bodies materials for growth.

Nearly all our food comes from either
plants or animals. After it enters our
digestive system, our bodies break it
down into useful materials that have
two uses.

Growth & repair (getting taller, stronger

or mending broken bones), and energy
to think, stay warm, and move around.

Flamingos are an excellent example of

how food is used for growth. Flamingos like to eat algae which has a lot of beta-carotene, a natural
chemical that has a red color. The bird’s digestive system breaks down the algae, which releases
the red chemical. The red chemical then gets deposited in the flamingo’s feathers as they grow,
giving flamingos a pink color.

If you feed a flamingo food without the natural red chemical, it would not be pink. Even though we
are not the color of our food like a flamingo, we are also made up the materials that we have eaten.
You are what you eat!

Page 1
The food we eat gives our bodies energy.
Food also provides us with energy to
move and stay warm. We can conduct
experiments with food to show that it
has stored energy by mixing it with an
oxidizer and setting it on fire.

An oxidizer is a chemical that provides a

lot of oxygen to help things release
energy. The ability of food to burn shows
that it contains stored energy.

The amount of energy and types of nutrients we get is determined by the types of foods we eat.
Whole or natural foods contain lots of important nutrients. Unhealthy foods do not.

For example, broccoli contains carbohydrates, calcium, protein, fiber, iron, and vitamins. You need
all these things to help you grow. Candy contains just sugar.

Energy from our food comes from the sun!

All the energy we get from food can be
traced back to the sun.

The sun’s energy is transferred to plants,

which use it to convert water and
carbon dioxide into sugars. That process
is called photosynthesis. Plants are then
eaten by animals, which are eaten by
larger animals.

Through this process, the energy from

the sun is transferred from one living thing to another.

For example, a plant captures energy from the sun through photosynthesis, and then the plant is
eaten by a caterpillar. The caterpillar gets eaten by a turkey, and we eat the turkey for dinner. The
whole process is powered by the sun.

Page 2
What is (or isn’t) food?
For something to qualify as food it must
give us building blocks to grow and
repair AND energy.

Wood is from trees, which is a plant, but

it is not food for humans because we
cannot break it down and use it for
energy.

Leather is from a cow, which is an

animal. It can be used for food, but it
wouldn’t taste very good.

Vitamins give us building blocks to grow and repair, but they do not give us energy so technically,
vitamins are not food.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF FOOD AND ENERGY

Hydroponic plants grow Bugs are a delicacy in Vitamins and minerals are
without soil by using some countries. Many are not food. They can provide
minerals in the water. This high in protein and they can us with building blocks to
is evidence that plants do be cooked easily and help us grow but they don’t
not get their energy from quickly. Yum… give us any energy.
the soil. All the energy to
make them grow comes
from the sun.

FOOD AND ENERGY VOCABULARY

Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat in order to give them
Food
energy and building blocks to grow and repair.

Energy It makes things happen. (Or more formally: the ability to do work)

The feeling that makes you want to eat. It is actually our bodies telling us that
Hunger
we need food for more energy and building blocks.

Oxidizer A chemical that provides a lot of oxygen to help things burn.

Made up of the stomach, intestines and other components, it allows us to break

Digestive System
down food and absorb nutrients.

Page 4
 A process by which plants use sunlight to make sugar from carbon dioxide and
Photosynthesis
water.

FOOD AND ENERGY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How does your body turn food into energy?

When a person eats food, their digestive system breaks it down into small pieces. Those small
pieces are digested and absorbed by the body. Inside the body, food helps us get energy and also
to grow and repair.

How is energy transferred from a plant to a person?

Energy is first transferred from the sun to the plant by photosynthesis. Then, the plant is eaten by a
person. When this happens, energy is transferred from the plant to a person.

Why is sunlight energy important?

Almost all energy on earth can be traced back to the sun! Photosynthesis in plants converts light
energy to chemical energy. Animals and people eat the plants and then the chemical energy in the
plant can be used by animals (including humans).

What does food give us?

It gives us energy and building blocks to keep our bodies healthy and functioning properly.

How do plants and animals take in the food they need to survive?

Plants do not ingest the food they need for survival. They must create their food through the process
of photosynthesis. Animals ingest, or eat the food they need for energy from sources such as plants
or other animals.

How do we know that plants obtain materials needed for growth primarily from
air and water.

One piece of evidence is hydroponic plants. They grow without any soil. It uses water, air and
sunlight to grow. You can further confirm that a plant requires water, air and sunlight by trying to
grow a plant in the dark or without water.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
HOW DO WE USE FOOD

1. How does our body tell us we need more energy? ___________________________________________________

2. What are the two main things our bodies use food for?

1. ______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

3. True or false: flamingos are pink because they eat things that are pink. ________________________________

4. What evidence did the team find that steak, candy, and grass all contain stored energy?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Where does the energy in a hamburger come from originally? _________________________________________

6. What is photosynthesis?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. True or false: humans can eat bugs for food. _______________________________

8. Why isn’t it healthy to just eat candy?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Which of these is not necessary to grow a hydroponic plant?

a. water b. air c. sunlight d. soil

10. Fill in the spaces between the arrows to show energy transfer for an ocean food chain:

seal, plankton, shark, fish, sun

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Wave Properties

DEFINITION OF WAVES
Waves are a pattern of motion that transfer energy from place to place without transferring
matter. There are different types of waves. Sound waves travel through air and allow us to
hear sound. Water waves move on top of water. Light waves move in straight lines through
space. On this page we will focus on sound and water waves.

To better understand the different types of waves…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Page 1
Energy travels through waves.
Waves transport energy, not matter,
from place to place. Remember that
matter is made of particles too small to
be seen.

Particles are required to transport some

types of waves, such as sound waves.
When the wave travels, the particles do
not travel with the wave. It may appear
that ocean waves are moving particles
of water toward you, but in fact, the
water is only moving up and down.

We can test this by placing a heavy ping-pong ball in a wave tank. The waves move from one side
of the tank to the other, but the ping-pong ball does not travel, it only moves up and down.

Scientists put waves into two general categories: transverse waves and longitudinal waves.
Transverse waves vibrate perpendicular to the direction that the wave travels. Ocean waves are a
great example of a transverse wave. “The wave” at a sporting event is also a transverse wave.

Longitudinal waves vibrate in the same direction that the wave travels. Picture standing at one end
of a spring toy, with a friend holding the other end. If you pull your end and let go, you will create a
compression in the spring that travels down its length. Sounds waves are an example of
longitudinal waves.

Amplitude is the height of the wave.

Amplitude is a measure of the wave’s
height. It also tells us how much energy
a wave has. Waves with more energy
have higher amplitudes.

The amplitude of a sound wave

determines the sound’s loudness. When
you turn the volume up on the TV, you
are increasing the amplitude of the
sound waves.

Page 2
Wavelength is the distance between wave peaks.
Wavelength measures the distance
between wave peaks. The closer the
peaks of the wave are to each other, the
more energy the waves have. The
opposite is also true: when the
wavelength is longer, the waves have
less energy.

Sound waves travel through the air.

Sound waves are caused by vibrations.
Since air is made of particles (matter), it
transports sound very well. When a
speaker vibrates it creates longitudinal
waves that travel in ALL directions.

You can easily see how speakers create

vibrations by sprinkling something small
and light, like salt, onto a speaker. The
salt particles will bounce due to the
vibrations. Since sound waves travel in
all directions you can hear sound even when you are not directly in front of the source.

Most of the sounds we hear travel through the air, but sound can also travel through solids and
liquids too. Some solids, like metal and glass, are good at transmitting sounds. Other solids,
including heavy fabrics and foam, muffle sounds. Sound can also move through liquids. Some
animals, such as dolphins and whales, communicate underwater by using sound waves. We call
that "echolocation."

In order for sound to travel, it must move through some type of matter. In outer space, there are no
air particles through which sound can travel. In other words, if there is an explosion in space, it will
be silent. You can test this by placing a phone in a vacuum. When music is turned on, no sound will
be heard.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAVES

Dolphins make sounds that Earthquakes travel as Amplifiers make music

travel as underwater waves too. louder. Rock stars use
waves. These sounds help Earthquakes can transmit electronics to increase the
dolphins navigate, so much energy that they amplitude of their sound
communicate with each topple buildings and waves. That means they
other, and find food. We call destroy property. By use electricity to make the
it echolocation. understanding how these speakers vibrate with more
waves travel we can warn energy, which increases the
people when there is an amplitude. Rock on!
earthquake in their part of
the world.

WAVE PROPERTIES VOCABULARY

The height of a wave. Usually measured from the wave's resting point to the peak
Amplitude
of the wave.

The distance between wave peaks. Usually measured from the peak of one wave
Wavelength
to the peak of the wave next to it.

Energy It makes things happen! (Or more formally: the ability to do work)

Wave Peak The highest point on a wave. Also called the crest.

Page 4
 Vibrations of air particles that transmit sound. Sound waves are a type of
Sound Waves
longitudinal wave.

When the disturbance moves perpendicular to the direction of the wave. Put
Transverse Wave
simply: When a wave moves up and down.

WAVE PROPERTIES DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do waves transfer matter?

Waves transfer energy, not matter.

When Zoe and Izzy demonstrated waves using the slinky, which type of wave did
they observe?

Zoe and Izzy use the spring to demonstrate both transverse and longitudinal waves. Water waves
are transverse waves and sound waves are longitudinal waves.

Why does the salt vibrate on the speaker when the music is turned on?

When the music is turned on sound waves cause the salt to vibrate just like sound waves cause air
particles to vibrate.

Why can’t sound be heard when the phone playing music is placed inside the
vacuum jar? Explain what you think is happening.

When the phone playing music is placed inside the vacuum jar and the vacuum is turned on, all of
the air is removed from the jar. Since there are no air particles for the sound waves to travel through,
the sound cannot be heard even though the music is still playing.

What kinds of patterns can be observed for transverse waves?

Transverse waves are a repeating pattern of peaks and troughs. This pattern remains the same
although changes to the energy cause the peaks and troughs to get closer together or further
apart (wavelength) or the peaks and troughs to be higher or lower (amplitude).

Page 5
What kinds of patterns can be observed for longitudinal waves?

Longitudinal waves are a repeating pattern of compression and expansion. This pattern remains the
same although changes to the energy causes the compressed areas to become closer together or
further apart (wavelength).

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
WAVE PROPERTIES

1. What is transferred from place to place by waves? __________________________________________________

2. True or false: when placed in water, a ball moves from one place to another with the waves.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What is this called? ___________________________________

4. What is this called? __________________________________

5. True or false: longitudinal waves move up and down. _______________________________________________

6. Which of these is true of sound waves?

a. they only work in air

b. move in all directions

c. can be heard in space

7. What is it called when dolphins communicate underwater through sound waves?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Fill in the blank using the word(s) increases, decreases, or stays the same.

When energy increases, amplitude ______________________________________________.

9. Fill in the blank using the word transverse or longitudinal.

Water waves are ______________________________________ waves because the wave moves up and down.

10. What moves the pieces of salt on top of the speaker when the music is playing?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Moon Phases

PHASES OF THE MOON DEFINITION

The portion of the moon that we can see from Earth on any given night is called the moon’s
phase. As the moon orbits around the Earth, sunlight is reflected off the moon’s surface and
that light reaches us on Earth. The phase of the moon depends on where the moon is in its
orbit. It takes about one month for the moon to make a full orbit around the Earth, meaning
the phases of the moon repeat about once a month!

To better understand what causes the phases of the moon….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

The moon does not make its own light, it only reflects it.
The moon does not produce any light on
its own. The light we see coming from
the moon is actually light reflected from
the sun, kind of like a mirror.

The sun is the strongest source of light in

our solar system. Every moon and planet
that is visible in our solar system is
reflecting light from the sun. The
reflected light enters our eyes and that
is what allows us to see.

Page 1
The moon is smaller than the sun but appears the same
size because it’s closer.
Even though the moon and sun appear
to be the same size from Earth, the sun is
actually 400 times bigger than the
moon. They look the same size due to an
optical illusion. Objects that are close to
you appear larger.

You can experiment at home to prove

that. Hold a quarter in your hand one
arm’s length away. Ask a friend to hold a
dinner plate on the other side of the
room. Have the person move closer or further until the plate is the same size as the quarter.

The phases of the moon are caused by its orbit around the
Earth.
As the moon orbits the Earth, we can see
a different amount of the moon is lit by
the sun from our perspective on Earth.
Sometimes the moon is completely lit,
and other times it is completely dark.

The illuminated shape of the moon that

is visible from Earth is called a phase
. When you cannot see the moon at all,
this phase is called a new moon. Several
days after a new moon, we see the
moon as a thin sliver of light called the crescent moon. As the moon appears larger and larger, it
becomes a quarter moon and gibbous moon. A full moon is visible when the whole side of the
moon facing Earth is completely illuminated by the sun. On a clear night, a full moon looks very
bright.

Page 2
The moon’s surface has markings we can see from Earth.
The moon’s surface has markings on in
called rays that are visible from Earth.
Rays spread out from a crater formed
by the impact of an asteroid. When
asteroids hit the moon, material from
the moon was thrown in different
directions, just like when Dr. Jeff used a
sling shot to launch a paint ball into the
flour and cocoa powder.

Another feature of the moon we can see

are "lunar maria." The world maria means “seas” in Latin. Early astronomers thought the big dark
spots on the moon were actual seas of water. However, these dark areas on the surface of the
moon are not made of water, they are actually caused by ancient volcanic eruptions.

Page 3
 MOON PHASES EXAMPLES

A full moon happens about The moon’s surface has High and low tides are
every 30 days. A full moon markings on it called rays. caused by the phases of
is the brightest phase Rays are made by the the moon. The moon’s
because the whole side of impact of asteroids hitting gravitational pull tugs on
the moon facing us is the moon. They can tell us water in the ocean, creating
reflecting light from the sun. about what direction an high and low tides. The
asteroid came from. moon has an effect on us
even when we can’t see it!

THE MOON & ITS PHASES VOCABULARY

The moon is a natural object that orbits around the Earth. Earth has only one moon
The Moon
called “the moon” but other planets like Jupiter have at least 69 moons!

A system is a set of things that are connected. The earth, moon and sun are connected
Earth-Moon-Sun
because their orbits depend on each other. The earth orbits around the sun and the
System
moon orbits around the earth.

The first phase of the moon. In this phase, the moon is completely dark since we can’t
New Moon
see the side that the sun is shining on.

The second phase of the moon. In this phase, we can see sunlight reflecting off only
Crescent Moon
about one quarter of the moon’s surface that faces us.

Page 4
 The third phase of the moon. In this phase, we can see sunlight reflecting off half of the
Quarter Moon
moon’s surface that faces us.

The fourth phase of the moon. In this phase, we can see sunlight reflecting off three

Gibbous Moon quarters of the moon’s surface that faces us. It’s not a full moon yet, but it’s getting

there.

PHASES OF THE MOON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What causes the moon to look like it is changing shape?

As the moon orbits the earth, the sun always shines on half of it, but from Earth we may only see part
of that illuminated surface. The phase we see depends on where the moon is in its orbit around the
Earth.

Where does the light of the moon come from?

The moon is lit by the sun. It is important to remember that the moon does not make its own light, it
only reflects light from the sun.

What makes the moon and sun look like they are the same size?

The moon is smaller than the sun but it is also 400 times closer. That makes it seem like it is the same
size as the sun.

What caused the surface of the moon to look the way it does?

Asteroids smashing into the surface of the moon created some of the features we can see on the
moon’s surface (craters). Volcanic activity in the past created other features like mountain ranges
and dark areas called “mares.” Volcanic activity stopped a few billion years ago, but asteroids
continue to hit the moon because there is very little atmosphere to stop them.

What causes tides in Earth’s oceans?

The pull of moon’s gravity affects the water of the oceans and causes tides.

Page 5
Why do scientists think there might be life on the moons of other planets?

Some moons of Jupiter and Saturn have chemicals that could provide energy for living things. An
atmosphere and liquids can be found on one of Saturn’s moons.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
MOON & ITS PHASES
1. What causes us to see different phases of the moon?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. True or false: the moon is the same size as the sun. _________________________________________________

3. Where does the light we see from the moon come from? _____________________________________________

4. What is the definition of a system? ________________________________________________________________

5. Which is closest to the Earth?

a. moon b. sun c. Mars d. Venus

6. List these from largest to smallest: Earth, moon, sun _________________________________________________

7. Draw each of these moon phases:

QUARTER MOON GIBBOUS MOON CRESCENT MOON

8. What caused the formation of the dark areas that can be seen on the moon with a telescope?

a. ancient volcanoes b. meteor impacts c. floods d. ancient oceans

9. Which three things are connected in the system that causes us to see the moon’s phases?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What can the lines around craters on the moon tell us?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Earth's Spheres

DEFINITION OF EARTH’S SPHERES

The spheres are the four subsystems that make up the planet Earth. They are called spheres
because they are round, just like the Earth. The four spheres are the geosphere (all the rock
on Earth), hydrosphere (all the water on Earth), atmosphere (all the gases surrounding
Earth), and biosphere (all the living things on Earth).

To better understand how the 4 spheres of the Earth work….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Earth’s land makes up the geosphere.

Geo means “earth.” The Earth’s
geosphere (sometimes called the
lithosphere) is the portion of the earth
that includes rocks and minerals. It
starts at the ground and extends all the
way down to Earth’s core.

We rely on the geosphere to provide

natural resources and a place to grow
food. Volcanos, mountain ranges, and
deserts are all part of the geosphere. Put
simply, without the geosphere, there would be no Earth!

Page 1
Earth’s water makes up the hydrosphere.
Hydro means “water.“ The hydrosphere
includes the oceans, rivers, lakes,
groundwater, and water frozen in
glaciers. 97% of water on Earth is found in
the oceans. Water is one of the most
important substances needed for life
and makes up about 90% of living things.
Without water, life would not be possible.

Earth’s air makes up the atmosphere.

Atmos means “air.” The atmosphere
includes all the gases surrounding the
Earth. We often call the atmosphere "air."
All planets have an atmosphere, but
Earth is the only planet with the correct
combination of gases to support life.

The atmosphere consists of five

layers and is responsible for Earth’s
weather. Even though it seems like air is
made of nothing, it consists of particles
too small to be seen. All these particles have weight that push down on Earth. The weight of air
above us is called air pressure.

Page 2
Earth’s living things make up the biosphere.
Bio means “life.” The biosphere is made
up of all the living things on Earth and it
includes fish, birds, plants, and even
people.

The living portion of the Earth interacts

with all the other spheres. Living things
need water (hydrosphere), chemicals
from the atmosphere, and nutrients
gained by eating things in the biosphere.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF EARTH’S 4 SPHERES

Even though the island of Every time you recycle, you Erosion creates mushroom
Kauai in Hawaii gets more are impacting all four rocks when wind carries
rain than almost any area spheres. Efforts such as sand close to the ground.
on Earth, one side looks like recycling are important to This is another example of
a desert. The shape of the keep all four of our spheres how the atmosphere
land (geosphere) effect healthy. affects the geosphere. Sand
where it rains (hydrosphere). carried by wind carves the
bottom of the rock more
than the top.

VOCABULARY ON EARTH'S SPHERES

All the rock, soil and sediments that makeup Earth’s land. It comes from the word “Geo”
Geosphere
which means “Earth.”

Everything on Earth can be placed into one of four major subsystems: land, water, living

things, and air. These four subsystems are called "spheres." Specifically, they are the
Earth’s Sphere
"geosphere" (land), "hydrosphere" (water), "biosphere" (living things), and "atmosphere"

(air).

All the oceans, rivers, lakes and water on Earth. It comes from the word “Hydro” which
Hydrosphere
means “water.”

Atmosphere All the gases surrounding the earth. It comes from the word “Atmos” which means “air.”

Page 4
Biosphere All the living things on Earth. It comes from the word “Bio” which means “life.”

To reuse something that would have otherwise been thrown out or to turn it into
Recycling
something usable again instead of sending it to a landfill.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON EARTH'S SPHERES

In the investigation with aquariums, which of Earth’s spheres are represented?

The team uses sand to represent land, which is part of the geosphere. They use water to represent
the hydrosphere and the air in the tank represents Earth’s atmosphere.

What happened to the temperature of the atmosphere when hot water was
added?

When hot water was added to the aquarium tank the temperature of the atmosphere above the
land went up.

Does water temperature have an effect on air temperature?

Yes, water temperature does affect atmospheric temperature. When hot water was added to the
aquarium tank, the temperature above the land when up. When cold water was added, the air
temperature went down.

Which two of Earth’s spheres are represented in the example of erosion?

Dr. Jeff uses a sand blaster (moving air containing sand particles) to erode rock. The air from the
sand blaster represents wind in the atmosphere and it breaks down rock (that’s geosphere).

How did the example with dry ice show that land affects water and air?

The team uses dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) to create fog. The sand mountain (geosphere)
blocked the fog from moving to the other side of the aquarium. This shows that the shape of the
land affects the weather.

Page 5
Which of Earth’s spheres are humans part of? Why?

Humans are part of the biosphere because we are living things. The biosphere includes ALL living
things.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
INTERACTION OF EARTH’S SPHERES

1. List Earth’s four spheres.

1. _____________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________

2. Which of Earth’s spheres contains rocks and sediments?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Which of Earth’s spheres includes water? __________________________________________________________

4. What is the atmosphere made up of? ______________________________________________________________

5. True or false: oceans have no effect on the temperature on Earth’s land. _______________________________

6. Which of these is part of the biosphere?

a. bees b. sand c. rivers d. clouds

7. Which of Earth’s spheres do humans impact and how?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. True or false: recycling can positively impact Earth’s spheres. ________________________________________

9. Explain an interaction between the atmosphere and the geosphere.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. In the team’s mountain model, which of Earth’s spheres is interacting with the geosphere?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Light Reflection

DEFINITION OF LIGHT
We can see because of light. Most light comes from the sun, light bulbs, and lasers. Light is a
form of energy that moves in straight lines. It also reflects off things, and that reflected light
enters our eyes, allowing us to see.

To better understand how light works….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

There are many sources of light.

Sources of light can be divided into two
groups: natural and made by humans.
The sun is the most important natural
source of light. The sun allows us to see
during the day. Stars and lava from
volcanoes also produce their own light.
Some animals can produce their own
light, such as fireflies and some glowing
jellyfish.

Humans have created other sources of

light. Light bulbs help us see in dark areas. Before light bulbs were invented, people used candles to
provide light.

Laser beams are another source of light. Some high-powered laser beams can cause chemicals to
explode!

Page 1
Light travels in straight lines and reflects off things.
Light travels in a straight line from its
source. It will keep moving in a straight
line until it hits something.

If you have ever worn a hat on a sunny

day, you have tested this idea. The brim
of the hat blocks the sun from hitting our
eyes.

Light reflects off objects and allows us to

see. Some objects reflect light very well,
like mirrors and white papers. Other objects, like brown construction paper, do not reflect as much
light.

Water is also good at reflecting light off its surface. If you have ever been near a pool on a sunny
day, your eyes may have hurt from too much light reflected from the water. Hats help block
sunlight, but not the light that is reflected off the surface of water.

Light reflects off things and enters our eyes.

We see objects because they either give
off their own light, or light reflects off the
objects and enters our eyes.

The moon is an interesting example. It

doesn’t make its own light - we can see
the moon because it reflects light from
the sun.

<em>If an object did not reflect any light,

we would not be able to see it.</em>

Page 2
Our eyes do not produce light, they detect it.
Our eyes are amazing and allow us to
detect light, focus on images, and see
what is around us. The lens of the eye
helps make images easier to see by
focusing light. There are many other
parts of the eye that work together to
help you see. Some parts allow you to
see color, and other parts detect the
shapes of objects.

After the eye collects information about

what you are seeing, it quickly sends the information to the brain. Believe it or not, the images that
our eyes send to the brain are upside-down! Our brain flips it. The brain also tries to make sense of
what we are seeing.

Page 3
 LIGHT REFLECTION AND VISION EXAMPLES

Convex mirrors allow us to CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Fiber optic cables transmit
see a wider view. This can Discs use the science of signals very quickly. They
help drivers see oncoming reflection. Inside a blu-ray are frequently used to
cars and drive more safely. player is a laser which transmit information over
reflects light off the disk. the internet.
This allows the blu-ray
player to read the
information on the disk.

LIGHT REFLECTION AND VISION VOCABULARY

Light comes from things like the sun, light bulbs and candles. It bounces off of things
Light
and allows us to see.

Light Reflection When light bounces off the surface of an object.

Light Source The place from which light originates.

Reflecting Surface Surface from which the light bounces off.

A darkened box used to project an image of an external object onto a screen inside.
Camera Obscura
It works in the same way as our eyes.

Page 4
 A curved piece of glass or plastic that concentrates light rays. They are used in
Lens
magnifying glasses and telescopes.

LIGHT REFLECTION AND VISION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What is a laser?

A laser is a very narrow and concentrated beam of light.

Why does fog help us see laser beams?

Fog is made up of tiny particles that the laser light reflects off of. That reflected light is detected by
our eyes.

What does the camera obscura model?

The camera obscura models a human eye.

Why is the image the camera obscura produces upside down?

This happens because light always travels in a straight line. BERT appears upside down because if
you trace the path of light of his feet through the camera obscura, the feet end up on top. If you
trace the straight path of light reflected off his head, it ends up at the bottom of the camera
obscura. The same thing happens in our eyes!

If the image produced by the camera obscura is not in focus, what can be done
to focus it?

Another lens can help focus the image, just like glasses that help people read.

Are other materials, besides a mirror, reflective? How do you know?

Yes, any object you can see must reflect light. If it did not reflect light you wouldn't be able to see it.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
LIGHT REFLECTION & VISION
1. How does light move?

a. zig zag b. up and down c. scattered d. straight line

2. To aim the light at the balloon behind the sign, Zoe uses what?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. True or false: to pop the balloon that Bert hides behind the sign, Izzy and Zoe bend the light.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. True or false: a black object does not reflect any light. _______________________________________________

5. Why is the image inside the camera obscura upside down?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why don’t we see everything upside down?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Which of these does not use light reflection to work?

a. CD b. Blu-ray disc c. DVD d. Car

8. How do fiber optic cables work?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How can an out-of-focus image reflected in the camera obscura be brought into focus?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. BONUS: On the back of this page, sketch and label a diagram showing how the doll house illusion works.
© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.
Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About the Particle Nature of Matter

PARTICLES OF MATTER DEFINITION

Matter is anything that has weight and takes up space. A particle is the smallest possible
unit of matter. Understanding that matter is made of tiny particles too small to be seen can
help us understand the behavior and properties of matter.

To better understand how the 3 states of matter work….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

All matter is made of particles that are too small to be seen.

Everything you can see and touch is
made of matter. It is all the “stuff” in the
universe.

Things that are not made of matter

include energy, and ideas like peace
and love.

Matter is made up of small particles that

are too small to be seen, even with a
powerful microscope. They are so small
that you would have to put about 100,000 particles in a line to equal the width of a human hair!

Page 1
The arrangement of particles determines the state of
matter.
Particles are arranged and move
differently in each state of matter. Solids
contain particles that are tightly packed,
with very little space between particles.
If an object can hold its own shape and
is difficult to compress, it is a solid.

Liquids contain particles that are more

loosely packed than solids, but still
closely packed compared to gases.
Particles in liquids are able to slide past
each other, or flow, to take the shape of their container.

Particles are even more spread apart in gases. Gases will fill any container, but if they are not in a
container, they will escape into the air. A lot of space exists between the particles in a gas, allowing
gases to be compressed (pushed together) much more easily than solids and liquids.

Matter can change states.

Matter can change from one state to
another. When solids change to liquids,
the arrangement of the particles
changes to become more loosely
packed.

When liquids change to gases the

particles become even more loosely
packed.

It takes energy for matter to change

from one state to another. To change liquid water to a gas, heat energy must be added. The
opposite is also true. To change liquid water into a solid block of ice, energy must be removed.

Page 2
The particle model explains the behavior of matter.
The particle model of matter states that
all matter is made up of tiny, moving
particles with spaces between them.

A neat science experiment can show us

this: If we combine 50 mL of water and
50 mL of isopropyl alcohol, you would
expect the total volume would be 100
mL. In fact, the actual volume is 97 mL. It
would seem that some of the liquid
vanished. However, when the water and
alcohol are mixed together, some of the particles of alcohol fit in between the particles of water.

An easier way to visualize this is to picture a beaker of ping-pong balls. If you pour tiny beads into
the beaker with the ping-pong balls, the beads will fill in the spaces between the ping-pong balls.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF PARTICLES OF MATTER

When you inflate a soccer Gas particles expand to fill Liquid nitrogen is cold
ball, it gets harder because their container. When air is enough to convert carbon
of particles. Air particles are removed from the vacuum dioxide gas particles to a
being compressed into the chamber, the gases in the solid. As the particles of
container and pushing on balloon will expand to fill carbon dioxide gas get
the inner walls of the ball. If the container. colder, the space between
the ball is placed in the the particles shrinks and the
freezer, the ball will deflate gas changes to a solid.
a little bit because the
particles get closer
together in the cooler
temperatures.

PARTICLES OF MATTER VOCABULARY

Matter Anything that has weight and takes up space.

Particle The smallest possible unit of matter.

Volume The space occupied by a solid, liquid or gas.

A scientific measurement of volume, usually for liquids. A cup of water is 237 milliliters.
Milliliters
Milliliters is usually abbreviated mL.

Page 4
Graduated Cylinder A scientific tool that is used to accurately measure out liquids.

The idea that all matter consists of many particles that are 100,000 times smaller
Particle Model of
than the width of a human hair. Knowing this allows us to explain a lot of interesting
Matter
things in science.

PARTICLES OF MATTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why would a soccer ball that has been left out in the cold go flat?

A soccer ball that is filled with air can go flat when air particles in it take up less space. This can
happen if you inflate the ball indoors but then play outside in cold weather.

What is the smallest possible unit of a type of matter called and about how big is
it?

The smallest possible unit of matter is called a particle. Particles of matter are 100,000 times smaller
than the width of a human hair. They cannot be seen, but we can detect them.

Why did 500 mL of water combined with 500 mL of alcohol add up to only 970 mL
of total liquid? Use the particle model of matter to explain.

The liquid volume decreased because the water particles can fit into the spaces between the larger
alcohol particles. This makes them take up less space (volume). To model this difficult concept, Dr.
Jeff uses ping pong balls to represent large molecules and red beads to represent smaller particles
that can fill the space between the ping pong balls.

What happens when Izzy and Zoe place the balloons filled with carbon dioxide
into the bowl of liquid nitrogen?

Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold. When the carbon dioxide gas inside the balloon gets very cold it
contracts, meaning the particles get closer together. In this case they got so close together it
formed a solid.

Page 5
What evidence for the particle model of matter does Dr. Jeff show during the
liquid nitrogen demonstration?

When Dr. Jeff cuts open the balloon that Izzy placed in the liquid nitrogen, solid carbon dioxide falls
out. The presence of solid carbon dioxide is evidence that the carbon dioxide gas is made up of
particles. The solid carbon dioxide had to come from somewhere. (It is important to note that
carbon dioxide is a unique material that can change directly from a solid to a gas without
becoming a liquid first.)

Compare what happens to Zoe’s soccer ball, which is left outside, to what you
observed during the liquid nitrogen demonstration.

During the demonstration, carbon dioxide gas was cooled, causing the particles of carbon dioxide
gas to come together and form solid carbon dioxide. This causes the balloon to deflate. Zoe’s soccer
ball was filled with air, which is also a gas. By leaving it outside, the cold air caused the air particles in
the ball to move closer together. It didn’t come together enough to form a solid, but it did make the
ball deflate a little.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
PARTICLE NATURE OF MATTER

1. What are the three states of matter?

1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. ______________________________

2. What is the smallest possible unit of matter called?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. True or false: when 500 ml of water is mixed with 500 ml of isopropyl alcohol, the result is 970 ml of liquid

because some was spilled. _______________________________________________________________________

4. Particles of matter cannot be seen because they are….

a. imaginary b. transparent c. magical d. tiny

5. Why did the soccer ball deflate in cold temperatures?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why do the marshmallows get bigger inside the vacuum chamber when the air is removed?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. True or false: a particle of matter is about the width of a human hair. __________________________________

8. Fill in the blank: ______________________________________ is anything that has weight and takes up space.

9. What makes Zoe’s rockets work?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Why was the carbon dioxide in the balloons a solid when the balloons were cut open?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Weather and Climate

DEFINITION OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Weather is the day-to-day variation of the atmosphere’s condition locally. Climate is the
variation of weather conditions over long periods of time, usually years.

To better understand the difference between weather and climate…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Weather is the day-to-day variation of the atmosphere’s

condition locally.
Weather can change quickly. TV
weather reporters make daily
predictions of weather conditions in
your area. One day it can be sunny, the
next day it is cloudy, and the next day it
is rainy. The weather is constantly
changing day-to-day. Just because it is
summer, that doesn't mean that every
day will hot - the daily weather varies.
To prepare for your day, most people
check the weather report.

Page 1
Scientists use instruments to measure and predict the
weather.
The scientific study of weather is called
meteorology, and the people that study
weather are called meteorologists.

Meteorologists use different instruments

to gather information about the
conditions in the atmosphere, such as a
barometer, which measures air
pressure. Air pressure changes when
weather conditions change. Another
weather instrument called an
anemometer measures wind speed. A rain gauge collects and measures the amount of rain that
has fallen.

Computers help scientists gather information from satellites that track weather patterns and this
helps scientists make forecasts.

A team of meteorologists work together to interpret the data and make predictions. In order to
make accurate predictions, they need to collect data over a large region.

Page 2
Climate is the year-by-year variation of the atmosphere’s
condition over a large area.
Knowing an area’s climate helps people
plan which types of crops to plant,
where to visit on vacation, and what
kinds of clothes to buy.

The types of plants and animals that live

in an area are also determined by its
climate. Scientists use many of the
same instruments to study climate as
they use to study weather. The main
difference is that climate is studied over
a much longer period of time, usually years.

For example, we know from collecting weather data over many years that in the USA the months of
July and August are usually the hottest -- it's summer! This means most days will be hot, but not
every day ... the daily weather varies, but the climate is hot!

By studying the climate, scientists can know if something drastic is going wrong on Earth. One really
hot day is probably just part of the natural variation of weather, but if lots of days are hot and this
happens for years, that means the climate has changed, which could mean the Earth has changed
dramatically in some way.

Page 3
Different climates exist around the world.
Our planet has a wonderful variety of
different climates. Oymyakon, Russia is
the coldest area inhabited on Earth,
averaging -59°F during the winter
months. The climate is very cold, but
once in a while you could have a day
that is much warmer than the rest - that
would be weather.

The Atacama Desert in Chile has the

driest climate in the world. It has only
rained there four times in the last 37 years.

Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica is the windiest area on record, with an average wind speed of 50
mph (miles per hour). That’s like a continuous blizzard!

We can put climates into a few general categories. Tropical climates, located near the equator, are
always warm. In subtropical climates, temperatures are warm. Polar climates are very cold with
snow and ice covering the land.

Page 4
 WEATHER VS. CLIMATE EXAMPLES

NASA tested their Mars Meteorologists use Meteorologists deliver

Rover in the Atacama weather stations to gather forecasts in front of green
Desert in Chile. This region data. Weather stations screens. TV editors replace
has a climate and combine many instruments, the green wall with digital
landscape similar to that on such as a thermometer, maps depicting weather
Mars. barometer, rain gauge, and conditions.
anemometer. All this data
helps predict the weather.

WEATHER VS. CLIMATE VOCABULARY

Weather Day-to-day variation of the atmosphere's condition locally.

Climate The variations of weather conditions over long periods of time.

A scientist that studies the atmosphere in order to understand and predict the
Meteorologist
weather.

Rain Gauge A device used to measure the amount of rainfall over a period of time.

Thermometer A device that measures air temperature.

Anemometer A device that measures how fast the wind is blowing.

Page 5
 WEATHER VS. CLIMATE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Is the weather forecast shown in the video the same every day? Explain.

No, each day the temperature changes. Whether or not it is going to be sunny or cloudy also
changes.

Why do Izzy and Zoe think they should be wearing summer clothes? Explain.

Zoe and Izzy live in a climate where it is typically warm in June. They expected it to be warm but
didn’t check the weather forecast before they got dressed.

Why was Dr. Jeff wearing warm clothes in the summer? Explain.

Dr. Jeff knew that although the weather where he lives is usually warm in June, it can change day-to-
day. He checked the forecast and realized it was cold so he put on warm clothes.

What evidence do Zoe and Izzy find that supports their decision to wear shorts?
Why?

Zoe and Izzy look at a graph of average monthly temperatures for their region over the past 10 years.
It shows that the weather is usually warm in June. This is why they were surprised to find out that it
was cold.

What is the job of a meteorologist?

Vera is the name of the meteorologist the team meets at the weather station. She studies the
atmosphere to predict and understand the weather. She collects weather data such as
temperature, precipitation (amount of rain), wind speed, wind direction and air pressure using tools
at a weather station. She also uses data from other meteorologists and satellites. She uses her
understanding of all this data to make predictions about the next few days of weather in her area
(Los Angeles, California). She creates a forecast based on data and presents it on TV using maps
and graphics projected on a green screen.

Page 6
What types of weather data are collected by a weather station?

Weather stations are a combination of several different tools that measure weather conditions.
These include thermometers to measure temperature, anemometers to measure wind speed and
direction, barometers to measure air pressure and rain gauges to measure precipitation (amount
of rain or snow).

Page 7
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
WEATHER VS. CLIMATE
1. Is the local, day-by-day variation in the atmosphere’s condition called weather or climate?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What weather instrument measures how hot or cold it is outside?

a. anemometer b. barometer c. meteorologist d. thermometer

3. What is the tool that measures precipitation called? _________________________________________________

4. Which of these does a barometer measure?

a. temperature b. pressure c. wind speed d. precipitation

5. True or false: meteorologists on TV just read a weather report. ________________________________________

6. If you see a large “H” on the weather map, what type of weather can you expect there?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. If you see a large “L” on the weather map, what type of weather can you expect there?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. If it is normally hot in the summer, should you assume it will be hot everyday during the summer or should

you check the weather before you make plans? Why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What does an anemometer measure? _____________________________________________________________

10. Describe the weather outside today as well as the climate this time of year in your area:

Weather: ___________________________________________________________________________________

Climate: ___________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

 READING MATERIAL

Read About Animal Group Behavior

DEFINITION OF ANIMAL GROUP BEHAVIOR

Group behavior is what animals do with other animals to help them survive. Groups can be
large, like a herd of a million wildebeest, or small, like a pride of a few lions. Humans live in
groups also, and we work together to help one another. The purpose of group behavior is to
help living things survive.

To better understand animals behavior in the wild…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Page 1
Animal Group Behavior can involve a few animals or
thousands.
Animals can form groups that are big or
small. An African lion pride usually
consists of about 13 lions. By forming a
group they can hunt more effectively. It
helps them survive.

Wolves also form small packs of

between 5 and 11 individuals. Wolf packs
also hunt together and defend
themselves against intruders.

Wildebeest can be found in huge groups of over 1 million in eastern Africa. Wildebeest are very
vulnerable to predators, which is why they live in such large herds. When a predator gets near, they
make an alarm call to signal the other members of the herd. Interestingly, they also stay close to
zebras. Scientists think that they hang out with zebras in hopes that the predator will catch a zebra
instead of a wildebeest.

Wildebeest are part of the great migration, during which time they travel from the Serengeti in
Tanzania to grasslands in Kenya. The migration is in a circle, consisting of 500 miles of grass.
Traveling in large herds is the safest way to make this journey.

Groups can help animals defend themselves.

One of the main reasons animals form
groups is to defend themselves. When
there are more individuals in the group,
there are more pairs of eyes to look out
for danger.

Meerkats stand up to look around for

predators, mainly big birds, that might
attack the group. Meerkats, which live in
the African savannah, have lightly-
colored fur to blend in with the sand.
They dig burrows with many different rooms, entry points, and exits so they can escape and hide
from predators. All the members of the group also help take care of the babies.

Page 2
Groups can help animals gather food.
Another reason animals form groups is
to gather food. Honey bees are very
organized. Worker bees are the most
plentiful bees in a colony. One of their
jobs is to supply the colony with food by
collecting nectar from plants. Worker
bees communicate with each other by
doing a waggle dance to direct other
members of their hive to flowers. When
they return to the hive, worker bees
share food with other bees and feed the bee larvae. Without working as a group, they could not
build such an awesome home.

Groups can help animals find mates.

When animals live together to share
food, it is much easier for individuals to
find mates. Colonies of flamingos can
range in size from 50 individuals to
thousands of members. They typically
form groups because they share the
same food source, which consists of
algae and shrimp.

One of the benefits of living together is

that they do not need to travel far to find
mates. This helps them survive because if they had to travel far they could get eaten!

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IN GROUPS

Leaf cutter ants chop Migrating birds fly in a V- Most fish swim in schools
leaves and carry them formation to help them to avoid predation. Eighty
back to their colony. The conserve energy. Each percent of known fish swim
leaves are used as fertilizer goose flies slightly above in schools because it is a
to grow fungus, which is the one in front of it, which very effective defense.
shared with the entire reduces their wind
colony. resistance.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR VOCABULARY

A container people keep to study the group behavior of ants. The ants will dig tunnels
Ant Farm
into the sand or other materials and it can be easily seen through the container.

Group Two or more individuals working together to help them survive.

Things that animals do with other animals that help them survive. Common examples

Group Behavior include crowding together to protect from predators, flying with other birds to reduce

wind resistance and working together to build a home like ants do.

Larvae The immature form of an insect like a bee. Larvae often look like little worms.

Page 4
 A large dark mammal with a long head, a beard and mane. They eat grass and form
Wildebeest
groups that can be in the millions in order to better protect themselves from predators.

The yearly journey of millions of wildebeest from the Serengeti in Tanzania to grasslands
The Great
in Kenya. The migration is in the shape of a circle and they travel over 500 miles each
Migration
year in search of grass to eat.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How do ants demonstrate group behavior?

Ants work together in a group called a colony or an army to help them survive, grow and reproduce.
They build their homes by digging tunnels, create bridges for other ants to cross, cut leaves and
bring them to the nest to grow fungus, which feeds the whole group.

How do honeybees work together in groups?

Honeybees work together to build nests, reproduce and gather food for the whole group. Worker
bees collect nectar from flowers and take it back to the hive to feed the young bees.

How do animals form groups as part of the “great migration” in Africa?

Animals like wildebeest travel in large groups (thousands or millions) as they migrate hundreds of
miles across the savannah in search of food. These groups keep individuals protected since so
many animals are looking out for predators.

How does the “sentry” behavior of one meerkat help defend the group?

One meerkat stands watch and acts as a “sentry.” It will alert the other members of the group if a
predator is spotted.

How do meerkats work together as a group when babies are born?

When babies are born, all the other meerkats pitch in and help take care of the babies.

Page 5
Do flamingos form flocks on purpose? Why or why not?

Flamingos are safer in a large group because there are more eyes watching for predators like
alligators and crocodiles, but they also all eat the same type of specialized food (brine shrimp), so
they tend to gather where that food is found.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
ANIMAL GROUP BEHAVIOR

1. List three reasons animals might form groups.

1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How large could a group of wildebeests grow during the great migration in Eastern Africa?

a. 10 b. 1,000 c. 10,000 d. 1 million+

3. List two different reasons ants work together.

1. ______________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

4. Why do bees work together?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

5. True or false: 3 animals working together is considered group behavior. _______________________________

6. What is a meerkat that stands up and watches for predators called?

a. sentry b. century c. watchdog d. soldier

7. Why do geese and bike racers travel behind each other?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Flamingos end up in groups due to the food they eat. What are two additional benefits these groups

provide the flamingos?

1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What do fish do to protect themselves from predators?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What is a group of lions called? __________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Information Transfer

INFORMATION TRANSFER DEFINITION

Information transfer is the way information is turned into a code and transferred from one
place to another. Computers and other electronic devices transfer information in the form
of patterns containing 1’s and 0’s.

To better understand information transfer and how computers work…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Patterns are used to send and receive information.

Before electricity was invented, there
wasn’t a quick and easy way to send
messages over long distances.

People communicated using written

letters. After electricity was invented,
people started using electronic patterns
to communicate.

In 1944, the first Morse code machine

was invented. This machine sent the
earliest text messages through a pattern of long and short beeps that correspond to letters and
numbers. One person would send the message using the Morse code machine, and then another
person would decode the message into letters and numbers. The information traveled as electrical
signals across telegraph lines.

Page 1
Text and images are transferred through a pattern of 1’s
and 0’s.
Today, microchips in our electronics
create patterns of information that are
sent to other devices. The receiving
device decodes the information into
something you can understand. Instead
of dots and dashes, our devices use
patterns of 1’s and 0’s, which are
translated into letters and numbers.

Digital pictures also use electronic

patterns. The patterns are used to turn
pixels on or off. Pixels are simply tiny lights.

By sending a pattern of information telling a device which pixels to turn on and off, an
image can be made. Images with more pixels have more detail.

Music can be stored and transferred as patterns of 1’s and

0’s.
Even though music is not text or images,
it is also converted to a pattern of 1’s and
0’s.

CDs store music as microscopic

patterns of holes in the surface of the
disc. A hole represents a 1 and no hole
represents a 0.

Digital music in your phone is also

stored in patterns of 1’s and 0’s. One
song can have over ten million 1’s and 0’s, which computers can read very quickly, sometimes at a
rate of over a billion numbers in one second.

Page 2
Computer programming gives instructions to electronic
devices.
Once a text, image, or song is on your
device, you can do something with it
through computer programming.

Computer programming, sometimes

called coding, is the process of giving
instructions to a computer in a
language it can understand. The
computer is then able to perform an
action, such as sending a text message
or playing a song.

Computer programming involves writing computer code, a series of instructions which are
translated to 1’s and 0’s so that a computer can understand it.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION TRANSFER

Computers transmit TV remotes send Cell phones send signals to

images through a pattern information as patterns of and from cellular towers.
of 1’s and 0’s to 3D printers. light pulses. The pulses tell It’s common to think that
The printer uses instructions the TV when to change the your phone is directly
in the form of 1’s and 0’s in channel, increase or sending a signal to
order to print. decrease volume, or when someone else’s phone. In
to turn the power on and off. reality, both phones are
sending patterns of
electronic pulses to a cell
phone tower.

INFORMATION TRANSFER VOCABULARY

One of the earliest ways to send messages using a pattern of short and long
Morse Code
beeps or a pattern of dots and dashes.

Decode To convert a code into something people can understand.

Radio Waves A signal that can be sent through the air to send and receive information.

The brains of electronic devices. They are often about the size of a coin and

Microchip located deep inside our phones and computers. Microchips send and receive

patterns that help our electronics work.

Page 4
 Tiny lights that make up the screens of our devices which can be turned on and
Pixels
off to form an image.

Computer The process of giving a computer instructions in a language it can understand.

Programming Also called "coding."

INFORMATION TRANSFER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How does Morse code work to send and receive information? Explain.

Using Morse code, words from messages are translated to a pattern of dots and dashes
representing letters and numbers. These patterns of dots and dashes are sent over long distances
as pulses of electricity. On the receiving end, the dots and dashes have to be translated back into
words so the message can be decoded.

How are Morse code and our current system of 1's and 0's similar?

Both Morse code and our current system use patterns made up of only two things to transfer
complex information—Morse code uses dots and dashes and our current system uses 1's and 0's.

How are 1's and 0's used to create the smiley face on Dr. Jeff’s pixel grid?

Patterns of 1's and 0's are sent from the microchip to the lights, telling them which ones should turn
on. Those that turn on are the ones that create the smiley face.

When Dr. Jeff shows the three images with different numbers of pixels, which is
the clearest and why?

The image that uses 1,000,000 pixels to create the image is the clearest because it has the most
pixels. The greater the number of pixels, the clearer the image.

How do pixels work to show a colored picture?

Pixels can be different colors. Instructions for the color of each pixel are provided in the patterns of
1's and 0's.

Page 5
How is music played from a CD similar to music played from a phone? How is it
different?

Both CDs and phones use patterns of 1's and 0's to play music. However, CDs actually store music as
a pattern of holes (1s) and no holes (0s) on the disc. A CD player reads these patterns and converts
them back into sound. Phones are more high-tech and store music as patterns of 1's and 0's on
microchips.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
INFORMATION TRANSFER
1. What two things are used to form patterns representing letters and numbers in Morse code?

1. _____________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

2. What two symbols do computers use to form patterns and code information?

1. _____________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________

3. What are the three colors of light that make up pixels on a screen to create colors?

1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. _____________________________

4. True or false: information is stored on CDs using tiny holes burned with lasers. __________________________

5. How does a 3D printer know what to print?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What does a TV remote control send to the TV?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. True or false: information is sent directly from one cell phone to another. _______________________________

8. What was a key discovery in the advancement of early information transfer?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. If you want to have a higher definition image, you need more of what?

a. dots b. 1s c. electricity d. pixels

10. What is found inside your cell phone and other devices that store music?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Before information was transferred electronically how did people share information?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Earth's Landscapes

DEFINITION OF EARTH’S LANDSCAPE

A landscape describes all the visible features of the Earth’s surface now or in the past. We
can learn about Earth’s landscapes from the past by studying rock layers and the fossils found
in them.

To better understand Earth’s surface features and landscapes ….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

The oldest rock layers are at the bottom and the newest
layers are at the top.
We can tell about the Earth’s history by
looking at the different layers. The upper
layers, those that are closest to the
surface of the Earth, are the newest
layers to be laid down.

Layers below are older. Since

sedimentary rocks form on top of each
other, it is very easy to see Earth’s
geologic history in areas where this type
of rock is found.

The Grand Canyon is an excellent example. For millions of years, the Earth’s surface was carved by
the Colorado River. Many layers of sedimentary rock make up the mile-high walls of the canyon. The
walls display a history of the Earth’s surface that dates back about 2 billion years.

Page 1
The location of fossils in rock layers provides evidence of
Earth’s past landscapes.
It is hard to guess the age of rock.
Scientists have to act like detectives,
piecing together a mystery to determine
how long ago rocks formed.

Fossils found in a particular rock layer

help scientists determine the age of the
rock. Scientists use a technique called
radiocarbon dating to find out the age
of the fossils. Once they know the age of
the fossil in the rock, they also know that
rock itself is about the same age!

Sharktooth Hill in California tells a story of Earth’s past.

Sharktooth Hill in California is about 100
miles away from the ocean. Millions of
years ago, Sharktooth Hill was under the
ocean. Here, paleontologists find lots of
fossils of marine life, surrounded by silt.
The remains of ancient sharks, whales,
dolphins, and turtles have been found
buried 30 feet underground.

Scientists believe that this area was

once an ocean with a river flowing into it
which deposited sediment (sand and clay) at the bottom. When animals died here they were
buried in the sediment. One day, the river stopped flowing and lots of animals collected at the
bottom. When the river started flowing again, it buried all the bones together.

Now, millions of years later, this area is no longer an ocean and the bones are preserved as a layer
of fossils known as a bone bed.

Page 2
 EXAMPLES OF EARTH'S ANCIENT LANDSCAPES

Giant seals from over 15 Radiocarbon dating is used Millions of year ago, the
million years ago are found to find out how old the west coast of the United
in rock layers at fossils are. Scientists States was a maze of
Sharktooth Hill. By knowing compare the carbon in the islands and lagoons. Over
the age of the fossils, fossils to carbon today to time the islands collided to
scientists can also know the determine how long ago create mountains and
age of the rock in which it is the fossil formed. valleys that make up the
found. state of California.

EARTH’S LANDSCAPES VOCABULARY

Fossil A fossil is evidence of past life on Earth.

A place in California located 100 miles away from the Pacific Ocean. Millions of years

ago this region was under the ocean. Today it is on dry land and we find fossils of
Sharktooth Hill
marine life like whales, sharks, dolphins and turtles in a thin layer 30 feet below the

surface.

Paleontology The branch of science that studies fossils of animals and plants.

Fine sand, clay, or other material carried by moving water and deposited at the
Silt
bottom of a body of water like the ocean.

Page 3
 Sedimentary rocks are made when sand and mud gets laid down in layers. Over time,

Sedimentary Rock these layers are squashed under more and more layers. Eventually, the layers turn into
rock.

Bone bed A layer in the earth containing large quantities of fossilized animal remains.

EARTH’S LANDSCAPES DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What kinds of evidence supports the idea that the landscape at Sharktooth Hill
was once under the ocean?

Fossils from whales, sharks, dolphins, and turtles are found there along with silt, which is sediment
found at the bottom of the ocean.

Why is it possible to find ancient fossils right at the Earth’s surface?

Although the layer of rock that contains the fossils found at Sharktooth Hill is very old, it is exposed at
the Earth’s surface in some areas of the dig site so fossils can be found right on the ground. Older
rocks above this fossil layer eroded over time due to water and/or wind.

Is there any evidence that a volcano caused all the animals to die here?

No. Scientist have not found any volcanic ash in the rock layer. They also ruled out that all the
animals were eaten by sharks because very few shark bites have been found on other animals’
bones. There is no evidence to support these theories.

What is the current understanding of how the fossil bone bed at Shark Tooth Hill
formed?

The silt the bones are buried in is thought to have come from a river depositing fine sand and clay
on the bottom of the ocean. Animals who died naturally in that area would have been buried and
fossilized. Scientists think that the river may have stopped flowing for some time (due to a change in
the climate), which meant sediment was not being deposited and animal skeletons collected on the
sea floor. When the climate shifted and the river started flowing again, sediment then buried all the
collected skeletons, forming the bone bed.

Page 4
How do the rock layers above and below the bone bed compare in age?

The rock layers above the bone bed are younger than the bone bed. The rock layers below the bone
bed are older than the bone bed.

Where would you look for evidence of what it was like before the bone bed
formed?

To know about the environment before the time the bone bed formed, you would need to dig
deeper than the bone bed. Layers below it would be older.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
EARTH’S LANDSCAPES

1. What physical evidence do we find of past life on Earth? _____________________________________________

2. True or false: all fossils come from dinosaurs. ______________________________________________________

3. What evidence does the team find that suggests the desert was once an ocean?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is a rock layer full of fossils called?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Which of these rock layers is the oldest? Youngest?

Oldest: ________________________________________ Youngest:________________________________________

A
B
C
D

6. What can we learn using radiocarbon dating?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What formed the Grand Canyon?

a. river b. glacier c. dinosaurs d. humans

8. True or false: large portions of North America that are now dry land used to be under an ocean.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What is the largest type of shark that ever lived? ____________________________________________________

10. How do the rock layers above and below the bone bed compare in age?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Life Cycles

LIFE CYCLE DEFINITION

A life cycle is a series of stages a living thing goes through during its life. All plants and
animals go through life cycles. It is helpful to use diagrams to show the stages, which often
include starting as a seed, egg, or live birth, then growing up and reproducing. Life cycles
repeat again and again.

To better understand the stages of life in plants and animals…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Plant & Animal Life Cycles: A life cycle shows how living
things grow and change over time.
All plants and animals go through life
cycles. Just think about all the growing
and changing human children do as
they grow up. Children grow in height
and get heavier until they reach
adulthood. Children also change as their
body matures.

If you have a pet, you have probably

watched parts of your pet’s life cycle.
They are born as puppies that depend
on their mothers for food and care. Between six to 18 months, puppies become adolescent dogs,
with lots of energy and playfulness. After about 3 years, dogs become adults and are ready to find
a mate and make more puppies. When dogs are between six and ten years old, they enter the
senior stage. They like to rest more and sometimes their snouts turn gray. At the end of their senior
stage, a dog’s life cycle comes to an end. But that’s okay because the cycle will start all over again
with new puppies.

Page 1
Life Cycle of a Plant: Plants start as seeds, then most form
flowers and fruit.
Plants start as seeds. When a seed starts
to grow we call that germination. When
a plant is mature, it produces flowers.
Flowers are fertilized, sometimes by
animals like honeybees or sometimes
by wind. After a flower is fertilized, most
plants make seeds in the form of fruit.
The seed inside the fruit can be planted
and grow into a new plant, and the
cycle starts over again.

Life Cycle of an Animal: Animals start from eggs or live

birth, then they grow up and mate.
Animals begin life either from an egg or
as a baby that is born ready for life.
Baby animals grow and change into
adolescents and eventually become
adults. Adult animals look for a mate to
begin the life cycle all over again with
new babies. Each type of animal has
their own unique life cycle.

When babies are born or hatch from

eggs, some look much like their parents,
like kittens and horses. Other baby animals look much different from their parents, like tadpoles
which will turn into frogs.

Animals that change dramatically during their life cycle go through metamorphosis. For example, a
mother butterfly lays eggs that hatch into baby caterpillars. As the caterpillar eats it grows bigger
and bigger, and eventually it is ready to transform into a butterfly. The change takes place inside a
chrysalis, where the caterpillar’s body changes into a butterfly. When the butterfly comes out of the
chrysalis, it is ready to find a mate and lay eggs. Then the cycle can start all over again!

Page 2
Stages of Life: All life cycles start at birth, end with death,
and involve growth and reproduction.
Some living things go through their life
cycle quickly, like male drone ants that
live for only three weeks. Other living
things have much longer life cycles, like
some types of pine trees that can live
for over 5,000 years!

All life cycles have a few things in

common: they start with seeds, eggs, or
live birth, then involve multiple steps
including reproduction, and then they
end in death. The cycle repeats for millions of years.

Page 3
 ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE CYCLE EXAMPLES

African bullfrogs lay eggs Gorillas give birth to babies Plants go through
which turn into tadpoles. that only weigh a few pollination which produces
Tadpoles will develop legs pounds. Baby gorillas seeds. When the seeds are
and lungs so they can live depend on their mothers for planted and begin to grow,
on land as adult frogs. This the first three to four years. the plant cycle starts all
is a major step in the frog’s Then they grow up and the over again.
life cycle. life cycle continues.

ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE CYCLE VOCABULARY

Life cycle A series of stages a living thing goes through during its life.

Metamorphosis Changing forms dramatically over the course of a life cycle.

The immature form of an insect that often undergoes metamorphosis. Larvae look
Larvae
very different than the adult bug they grow into thanks to the life cycle.

A hard shell made by a caterpillar, moth or other insect in which a transformation

Chrysalis called metamorphosis happens. In the video we see a caterpillar form a Chrysalis,

then it turns into a butterfly.

Germination The process of a plant starting to grow from a seed.

Page 4
 A young plant that has recently started to grow from a seed. It is usually only a few
Seedling
inches tall and has roots, stem and just a few leaves.

ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE CYCLE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why are life cycle diagrams in the shape of a circle?

A life cycle is sometimes called the circle of life because animals and plants are born, grow into
adults, reproduce and then die but their children then continue their own life cycle. The pattern
repeats over and over again, sometimes for millions of years. Showing the pattern as a circle helps
us see how it repeats.

What is metamorphosis?

Metamorphosis is when a living thing changes form dramatically over the course of its life such as a
caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

How does a butterfly change dramatically throughout its life cycle?

Butterflies start their life cycle when they hatch from eggs as caterpillars. To become a butterfly, the
caterpillar forms a chrysalis and undergoes metamorphosis where it changes dramatically into a
butterfly.

How does an African Bullfrog use both land and water as it changes throughout
its life cycle?

African Bullfrogs lay eggs in the water. In a few days, the eggs hatch and tadpoles emerge,
swimming in the water. After about three weeks, the tadpoles begin to grow legs and lose their tails.
As adults, they can live on land and in the water for about 20 years.

How does a gorilla change and grow throughout its life cycle?

A baby gorilla is born live after its mother is pregnant for about nine months. Babies spend their first
3-4 years with their parents. As they grow, they become “teenagers” until they are independent from
their mothers at about 8-12 years. They eventually become adults and reproduce. Older gorillas may
develop health problems and slow down.

Page 5
What are the stages of a dog’s life cycle?

The first stage of a dog’s life cycle is when it is born as a live puppy (usually in a litter of several
puppies). The puppy stage lasts as long as 1.5 years and then the dog enters its second stage of life
— adolescence — when it grows to adult size. The third stage of a dog’s life is when it is an adult, and
the fourth stage is the senior stage.

Page 6
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
ANIMAL & PLANT LIFE CYCLES

1. What does a life cycle show? _____________________________________________________________________

2. How do most plant life cycles start? _______________________________________________________________

3. What are two ways an animal might be born? _________________________ or ___________________________

4. True or false: metamorphosis means to go through dramatic change. __________________________________

5. Which of these animals goes through metamorphosis during its life cycle?

a. penguin b. chicken c. gorilla d. frog

6. During what stage of the butterfly life cycle is it able to fly?

a. egg b. larva c. pupa d. adult

7. How is a chicken born? __________________________________________________________________________

8. Do frogs start their life cycles on land or in water? ___________________________________________________

9. Place these stages of a frog’s life cycle in order (frog, tadpole, egg, tadpole with legs).

1st stage: _________________________________________________________________________________

2nd stage: ________________________________________________________________________________

3rd stage:_________________________________________________________________________________

4th stage: _________________________________________________________________________________

10. Describe the metamorphosis that a butterfly goes through during its life cycle.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Water

WATER DISTRIBUTION & WATER QUALITY DEFINITION

Water is an essential substance needed by all living things. Water quality is a measurement
of the condition of water and how clean it is for living things, including humans. The
distribution of water on earth tells us where we can find water, like in oceans, lakes, rivers,
glaciers, and underground. About 97% of Earth’s water is in the oceans!

To better understand Earth’s water supply and distribution….

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Our Water Supply: Most of Earth’s water is in the oceans.

You can divide water into two general
categories: freshwater and saltwater.
Saltwater is found in the ocean and
contains salt. Freshwater is found in
glaciers (frozen water), groundwater,
and surface water (lakes, streams,
ponds, rivers, and swamps).

Water covers 71% of the Earth, but it is not

evenly divided between freshwater and
saltwater. 97% of the Earth’s water is
found in the ocean. That means that only 3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater. Since there is so
little freshwater it is very important to know its quality, and how to keep it clean.

Page 1
Water Supply Cleanliness: Plants and animals depend on
clean water to survive.
Living things need water to survive. If
water contains too many pollutants,
plants and animals will not survive and it
can become toxic for humans to drink.

Some living things are more sensitive to

pollution. If scientists find these sensitive
organisms in bodies of water, there is a
good chance that the water quality is
good. When the sensitive organisms are
dying in bodies of water, it is possible
that the water has been contaminated by pollutants.

Impacting the Water Supply: Humans can negatively

affect water quality even if they live far away from it.
We can have an impact on water
quality, even if we don’t live near any
major bodies of water. There are many
ways in which people affect water
quality.

Using too much fertilizer or pesticide,

dumping wastes into storm drains,
littering, and not cleaning up after dogs
can all cause pollution.

These wastes can enter groundwater or move along the surface of land and contaminate larger
bodies of water far away. In addition, all the paved surfaces in cities create a lot of surface water
after it rains, which carries pollution from the streets into bodies of water.

Agricultural runoff can also contaminate the water. Water that is not absorbed by the plants travels
over the soil and picks up fertilizers and other pollutants along the way. That water then flows into
groundwater or nearby bodies of water. When polluted runoff reaches the ocean, it can create
blooms of algae which take up all the oxygen in the water, leaving dead zones where fish cannot
survive.

Page 2
Water Distribution: What happens to water when it goes
down the sink or gets flushed?
The water we flush down the toilet is
sent to a wastewater treatment plant. It
goes through three main phases of
filtration. First, dirty water is sent to a
machine that filters out solids and other
debris, like a filter. That material is
chopped into smaller pieces and taken
to a landfill. Next, the remaining water is
sent to an underground tank. Here tiny
organisms (bacteria) feed on the left-
over waste in the water. Finally, the water is moved to oceans, lakes, and rivers, or to a final cleaning
stage, before its used for watering farms or golf courses.

Page 3
 EXAMPLES OF WATER DISTRIBUTION & WATER QUALITY

Programs like “Heal the We can help by pitching in Water filters remove
Bay” give beach report to clean up litter. Beach particles and minerals
cards to indicate the clean up days reduce the from water, making it safe
health of a beach. They amount of litter and to drink. Inside a water filter
measure levels of bacteria pollution from entering the is a sediment filter that
to determine if the beach is ocean. Similar projects removes large particles
safe for swimming. Too around rivers and lakes (like sand or dirt). Then
much bacteria in the water prevent pollution from carbon in the filter absorbs
can make people and fish entering freshwater chemicals found in the
get sick. ecosystems. water, and a fine mesh
screen removes any small
particles that are left over.

WATER DISTRIBUTION & WATER QUALITY VOCABULARY

Glaciers A slow moving mass of ice usually made from compacted snow on mountains.

Marine Biologist A scientist that studies life in the oceans.

Measurement of the condition of water and how clean it is for living things,
Water Quality
including humans.

Surface Runoff Water from rain or snow that flows over land before ending up in a body of water.

Page 4
Watershed A large area of land that drains into a body of water.

A sewer that drains excess rain and groundwater from streets, parks and
Storm Drain
sidewalks.

WATER DISTRIBUTION & WATER QUALITY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Why did Dr. Jeff mention the presence of dead zones when talking about water
quality?

Dead zones are areas where algae blooms grow. These blooms grow because polluted runoff
reaches the ocean. Poor water quality can cause these blooms to form.

How did the team describe the three stages of a water filter?

The first stage separates out large particles from getting into water. The second stage has fine
pieces of carbon. This helps absorb impurities in the water. The last stage consists of a fine mesh
that takes out extremely small particles from the water.

How is water distributed on earth in terms of freshwater and saltwater?

97% of all the water on Earth is saltwater while only 3% is freshwater. This means bodies of water like
rivers and lakes are part of the 3% while oceans make up the 97%.

What happens when water reaches a water treatment plant?

Water undergoes three phases of filtration. First, it is sent to a machine that filters out solids or other
types of debris. Then, the water is sent to an underground tank where bacteria feed on
contaminants. Lastly, the water is moved to either a body of water, such as an ocean or river, or to a
cleaning tank, where it is further purified for other uses.

What effect would lack of available clean water have on the distribution of
water in a community, neighborhood, or even a city?

If water that will be used for drinking or other purposes is of poor quality, then this will affect how
much water is available to be distributed throughout an area. That is, there would be less clean
water available for distribution, which would affect how much water is available for people to use.

Page 5
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
WATER QUALITY & DISTRIBUTION
1. List three places where freshwater can be found.

1. _____________________________ 2. _____________________________ 3. ______________________________

2. What percentage of Earth’s water is saltwater?

a. 3 percent b. 100 percent c. 97 percent d. 50 percent

3. Why is important to measure water quality?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How does bacteria from dog poop get from the city into the ocean?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Can fertilizer that is used to water crops affect water quality? How?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What is an example of a positive action humans can take to impact water quality?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What is surface runoff?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. True or false: cigarette butts are a common pollutant found in beach clean-ups.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. It is safe to drink pond water that has been filtered at home? Why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Why are algal blooms problematic for fish and other things living in water?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019
 READING MATERIAL

Read About Science

SCIENCE DEFINITION
Science is the process of learning about the natural world through observation and
experimentation. In science, evidence is #1. People who study science are called scientists
and they use the scientific practices to gather and interpret information.

To better understand how science works…

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!

Page 1
Science is the process of learning about the natural world
through observation and experimentation.
In movies and television shows,
sometimes scientists are portrayed as
randomly combining chemicals to
make crazy concoctions. This couldn’t
be further from the truth. Real scientists
are very organized and methodical, and
serious about their work.

They ask meaningful questions that can

be tested and analyzed. They use very
specific tools and methods to test and
study the natural world. Scientists make careful observations and record their findings so that other
scientists can repeat their investigations. They share their findings with other scientists and read
about studies performed by others.

Scientists learn about the natural world through investigations, which produces evidence that helps
scientists answer questions. Investigations may involve experiments or observations about the
natural world. Scientists use scientific practices to do science. These include:

1. Asking questions and defining problems

2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Scientists do not always do all of these and they don't have to follow this exact order. It is more of a
general approach they take to collect, analyze, and share data.

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The more evidence we have about a theory the more
confident we are about it.
When scientists carry out investigations,
they are gathering data to answer
questions about the natural world.

If scientists collect lots of data that

supports the hypothesis, then the
hypothesis may become a theory.
Theories continue to be tested, and
sometimes they become well-
established because there is a lot of
evidence to back it up. Sometimes,
however, it may be thrown out because there is evidence showing it might not be true.

Scientists must always be willing to examine new evidence and change their views.

You must be willing to change your mind based on new

evidence.
Scientists frequently find new evidence
by conducting experiments. Well-held
theories are sometimes tossed out
because scientists make new
discoveries.

We no longer believe some of the

theories that used to be considered true.
For centuries, people believed that the
Earth was flat. At that time it was a
reasonable thought, until scientists
found evidence that changed their minds.

Scientists must look at new evidence with an open mind, and consider that other possible
explanations may exist.

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Many things around us appear to be science but are not.
Palm reading, magic tricks, and
predicting the future with a magic 8 ball
are not science. Anytime someone is
making claims without evidence, they
are not presenting science.

For example, sometimes people get

confused about astronomy and
astrology. Astronomy is the scientific
study of space. Astrology studies the
movement and positions of the stars,
which some people believe has an influence on human behaviors. Astrology is NOT science
because there is no evidence to support their claims.

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 SCIENCE EXAMPLES

Benjamin Franklin is given Science has revolutionized Modern medicine is one of

credit for discovering agriculture. Modern the most important
electricity. In fact, many advancements in contributions of science.
scientists before and after agriculture have helped Countless lives have been
Franklin conducted scientists discover ways to saved through discoveries
experiments to better feed people in more places like vaccinations and
understand electricity and throughout the world. antibiotics.
how it can be used. Science
is a team effort.

SCIENCE FOR KIDS VOCABULARY

Science is the process of learning about the natural world through observation and
Science
experimentation.

Scientists use the scientific practices to do science. There are 8 of them: Asking questions,

Developing and using models, Planning and carrying out investigations, Analyzing and

Scientific interpreting data, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Constructing

practices explanations, Engaging in argument from evidence, and Obtaining, evaluating, and

communicating information. It is important to remember that not all of these are used in

every study and they don’t always happen in the same order.

Controlled A scientific test where the people conducting it only change one variable at a time in order

Experiment to isolate the results.

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Claim An answer to a scientific question.

Not to be confused with astronomy (which is science), astrology is not science. It is the

Astrology study of the movements and positions of stars which some people believe has an

influence on human affairs. There is no evidence for this to be the case.

Astronomy The study of space.

SCIENCE FOR KIDS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What is science?

Science is the process of learning about the natural world through observation and
experimentation. Scientists use evidence, along with active thinking, to explain what is happening in
the natural world.

How does a person start ‘doing science’?

Science starts when a person is curious about the world around them and asks questions about
how it works. They think of ways to learn about the world by doing investigations, keep track of their
data as evidence, and tell other people what they have found. There are eight “science and
engineering practices” which is what we do when we are “doing science.”

What are some of the benefits of science that we live with every day?

In the video, Izzy mentions electricity, modern agriculture and advances in medicine such as
antibiotics. There are countless more! Diseases that were once harmful or deadly (polio, small pox,
chicken pox) are now nearly extinct thanks to science!

What does it mean to be a scientist?

It means to study the natural world around us using observation and experimentation. Scientists use
the scientific practices which are: Asking questions, Developing and using models, Planning and
carrying out investigations, Analyzing and interpreting data, Using mathematics and computational
thinking, Constructing explanations, Engaging in argument from evidence, and Obtaining,
evaluating, and communicating information. Not all of these are used in every study and they don’t
always happen in the same order.

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How can you tell if something is science, or not science?

Something is science if there is evidence that supports the claims that people make, and if the
evidence is collected using recognized scientific methods such as the eight “science and
engineering practices.” If claims do not have evidence to support them, it is not science.

Do scientific answers ever change?

Yes. Scientific answers change when new evidence is discovered that disproves what we thought
was fact. For example, people believed that the earth was flat, but as scientific equipment improved,
more accurate observations were made, and it became evident that the earth is spherical, or
shaped like a ball.

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Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________________

GENIUSCHALLENGE
WHAT IS SCIENCE?

1. What can increase our confidence in a scientific claim or theory? _____________________________________

2. Which of these is part of the natural world and can therefore be studied through science?

a. unicorns b. mind reading c. butterflies d. ghosts

3. What is the most important thing in science? _______________________________________________________

4. What practice of science is the team using when Zoe wonders if all colors of light will cause the paint to

glow? _________________________________________________________________________________________

5. True or false: the science of studying space is called astrology. _______________________________________

6. What evidence does the team find that there is violet light in white light?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Is making claims without evidence to back them up a practice of science? _____________________________

8. How can our scientific understanding about something change?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Name one field of science that does not use controlled experiments. What practices do scientists in that

field use?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Which of these fields of science focuses on studying the structure and properties of matter?

a. biology b. astronomy c. paleontology d. chemistry

© 2018 Generation Genius, Inc.

Worksheet by Generation Genius © 2019