This book belongs to:

Teacher/Room:

All images ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Inc., unless otherwise noted

Cover: ©Roger Hill/Getty Images
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies
of any part of the work should be submitted through our Permissions website at https://customercare.hmhco.com/contactus/Permissions.html or mailed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Company, Attn: Compliance, 9400 Southpark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819-8647.
Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN 978-0-358-57722-5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 XXXX 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23
4500000000
r8.24

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
retains title to the materials, and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to

convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

Grade 4
Program Authors

Michael A. DiSpezio Chris Emdin

Global Educator Professor of Education
North Falmouth, Massachusetts University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, California

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Marjorie Frank Peter McLaren
Science Writer and Content-Area Executive Director of
Reading Specialist Next Gen Education, LLC
Denver, Colorado Providence, Rhode Island

Karen Ostlund
Assistant Professor Emerita,
UTeach, College of Natural Sciences
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

ii
 Neal Schick Cary Sneider, PhD
Science Teacher Visiting Scholar
Bay Ridge Preparatory School Portland State University
Brooklyn, New York Portland, Oregon

Program Consultants
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Emergent Bilingual Differentiation Safety Consultant

Consultant Consultant Sandra Sturdivant West
Elena Izquierdo Ariel Taylor Professor of Biology and
Professor, Teacher Education Assistant Professor of Practice Science Education Emerita
University of Texas at El Paso and Director of UTeach Texas State University
El Paso, Texas Accelerate San Marcos, Texas
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

iii
Engineering................................................................. x
Safety in Science........................................................ xii

TEKS 4.1–TEKS 4.5 can be found throughout the TEKS lessons.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (c) ©PhotographyPerspectives/Photographer’s
Matter and Energy
Classify Matter by
Physical Properties TEKS 4.6.A ..................... 1

Hands-On Mass Matters.................................................. 5

Hands-On Marvelous Magnetism................................... 11
Hands-On Hot and Cold................................................. 15
Hands-On Sink or Float?................................................ 21
Hands-On Classifying Matter......................................... 25

Mixtures TEKS 4.6.B 33

Choice/Getty Images, (b) ©Ryan McVay/DigitalVision/Getty Images

Hands-On Looking for Solutions .................................... 37
Hands-On What Color Is Black Ink?................................ 42

Conservation of Mass TEKS 4.6.C 63

Hands-On Measuring Mixtures...................................... 67

Hands-On The Amount of Matter................................... 71

iv
 Force, Motion, and Energy
Patterns of Forces TEKS 4.7.A ........................... 85
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Pincasso/Shutterstock, (tc) ©Rob Daugherty/Flickr/Getty Images, (bc) ©Goss

Hands-On Gravity’s Pull................................................. 89

Hands-On That’s Rough................................................. 93
Hands-On Mighty Magnets ........................................... 98

Energy Transfer TEKS 4.8.A 109

Hands-On
Investigate Energy Transfers, Part 1 ................................ 113
Investigate Energy Transfers, Part 2 ................................ 116
Hands-On
Engineer It: Design an Energy Game, Part 1.................... 121
Engineer It: Design an Energy Game, Part 2.................... 124

Conductors and Insulators

TEKS 4.8.B 139

Hands-On Melting Butter Better.................................. 143

Images/Alamy, (b) ©Piotr Zadroga/Alamy

Electrical Energy TEKS 4.8.C 163

Hands-On
Light the Bulb, Part 1...................................................... 167
Light the Bulb, Part 2...................................................... 171

v
Earth and Space
Patterns in Seasons
TEKS 4.9.A ....................................................................... 187

Hands-On Measuring Outdoor Temperature................ 191

Hands-On

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (c) ©Delphotostock/Fotolia, (b) ©st_matty/Adobe Stock
Collecting Weather Data, Part 1...................................... 195
Collecting Weather Data, Part 2...................................... 198

Phases of the Moon

TEKS 4.9.B 219

Hands-On
Modeling Moon Phases, Part 1....................................... 224
Modeling Moon Phases, Part 2 ....................................... 228
Hands-On
Identifying Moon Phase Patterns, Part 1......................... 233
Identifying Moon Phase Patterns, Part 2 ......................... 236

The Sun and the Water Cycle

TEKS 4.10.A 249

Hands-On Where Does the Water Go?......................... 253

Hands-On
Modeling the Water Cycle, Part 1.................................... 258
Modeling the Water Cycle, Part 2.................................... 262
Hands-On Researching Reservoirs............................... 267
Hands-On
Designing a Solution, Part 1............................................ 271
Designing a Solution, Part 2............................................ 275

vi
 Changes to Earth’s Surface
TEKS 4.10.B 289

Hands-On Shake Things Up!........................................ 293

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Katrina Brown/Fotolia, (tc) ©Sam’s photography/Moment/Getty Images, (bc)

Hands-On Glacial Moves!............................................. 303

Hands-On Blowing in the Wind.................................... 312

Weather and Climate

TEKS 4.10.C 325

Hands-On Blowing Hot and Cold................................. 329

Renewable and Nonrenewable

Resources TEKS 4.11.A 355
Hands-On How Do Wind Turbines Work?..................... 361
Hands-On Nonrenewable Resource Products.............. 367
©TebNad/iStockphoto.com, (b) ©mandritoiu/Adobe Stock

Energy Resources and Modern Life

TEKS 4.11.B, 4.11.C 393

Hands-On Modeling Rock Properties........................... 397

Hands-On Energy Use Scavenger Hunt........................ 406
Hands-On
Change Your School’s Impact, Part 1............................... 419
Change Your School’s Impact, Part 2............................... 422

vii
Organisms and Environments
The Role of Producers
TEKS 4.12.A 429

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Singkham/Shutterstock, (c) ©Gilles DeCruyenaere/Shutterstock,
Hands-On Producers and Sunlight............................... 433
Hands-On
Drink It In, Part 1............................................................. 438
Drink It In, Part 2............................................................. 441
Hands-On
The Carbon Dioxide–Oxygen Cycle................................. 446

Matter and Energy Flow

in Food Webs TEKS 4.12.B 459
Hands-On Making a Food Web.................................... 463
Hands-On Break It Down............................................. 468
Hands-On
Modeling a Food Web, Part 1.......................................... 472
Modeling a Food Web, Part 2.......................................... 475

Fossils and Past Environments

TEKS 4.12.C 483
(b) ©Peter Cripps/Alamy

Hands-On
Fossils as Evidence, Part 1............................................... 487
Fossils as Evidence, Part 2............................................... 492

viii
 Structures and Functions of Plants
TEKS 4.13.A 503

Hands-On
Observing Plant Structures, Part 1.................................. 507
Observing Plant Structures, Part 2.................................. 510
Hands-On
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©buburuzaproductions/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images,

Engineer It: Inspirations from Nature, Part 1................... 520

Engineer It: Inspirations from Nature, Part 2................... 524
Engineer It: Inspirations from Nature, Part 3................... 527

Inherited and Acquired

Physical Traits TEKS 4.13.B 537

Hands-On Me in the Mirror.......................................... 541

Hands-On
Parents and Offspring, Part 1.......................................... 548
Parents and Offspring, Part 2.......................................... 553
(b) ©Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

Interactive Glossary...................................................G1

ix
Engineering
Engineers develop solutions for all types of problems. Engineers use
engineering practices and design processes to help them make good
solutions to problems. They use this process to solve problems to meet
people’s wants and needs. An example of a design process is shown here.

This process has three main parts, or phases. You may use this process to
solve many different types of problems.

EXPLORE
In the Explore phase, you learn more about the problem by asking
questions and doing research. Can you think of other ways to learn
more about a problem? After you have gathered information about the
problem, you state the problem clearly. Then you identify what features
a good solution should have. The desirable features of a solution are
called criteria. You may also identify limits on an acceptable solution. The
problem is defined when you’ve identified criteria and limits and stated
the problem clearly.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

MAKE and TEST
In the Make and Test phase, you develop a good solution.
This phase may include the following steps:
• Brainstorm solutions
• Make models
• Make prototypes
• Test prototypes
• Evaluate test data
• Change prototypes

x
 When you brainstorm, you think of as many ideas as you can. These
ideas may or may not solve the problem you defined in the Explore
phase. Use the criteria, limits, and problem statement to choose which
solutions you think will solve the problem. Develop a model of the
solution. A model shows what something is like or how something
works. Then, make a prototype, which is a specific kind of model that
can be tested.
Testing a prototype helps you know how well a solution works. If a
solution does not solve the problem, you may change the solution and
test again. You must test a solution after each change so you know how
well the changed solution works. You may also find out that you need to
choose a different solution to make and test.
There may be more than one acceptable solution to a problem. Use test
results and criteria to evaluate solutions. The solution that best meets
the criteria within the limits is the better solution. Once you have found
a good solution to solve the problem, you can move to the third phase,
Improve and Test.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Comstock/Getty Images

IMPROVE and TEST

In the Improve and Test phase, you do many of the same steps as the
Make and Test phase. You may replan, redesign, and retest many
small changes. You may even return to an earlier phase if needed.
Throughout the process, you communicate with others to share
information or learn more. At the end of the process, you should have
as good a solution as possible, given the limits. Your solution is ready
to use or share with others.

xi
Safety in the Science Classroom
Review the following safety tips before conducting investigations
inside the classroom.

• Wear appropriate clothing when told to • Know what to do in case of a fire.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

do so: goggles, apron, gloves.
• Report all spills to your teacher
• Know where you can find water in case of immediately.
something in your eyes or on your skin.
• Use extreme CAUTION when working
• NEVER work alone on science activities with hot plates or other heating devices.
in the classroom or elsewhere.
• Report all accidents to the teacher.
• Only items needed for the activity should
be out. • Exercise caution when working with
electrical equipment.
• Read the entire activity before starting it.
• Keep work areas and equipment clean
• Use safety symbols. and neat.
• NEVER taste materials in an activity. • Follow directions for cleaning up
Do not touch chemicals or allow them materials and equipment.
to contact areas of bare skin. Don’t eat
during an activity. Let your teacher • Always thoroughly wash your hands.
knowfast if something gets in or near
your mouth.

xii
 Safety for Activities Outside the Classroom
Review the following safety tips before conducting investigations
outside the classroom.

• Know your mission.

• Find out about risks before setting out.
• Wear protective clothing such as hats and sunscreen.
• Do not approach or touch wild animals.
• Do not touch wild plants
• Do not wander away from others.
• Report all accidents to your teacher immediately.
• Carry a first-aid kit.
• Maintain the safety of the environment.
• Be aware of the weather.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

xiii
xiv
Notes

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©dred2010/Adobe Stock

Name
TEKS 4.6.A • DAY 1

Classify Matter by
Physical Properties
Date

1
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will classify and describe matter using physical properties.
Before getting started, revisit what you already know about matter.

Where do you find things made up of matter? If you can taste, smell, or
touch something, it’s matter. Matter is anything that takes up space.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Lopolo/Shutterstock

D
A

A cup: You can touch a cup. Is a cup matter?

B child: The child is feeling happy. Are feelings a type of matter?

C balloon: What is inside of this balloon? Is the air inside matter?

D cake: Yummy! What is your favorite flavor of cake? Cake is a kind of food. Is food matter?

E  sun: It is a sunny day outside. The sun feels nice and warm. Is the light from the sun a type
of matter?

2
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to physical properties
of matter.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tr) ©GIPhotoStock X/Alamy, (bl) ©aphperspective/

density state of matter

The amount of matter in an object compared to The physical forms (such as solid, liquid, and
the space it takes up. gas) that matter can exist in.
Alamy, (br) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, TK

temperature magnetism
How hot or cold something is. The physical property of attracting
certain metals.

mass
The amount of matter in an object.
3
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How do physical properties determine how matter

is classified?

Objects such as these can be

sorted in different ways. Sorting
helps us organize materials. You
can look at each object and sort
it based on its properties.

Think about the how the different objects are sorted. What do
you notice about these different examples of matter?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

What do you wonder about these different examples of matter?

Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

4
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Matter is anything that takes up
space and has mass. A characteristic
of matter, that you can observe or
measure directly, is a physical
property. Mass is a physical property
that results in an object’s weight.
Suppose you are measuring how
light or heavy an object is. The tools
you use to do this are a balance or
a scale.
Ask a question about how to
classify objects by mass.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Materials Safety
• a small rock Use extreme care when
• pair of scissors handling all sharp and
pointed instruments.
• eraser
• glue bottle
• other small classroom objects
• balance (triple beam or pan
balance with masses)

5
 Hands-On Activity

Mass Matters

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 1
Use the balance to measure the mass of objects. As you
measure each object, decide which unit of measurement is best
for recording its mass. For example you may choose
kilograms (K) for bigger or heavier objects and grams (g) for
smaller and lighter objects. For even smaller masses, you might
use a balance that can measure in milligrams (mg).

Step 2
Record the name of each object in the data chart on the next
page. Then describe each object by recording the
measurement of its mass next to its name.

Step 3
Classify the objects based on their masses. On your list of
measurements, circle the items that have mass greater than
100 g. Underline the items that have mass less than 100 g.

6
 Object Mass

Analyze Results
Describe the steps you followed to measure the mass of each object. What
metric unit did you use to measure the large objects? What metric unit did
you use to measure the small objects?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

7
  o the Math: Most Americans measure weight in pounds.
D
Ounces or pounds are customary units of weight. The metric (SI)
system uses units called grams to measure mass. With a scale,
you might measure a small dog’s weight as about 7.5 pounds,
which is also a mass of 3.4 kilograms.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Jupiterimages/Thinkstock/Alamy, (c) ©xiangdong Li/Fotolia, (b) ©Jule-Marigold/
Connect each measurement to the picture it best represents.

About 170 g About 3-4 pounds About 5 mg

Adobe Stock

8
 Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Make a claim about how to classify objects based on mass. Use
evidence from your investigation to support your claim. Explain your
reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

9
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the mass of various objects in the
Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

Which unit of mass would be easier to use? Grams or kilograms?

Harcourt, (b) ©Hong Vo/Shutterstock

grams kilograms

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (top second) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

10
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever hung a piece of
artwork on the refrigerator and
wondered what invisible force made
the magnet stick to the fridge? It’s
magnetism! Magnetism is a non-
contact force that pulls or pushes
certain objects. Magnetism is
another physical property that
people use to sort and classify matter.
Ask a question about how to classify
objects by magnetism.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©MilanB/Shutterstock

Materials Safety
• metal spoon Handle sharp objects
• plastic spoon carefully

• foil Handle glass carefully

• glass during investigations.
Immediately alert your
• paper
teacher if the glass breaks.
• coin
• nail
• eraser
• paperclips
• magnets

11
 Hands-On Activity

Marvelous Magnetism

Step 1
Place the items you are testing on a flat surface. List the items in

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

the data table on the next page.

Step 2
Hold the magnet in your hand. Slowly bring the magnet close
to one item to test the item. Observe whether the item is
attracted to (pulled towards) the magnet.

Step 3
Record the results by writing Y for yes or N for not attracted
to magnets.

Step 4
Repeat the process for each item being tested.

Step 5
Classify your objects into two categories.
• Circle the items that are attracted to magnets.
• Underline the objects that are not attracted to magnets.

12
 Object Attracted to Magnets?

Analyze Results
Based on your data, describe the objects that are attracted to magnets.
What pattern do you notice about the objects? Use the pattern to explain
this phenomenon related to magnetism.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about what objects are magnetic. Use evidence from the
investigation to support your claim. Explain your reasoning to connect
your claim to your evidence.

13
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the property of magnetism in the
Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

Look for a pattern among the materials listed. Which of these

objects would not be attracted to a magnet?

A. paper clip
B. iron
C. wood
D. plastic
E. rubber

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

14
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
At the beach, you can feel the difference
between hot sand and cold water because they
have different temperatures. People use
temperature to describe how warm or cold
something is. Thermometers are tools that use
a scale of numbers to measure temperature.
The two scales that are frequently used to
describe temperature are degrees Fahrenheit
and degrees Celsius.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©twenty2photo/Adobe Stock

Ask a question about how to classify matter

by temperature.

Materials Safety
• marker Clean up spills immediately
• ice cubes to avoid slipping.

• three cups Use caution when handling

• warm water hot materials.
• room temperature water
Do not touch the electrical
• thermometer cord or plug when you are
• hot plate near the hot plate.
• small pot

15
 Hands-On Activity

Hot and Cold

Step 1

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Use a marker to label each of your cups—1, 2, or 3. Pour room
temperature water into each cup until it is half filled.

Step 2
With the help of your teacher, heat some water in the pot on the
hot plate. You will measure this water that has been heated on
the hot plate.

Step 3
• Place ice cubes into Cup 1.
• Add heated water from the hot plate into Cup 2.
• Leave Cup 3 at room temperature.

16
 Step 4
Gather data to describe the water based on temperature. Place a
thermometer into Cup 1. Read the scale on the thermometer. Measure
and record the temperature in degrees Celsius. Repeat this step for
Cups 2 and 3.

Use the table to record the temperatures for each cup of water.

Water Temperature in Degrees C

Cup 1
Cup 2
Cup 3
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

17
  o the Math: Some thermometers have two scales on them. In
D
the United States, most weather reports use the Fahrenheit (°F)
scale to report temperature. In many other countries, the Celsius
(°C) scale is used.

In the thermometer shown, you can use rounding to quickly read the
Celsius scale. Find the top of the fluid in the glass tube. Then, find the two
printed numbers the top of the fluid is between. If it is closer to the larger
number on the scale, round up to the nearest ten. If it is closer to the lower
number, round down to the nearest ten.

Look closely at the Celsius scale on the thermometer shown. Use

rounding to estimate the temperature in °C. Record your
estimate. Look at how high and low the scales goes. How would
you describe the air temperature today—is it cold, warm, or hot?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Comstock/Getty Images

18
 Analyze Results
Now classify the cups of water you tested. Place the cups in order from
warmest to coolest. Do this by observing the temperatures you recorded
in degrees Celsius (°C) and degrees Fahrenheit (°F).

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how to classify objects based on temperature.
Use evidence from the investigation to support your claim. Explain
your reasoning.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

19
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored temperature in the Hands-On Activity,
check your learning with this question.
1. Choose a type of matter that you saw in a meal today.
2. List as many physical properties as you can to describe the matter without
naming it.
3. Trade your list with a partner. Try to identify the matter your partner chose
based on its properties.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Mike Flippo/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

20
DAY 5

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever wondered what
makes some objects float in water,
while others sink? If a type of matter
is more dense than water, the
matter sinks. If a type of matter is
less dense than water, the matter
floats. The property of matter that
compares the density of materials is
relative density.
Ask a question about how to
classify objects by relative density.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety

• coins Clean up spills immediately
• pieces of wood to avoid slipping.
• straws (cut in pieces)
• rocks
• small glass jar
• paper clips
• container
• digital scale
• paper towels
• water

21
 Hands-On Activity

Sink or Float?
Step 1
Read the headings of the data table on
the next page. Each time you test an
object, you will record its mass, your
prediction about whether the object will
sink or float, and the result of the test.

Step 2
Fill the container with the water.

Step 3
Choose an object to test. Record its name in the data table.
Measure the mass of the object on the digital scale. Record its
mass in the table. Predict what will happen to the object when it
is placed in the water by writing S for sink or F for float in

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

the table.

Step 4
Carefully drop the object into the container of water. Observe
whether the object sinks or floats. Describe the relative density
of each object by writing S for sink or F for float in the
data table.

Step 5
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all the objects have been tested.

Step 6
Classify your objects according to their relative density. Make
one pile for matter that sinks and a second pile for matter
that floats.

22
 Prediction Results
Object Mass
(Sink or Float) (Sink or Float)

Analyze Results
Classify objects compared with the density of water. What objects
have greater density than water? What objects have less density
than water? Do you agree with the following statement?
All heavy objects sink.
Why or why not?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how to classify objects based on relative density. Use
evidence to support your claim and reasoning to connect your evidence
to your claim.

23
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored relative density in the Hands-On
Activity, check your learning with this question.

What is the purpose of classifying matter? Why do scientists use a

classification method?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

24
DAY 6

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Matter exists in different states around
us. The air around us is gas. The water
we drink is liquid. Your computer device
is solid. But what about air? Is air matter?
Ask a question about how to classify
materials using their state.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Bluemoon Stock/Alamy

Possible Materials Safety

• seltzer antacid tablets  lean up any spilled
C
• plastic water bottle half full of water water immediately to
• empty balloon avoid slipping.

• a toy
• balloon filled with water
• balloon filled with air
• balloon filled with water that has
been frozen
• pencil
• notebook
• eraser
• crayon
• hand sanitizer
• liquid glue

25
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Label the tree map on the next page. Write States of Matter at
the top. Include three categories: solid, liquid, and gas.

Step 2
Observe the state of matter for each of your materials. Describe
the state of matter for each material. Then record the materials
in the correct location on your tree map.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

26
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

27
 Hands-On Activity

Step 3
• Select the seltzer antacid tablets, plastic bottle with water, and empty balloon from
your materials.
• Break 1 or 2 seltzer antacid tablets into pieces small enough to fit through the bottle
opening.
• Add the seltzer antacid tablets to the water in the bottle.
• Quickly stretch the mouth of the balloon to cover the opening of the bottle. Make
sure the balloon fits tightly around the top of bottle.

Step 4
Observe the reaction between the tablets and the water. Notice what
happens to the balloon.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Step 5
Classify the matter produced in Step 4 as either a solid, liquid, or gas
on your tree map.

28
 Analyze Results
Add notes and examples to your tree map to classify matter.
• What can you conclude about solids? Describe some examples of solids.
• What can you conclude about liquids? Describe some examples of liquids.
• What can you conclude about gases? Describe some examples of gases.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how to classify matter based on state of matter. Use
evidence to support your claim and reasoning to connect your evidence
to your claim.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

29
Exit Ticket
Now that you have classified matter by its state in the Hands-On
Activity, check your learning with this question.

p_body
Match each state of matter with its description.

liquid has a fixed shape

has fixed volume and

gas
can flow

expands to fill the

solid
container it is in

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great job! You have finished Day 6.

30
DAY 7

Science in Careers
Now, investigate the careers of scientists who work with metals.
Metallurgist
There are many specialties within science. A metallurgist is a
scientist who studies the structure, properties, and behaviors of
metals. Metallurgists can work in a variety of environments, from
mines to engineering labs and manufacturing plants. They study
chemistry, physics, and math to be successful. Metallurgists
work with a lot of data. They analyze the properties of different
metals to determine their best uses. Metallurgists perform tests,
monitor the quality of metals, and help design solutions to
problems involving metals.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Dusan Petkovic/Shutterstock

Metallurgists study the behavior of metals under different conditions, such as heat. They
determine what metals are best for building different structures.

31
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Alexander/Adobe Stock, (b) ©MilanB/Shutterstock
Metallurgists know how to combine metals to make new metals for specific uses. Metal
bolts are used for fastening or holding objects together.

Metallurgists study which metals have magnetic properties and which do not.

32
 Language SmArts: Continue exploring the careers of
metallurgists by thinking about which everyday objects are
made of metals.

Look around you. Find at least three objects that are made of metal.
Identify the type of metal and describe its physical properties.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

33
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations in this lesson, revisit the
collection from the start of the lesson.
Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now, use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How do physical properties determine how matter

is classified?

Objects such as these can be sorted in

different ways. Sorting helps us organize
materials. You can look at each object
and sort it based on its properties.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use
evidence from the lesson, and give reasoning
to connect the evidence to your claim.

Great Job! You have finished Day 7.

34
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

Name
TEKS 4.6.B • DAY 1

Mixtures
Date

35
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will investigate and compare mixtures and solutions.
Before getting started, revisit what you already know about matter and
physical properties of matter.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Emily Hills/Shutterstock, (bl) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
State of matter is a physical property. Solids, liquids, and gases are states of matter.

(br) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Whether an object sinks of floats when placed Whether a kind of matter is attracted
in water is related to its density. The kinds of or repelled by a magnet is a property
matter that are less dense than water float. of matter.
Those that are more dense than water will sink.

36
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to mixtures and solutions.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©cobaltstock/Adobe Stock, (b) ©Sam Dudgeon/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

mixture
A combination of two or more different
substances in which the substances
keep their identities.

solution
A mixture that has the same composition
throughout because all its parts are
mixed evenly.

37
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

What happens when liquid flavoring is added

to water?

Think about the photo showing liquid

flavoring being added to water.

What do you notice about this mixture?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

What do you wonder about this
mixture?

Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

38
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever added powdered lemonade mix to a
glass of water? If so, you know that after you stir, it
tastes like a combination of water, sugar, and lemons.
When you combine two or more different kinds of
matter and they don’t form a new kind of matter, you
have made a mixture. Lemonade is a mixture.
Combining lemonade powder and water makes a type
of mixture called a solution. In a solution the different
kinds of matter are evenly mixed. When you make a
solution by mixing the solid powder in liquid water,
the powder seems to disappear. But it doesn’t vanish.
It just spreads out evenly through the liquid. The word
for making a solution is dissolving.
Ask a question about which solids will dissolve in water.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety

• four clear containers
Clean up spills promptly.
• marker
• graduated cylinder
Wash your hands after cleaning up
• water the materials.
• teaspoon
Follow your teacher’s directions for
• white sand
how to clean up.
• stirrer
Wear goggles to protect your eyes
• salt from splashes.
• sugar
• Do not taste or eat any science materials.
• baking soda
39
 Hands-On Activity

Looking for Solutions

Step 1
Use the marker to label the four
clear containers. Write sand
on the first container. Label the
other containers salt, sugar, or
baking soda.

Step 2
Use the graduated cylinder to
measure 300 mL of water. Pour
the water into one container.
Repeat, adding water to the other
three containers.

Step 3

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Measure one teaspoon of sand, and add it to the container
marked sand.

Step 4
Use the table on the next page to record your observations as
you investigate mixtures and solutions.

Step 5
Use the stirrer to stir for one minute. Observe and record again.

Step 6
Repeat Steps 3, 4 and 5 using salt, sugar, and baking soda.
Observe and record all your results.

40
 Mixing Solids with Liquid Water
Sand Salt Sugar Baking Soda

1 t. dropped in
container of water

After stirring
for 1 minute

Analyze Results
Look at the table where you recorded your observations.
Of the solids you tried to mix into liquid water, which seemed to
disappear? Which did not disappear? Which partly disappeared?

Engage in Scientific Discussion

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Think about changing the quantity of the solid you would add to
each container. Turn and talk to a partner about what might
happen. How might using 2 teaspoons of a solid affect your
results? How might using 1/2 teaspoon affect the results?

41
 Hands-On Activity

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about solids forming solutions when mixed with
water. Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

42
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated several mixtures and identified
those that make solutions, check your learning with this question.

In your investigation, which factor or factors affect whether a solid and water
form a solution?

A. the kind of solid and stirring for one minute

B. only the kind of solid
C. only stirring for one minute
D. the color of the solid and stirring for one minute
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Alexandr Vlassyuk/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

43
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity

On Day 2, you investigated combining solids

with a liquid. Today you will investigate a way
to observe the different parts of a solution.
Ask a question about separating liquids
from other liquids in a solution.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety
• white coffee filter Wear goggles to protect
your eyes.
• scissors
• water Wear disposable gloves
to keep ink from staining
• cup or bowl
your skin.
• black nonpermanent ink Be careful when using
markers, assorted brands
sharp objects like scissors
• disposable gloves to cut materials.
• safety goggles Clean up spills right away
so no one will slip.

Follow your
teacher’s instructions
for disposing of materials
and gloves safely.

44
 What Color Is Black Ink?
Step 1
Use scissors to cut three wide strips from
the paper coffee filter. Be safe when using
sharp tools like scissors.

Step 2
Put on your safety goggles. Line up the
strips on a desk. Use a black marker to
draw a line across one strip, about one
inch from the end facing you. Choose two
other brands of black markers, and draw
a line on each of the other two strips.

Step 3
Put on your disposable gloves. Add water
to the cup or bowl so that the water just
covers the bottom. Pick up each strip by
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

the end without the ink line. Stand each

strip up inside the cup so that the paper
just touches the water.

Step 4
Observe changes to the filter paper strip as the liquid water
interacts with the liquid marker ink you put on the paper.
When there are no more changes, remove the strips and
lay them down to dry. Wipe up any spilled or dripped
water immediately to prevent slips and falls. Compare the
results that you see on each strip of paper.

45
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
Write about what you observed in your investigation. What happened
when you placed the three filter paper strips with marker ink into water?
Compare what you observe when you dried the three paper strips.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how makers of markers use their understanding
of solutions. Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Define Problems
Chefs work with mixtures and solutions every day. Apply what you
observed in your investigation of separating solutions to mixtures
in the kitchen. Define a problem in which a chef would need to
separate a mixture. Write the problem as a question.

46
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated separating solutions, check your learning
with this question.

What if you carried out a similar investigation but used a round paper filter
instead of rectangular strips?
• You would use the marker to make a black dot in the center of the circle.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©PhotographyPerspectives/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images

• Then you would use your finger to put a few drops of water right on top
of the ink dot.
Draw what you predict you would see after several minutes.

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

47
DAY4

A Variety of Mixtures
Have you ever tasted trail mix and thought, “I would make it with different
ingredients”? What ingredients would you stir together? Trail mix is a
mixture of different kinds of solids. Because the different kinds of matter
in a mixture are not changed, mixtures can be separated. That means you
can eat your favorite parts of the trail mix first!

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tc) ©Nataly Studio/Shutterstock
How would you decide how
much of each ingredient to
C
put in your own trail mix?
Would you use an equal B
amount of each ingredient?
Or would you use more
of one ingredient than A
the others? You could
use fractions to plan D

(c) ©Igor Kovalchuk/Shutterstock, (bc) ©phloen/Shutterstock, (b) ©Evikka/Shutterstock

your mixture, as long as
the fractions add up to
E
make a whole.

A Trail Mix: Trail mix is a mixture of different kinds of solid matter,

including oats, nuts, raisins, and dried cranberries. As with all
mixtures, the parts can be separated. If you picked out and ate
all the raisins first, you’d be separating the mixture.

B Toasted Oats: Toasted oats are crunchy and fun to eat.

What fraction of your trail mix would be toasted oats?

C Nuts: For those who eat them, nuts are very healthy foods.
What fraction of your trail mix would be nuts?

D Raisins: Raisins are sweet and a healthy snack food.

What fraction of your trail mix would be raisins?

E Dried Cranberries: Dried cranberries are tart and sweet. Since

they have sugar added to them, you might want to limit how much
you eat. What fraction of your trail mix would be cranberries?

48
 States of Matter in Mixtures
Mixtures can be made with one or more states of matter in any
combination. You have investigated several mixtures of solids and liquids.
A mixture such as trail mix is made of several solids. Some mixtures have
all three states of matter. Soil is a mixture of solid rock particles, gaseous
air, and liquid water.
Compare a variety of mixtures and the states of matter that are combined
in them.
Explore the kinds and proportions of solids that might go into a mixture for trail mix.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Lilyana Vynogradova/Shutterstock, (c) ©malialeon/Shutterstock

Vegetable soup is a mixture made

from solid chunks of vegetables and
liquid broth.

A mixture of oil and water combines

two liquids.
(b) ©Six Dun/Shutterstock

The air you breathe is a mixture of

gases, including nitrogen, oxygen,
and carbon dioxide.

49
Proportions in Mixtures
Mixtures may have only two kinds of matter in them, or they may have
many kinds of matter. Salad dressing made of vinegar and oil is a mixture
made with two liquids. Some chefs add salt, pepper, and mustard to their
dressing. That’s a mixture made with many kinds of matter.
Two mixtures with the same kinds of matter can differ in the proportions
of ingredients. You know that you can change the proportions of the
ingredients in a mixture by using fractions. Chefs do the same thing
when making their own salad dressings. For each cup of dressing, one
chef might use 1/4 cup of vinegar and 3/4 cups of oil. Another chef might
use 1/3 cup of vinegar and 2/3 cups of oil.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l,r) ©HMH

Estimate and describe the proportion of carrots to lettuce each chef used.
Use a fraction for each so that they add to make one whole.

50
 Separating Mixtures
Because the kinds of matter combined in a mixture keep their identities, the
mixture can be separated. Some of the physical properties you use to describe
matter can also be used to separate mixtures. How would you separate the
solids in trail mix? You might use the property of color to separate the parts with
your hands or a spoon. Or you could use the property of shape.

Inside the bag is a mixture of balls. Observe the properties the student used to
separate the mixture. What other properties could you use to separate the balls?

Often, two or more properties are needed to separate a mixture.

What methods are used to separate the unwanted parts of river water to
change it into drinking water? Processes such as passing the water through
sand filters will remove the larger solids in the water. Then passing the water
through a charcoal filter removes smaller solids that cause unwanted odors
or flavors. If the water is too salty to drink, the mixture can be heated until all
the water evaporates. This process leaves the solid salts behind. When the
gaseous water vapor is captured, it cools and changes to pure liquid water.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Separating Earth materials such as soil also requires using more than
one property.

A Using a Sieve: Solid objects differ in size. Rocks that

A
are too big to pass through the sieve can be separated
from the pile that way.
B

B Using a Magnet: Some Earth materials, such as iron,

are attracted to a magnet. Using a magnet will separate
C the magnetic materials from the nonmagnetic materials.

D Using Filter Paper: Adding water to Earth materials

C
makes a muddy mixture. When you pour the mud
through a paper filter, the filter separates the tiny bits
of soil and rock from the water.

D Using Evaporation: Earth materials respond to

heating differently. Applying heat causes the liquid
water to evaporate and leaves behind any salt that
was in the water.
51
Cleaning Up Mixtures
Understanding that the parts of mixtures have different properties
can help solve problems that harm the environment. Sometimes,
ships carrying petroleum are damaged, and oil spills occur. Crude oil is a
mixture of liquids. Some of these liquids have low densities and evaporate
into the air after an oil spill. Some flow easily, wash up on the shore, and
stick to shore plants and animals. Other parts of the mixture stay in place,
floating on the water and blocking light from reaching ocean living things.
Each part of the mixture has to be removed in a different way.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Oil spills in the ocean can be harmful to animals. This pelican is covered in petroleum oil from
an oil spill. Petroleum oil is a mixture of several different fuels. Workers use dish soap to remove
the oil from the feathers of the bird.

What useful mixture is used to clean animals after an oil spill? What harmful mixture
is it removing?

52
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored a variety of mixtures and how
to separate them, check your learning with this question.

Which statement about mixtures is NOT true?

A. They can be made by combining solids, liquids, and gases.

B. Fractions can be used to compare the amounts of the parts.
C. There is one property that can separate all mixtures.
D. The kinds of matter keep their identities after they are mixed.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©soleg/iStock/Getty Images

Great Job! You have finished Day 4.

53
DAY 5

Solutions
Some mixtures have parts that are unevenly mixed. For example, trail
mix may have more raisins at the bottom of the bag than at the top of
the bag. Mixtures that have parts that are evenly mixed throughout are
called solutions.
A solution often has a greater amount of one kind of matter and lesser
parts of other kinds of matter. Ocean water is a solution. It is mostly made
up of water, with smaller amounts of salts, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and
other kinds of matter that are mixed evenly in the water. As you know from
your investigation, sand does not dissolve in water. So sand is not a part of
ocean water. Any sand carried to the ocean by rivers just sinks to the
ocean floor.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

How many different types of matter can you see in this ocean scene? Look closely at the ocean
water. Sometimes you can see plants, animals, sand, and rocks in the ocean water. Other times,
you cannot see the matter. This matter dissolves into the water, creating a solution.

Comparing Solutions by States of Matter

Solutions can be made up of any states of matter in any combination.
Vinegar stirred in water is a liquid-in-a-liquid solution. Sugar dissolved in
water is a solid-in-a-liquid solution. Black marker ink is another solid-in-a-
liquid solution. Seltzer water is a gas-in-a-liquid solution. Air is a gas-in-
gas solution.

54
 Coffee is a solution of
solid ground coffee beans
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Africa Studio/Adobe Stock, (c) ©Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock,

dissolved in hot water.

Liquid soap is made

from liquid oils, water,
and other liquids.
(b) ©PhotoAlto/Alamy

Sports teams often mix up

large containers of sports
drinks for their athletes by
combining a solid powder
with liquid water.

55
 Mouthwash is a solution,
often made from several
liquids dissolved in water.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Adobe Stock, (b) ©YAY Media AS/Alamy
People who keep fish
in an aquarium may add
a liquid solution to tap
water to make it more
like water from the fish’s
natural habitat.

Compare the solutions based on the physical states of the matter combined
to make them.

56
 Do the Math: Solubility is a measure of how much of one kind
of matter will dissolve in another. Kendra dissolved as much sugar
as she could in a beaker of water. The solution had 210 grams of
sugar in 100 milliliters of water.

These two sisters are making a solution of lemonade. Lemonade is made up of

water, juice from lemons, and sugar. The sisters follow a recipe that helps them
use the correct amount of sugar so it will dissolve in the water. What might
happen to to the lemonade if too much sugar is added.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

How much sugar can be dissolved in 200 milliliters of water? How much sugar can
be dissolved in 700 milliliters of water? Use mental math or another strategy to solve
each problem.

57
 Language SmArts: When you compare ideas you have read, you
identify similarities. When you contrast ideas you have read, you
identify differences.

Compare and Contrast Mixtures and Solutions

Identify characteristics of mixtures and solutions. Beside each description,
enter mixture, solution, or both.

can be a solid and a liquid

can be a liquid and a liquid

can be a gas and a liquid

can have unevenly mixed parts

must have evenly mixed parts

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

58
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have compared a variety of solutions, check your
learning with this question.

Which statements are true of all solutions? Circle all that apply.

A. They have parts that are unevenly mixed.

B. They have parts that are evenly mixed.
C. Each part is equal in quantity to the other parts.
D. They can be made of solids, liquids, and gases.
E. The amount of one kind of matter that can dissolve in another is limited.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Getty Images

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

59
DAY 6

People in Science
Dr. Jani Ingram and Ciarra Greene
Dr. Jani Ingram is a member of the Navajo Native American Nation.
She has always been fascinated with science. In her work, Dr. Ingram
combines her interests in science and in her culture. She focuses on
ways pollution affects Navajo people. She works as a science professor
at a university in Arizona.

Dr. Ingram started a research program called the Partnership for © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Courtesy of Northern Arizona University
Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP). The goal of the program
is to investigate harmful kinds of matter in the environment and their
effects on people’s health. One kind of matter that Dr. Ingram focuses
on is uranium. She is investigating links between uranium and the risk
of cancer to Navajo people.
Dr. Ingram’s lead researcher on the NACP program was Ciarra Greene.
Greene is a citizen of the Nez Perce Tribe. At the time, Greene was a
college student. Though she did not yet have a college degree, she was
already an accomplished scientist. Ciarra Greene shares Dr. Ingram’s
interest in the ties between the environment and health. The two
scientists worked together on the NACP program to study uranium in
the Navajo environment.

60
 Dr. Ingram saw a need for the NACP program because soil within the
nearby Navajo reservation had high levels of uranium. Uranium is a metal
found in low levels in nature—in rocks, soil, and water. It was mined on the
reservation for many years. During the process of mining, unsafe levels of
waste were left behind that are harmful when swallowed or inhaled.
Dr. Ingram and her team, including Ciarra Greene, collected and analyzed
samples of soil from the reservation. They used their science knowledge to
help solve the problem of unsafe uranium. They discovered that they could
use biosurfactants to remove the uranium from soil. Biosurfactants are
kinds of matter produced by microorganisms, such as bacteria and yeast.
A biosurfactant allows the uranium to be leached, or drained, from
the soil. This occurs because the biosurfactant increases the amount of
uranium that can be dissolved in water. The effect is to wash more of the
uranium out of soil.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Soil and other Earth

materials can be polluted
by nearby uranium mining.

To begin the process

of removing the
contaminant, a detergent
is mixed with water.

61
 Next, the detergent
attaches to the soil.

Detergent surrounds the

soil, and water pulls it from

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

the surface.

Water carries the detergent

and soil away.

62
 Ask Questions and Plan Investigations
Dr. Ingram needed to make a plan to determine what was making people
sick. A plan to test something such as air, water, or soil begins with asking
questions. Dr. Ingram and fellow scientists asked questions about people’s
daily lives. Finding answers to those questions helps develop tests and
investigations that can reveal likely causes of health problems in people.
Often, science questions start with someone observing an effect. Then
they ask a question about the cause. For example, a question might ask
whether air pollution is causing a high number of people to have
breathing problems. Answering the question requires investigation into
what causes breathing problems and whether those causes are present in
the air.
You have read how Dr. Ingram investigated uranium pollution in the soil. If
you worked with her, how would you investigate the effects of uranium in
the air or water? What are some questions you would ask? How would you
investigate to find the answers?

Based on the text about Dr. Ingram’s research, ask questions about uranium
and human health that scientists could investigate.

Your question about

air and uranium
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Your question about

water and uranium

63
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this
lesson, revisit the photo from the start of the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

What happens when liquid flavoring is added

to water?

Go back and review your ideas about the

Guiding Question from the start of this lesson.
Now, use what you have learned to answer
the question.

Make a claim about the Guiding Question.

Use evidence from the lesson, and give
reasoning to connect the evidence to your
claim. Before writing, think about what you

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

know about mixtures and solutions.

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

64
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ryan McVay/DigitalVision/Getty Images

Name
TEKS 4.6.C • DAY 1

of Mass
Conservation
Date

65
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will explore how the amount of matter is affected when
mixtures are formed.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tr) ©Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock, (b) ©HMH
Before getting started, revisit what you already know about matter
and mixtures.

As you view the images, think about the different properties of matter.

Solutions are a type of mixture.

Mixtures can be made of any state of matter,

such as solids in solids or liquids in liquids.

Mixtures can be separated by properties.

66
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to physical properties
of matter.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©HMH, (b) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

law of conservation of matter

A law that states that matter cannot
be made or destroyed but can
change into a new form.

mass
The amount of matter in an object.

67
Can You Explain It?
This question will guide your learning throughout the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

What happens to the amount of matter when ice melts in a

glass of water?

What do you notice about the matter in the drink?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©mkitina4/istock Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
What do you wonder about the matter in the drink?

Great Job! You have finished Day 2.

68
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever combined dirt and water?
If so, you know that those are the two
ingredients needed to make mud. Mud is a
mixture of dirt and water. A mixture is made
from at least two substances (in this case dirt,
a solid—and water, a liquid) that combine to
make something new.
Dirt and water each have mass. But what
happens to the mass of the dirt and the mass
of the water when they mix to form mud?
Does the mass decrease or is mass gained? In
this investigation, you will see for yourself what happens to mass
when a mixture is formed.
Ask a question about what happens to the mass when substances
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

are mixed and a mixture is formed.

Possible Materials Safety

• soil Wash hands after handling
soil, or wear gloves.
• water
• pan balance Clean up spills immediately.
• plastic cups/bowls
• measuring cups
• plastic gloves

69
 Hands-On Activity

Measuring Mixtures
Step 1
Begin your investigation into
how matter is conserved. Label
one cup A and one cup B. Use
the pan balance to measure the
mass of each clear plastic cup.
Collect and record these
measurements. You will use the
measurements you collect in
this activity as evidence when
you analyze your results.
Record your measurements and calculations in the data table.

Object Measured Mass

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 1 Cup A

Step 1 Cup B

Cup A + soil

Cup B + water
Step 4
Soil

Water

Cup A + soil + water

Step 6
Soil + water

70
 Step 2
Now use measuring cups to measure the materials.
Scoop 1 cup of soil. Pour the soil into cup A.

Step 3
Fill the measuring cup with 1 cup of water. Pour the water into cup B.

Step 4
Using the pan balance, measure the mass of the soil and find the mass
of the water.
• Find the mass of the soil and cup A, and then find the mass of the water
and cup B.
• Subtract the mass of the cups from the soil and water masses.
• Record both numbers.

Step 5
Pour the water into the cup of soil to form a mixture.

Step 6
Use the pan balance to measure the mass of the mixture
and cup. Subtract the mass of cup A. Record the number.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

71
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
Look at the data you recorded and consider the quantities of soil and
water in the system. What was the mass of the soil and water before they
were mixed? What was the mass after they were mixed? Compare the
measurements. Write the numbers in the blank spaces below.

The soil weighed grams. The water weighed

grams. When the soil and water were combined, they

had a greater mass of grams.

Describe the mass before and after a mixture was formed.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Make a claim about the mass of matter when it is mixed. Support your
claim with evidence from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to
connect your claim to your evidence.

72
 Exit Ticket
Do the Math: Now that you have investigated mixtures,
check your learning with this question on mass. Remember
that you first have to convert kilograms (kg) to grams (g) so
both materials are shown in the same unit of measure. One kg
is equal to 1000 g.

Suppose you have 300 g of soil and 4 kg of water. What will the
mass be after you mix them?

The mass of the water in grams is g, and the

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Flavia Morlachetti/Moment/Shutterstock

total mass will be 300 g + g.

Choose the total mass of the water and soil together.

A. 340 g

B. 700 kg

C. 4,300 kg

D. 4,300 g

Great Job! You have finished Day 2.

73
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You may have heard the expression that oil
and water don’t mix. It’s true! If you’ve ever
tried adding oil to water, you may have
noticed that the oil floats on top of the water
instead of mixing in with it.
While oil will not mix in with water, you can
still combine these two types of matter and
observe whether there are any changes in
mass.
Ask a question about what happens to the
mass when substances are combined but do
not mix with each other.

Possible Materials Safety © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH
• cooking oil
• water Clean up spills immediately.

• digital scale
• Do not eat or drink anything used
• two plastic cups in a scientific investigation.
• bowl • Follow your teacher’s instructions
• measuring cup for disposing of materials.

• paper towels for cleanup

74
 The Amount of Matter
Step 1
Make a data table in the space below to collect
your measurements about combining matter.
You will gather data about the mass of your
measurement tools and the mass of the oil and
water you use to make mixtures.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

75
 Hands-On Activity

Step 2
Label your cups A and B. Use the digital scale to measure
the mass of the bowl and of each cup. Record the mass measurements
in the data table on the previous page.

Step 3
Use a measuring cup to measure out __ ​​ 14 ​​cup of oil and place it
in cup A. Use the digital scale to measure the mass of cup A with the oil
in it.
• Subtract the original mass of cup A when it was empty.
• The result is the mass of the oil. Record the measurement.

Step 4
Measure out ​​ __14 ​​cup of water and place it in cup B. Measure the mass
of cup B with the water in it.
• Subtract the original mass of cup B when it was empty.
• The result is the mass of the water.
Record the measurement.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

76
 Step 5
Mix the oil and water together in the bowl, and measure the
combined mass.
• Subtract the original mass of the empty bowl.
• The result is the combined mass of the mixture. Record the measurement.

Step 6
Empty the containers, and then repeat steps 3–5 above. This time,
​​  14 ​​cup of oil and __
use __ ​​ 12 ​​cup of water.

Grade 4-5 Physical

Do the Math

Analyze Results
For each of your trials, analyze the mass of the oil and
water before and after you combined them into mixtures.
Mixture 1: _ ​​  14 ​​ cup oil, _
​​  14 ​​ cup water
Add the mass of the oil and water before they were
mixed together. Compare this mass to the mass of
the combined mixture.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

77
 Hands-On Activity

​​  14 ​​ cup oil, _

Mixture 2: _ ​​  12 ​​ cup water
Add the mass of the oil and water before they were mixed
together. Compare this value to the mass of the combined mixture.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about the law of conservation of matter, which states that
matter cannot be made or destroyed. Support your claim with evidence
from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to
your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

78
 Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Compare the proportions of oil and water in Mixture 1 and Mixture 2.
How does the conservation of matter apply to mixtures with different
proportions?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

79
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated more mixtures and observed
their mass, check your learning with this question.

Which statement best describes the results of your investigation?

A. Mass is lost (destroyed) when matter is combined.

B. Matter cannot be mixed if the masses are not equal.

C. The mass does not change when matter is combined.

D. The amount of each substance must be equal (in proportion)

in a mixture.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Dietrich Leppert/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

80
DAY 4

Exploring the Conservation

of Matter
Imagine you measured the mass of an orange with the peel on.
Then, you decided to remove the peel from the orange. You
place all the pieces back on the scale. Do you think the mass of
the orange changed? Do you think it stayed the same? Discuss
your ideas with a classmate.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Imagine you have a pile of building blocks. You build a tower

using all of the blocks. Then, you are asked to take apart the
tower and build another shape using the same number of blocks.
The new shape looks totally different from the tower but still has
the exact same number of blocks in it. This is an example of the
conservation of matter during a physical change. The law of
conservation of matter tells us that matter is neither made nor
destroyed during a change.
During a physical change, the amount of matter in the object
stays the same. This happens because no new matter is being
formed. When you cut a piece of paper in half, you still have the
same amount of paper, just in two pieces. The fact that the
amount of matter stayed the same is evidence of the
conservation of matter.

81
Explore the conservation of matter with these everyday examples.

Here are sugar and water. They

will be added together. Read their
combined mass.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tc) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
The sugar has been added to
the water. What is the mass now
It did not change from before they
were added together. This is how the
conservation of matter works.

(bc) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (b) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Here is the building block creation
you put together. What is its mass?
This tells you how much matter there
is within it.

Here is the same building block

creation. It has been taken apart.
It has the same reading on the scale.
The same numbers of blocks have
the same mass no matter how they
are arranged.

82
 Now that you know more about the conservation of matter,
apply what you learned to these questions.

How does the unpeeled orange’s mass compare with that of the peeled orange
and its peel? Is it the same, less than, or more than?

Did the mass decrease when the sugar was dissolved?

Suppose you build a model that has a mass of 3 kg. Then you break
it into three pieces. What is the mass of all of the pieces?

We can separate the parts and then add the masses together to
get the total. No matter is made or destroyed when substances
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

are combined or separated. In other words, matter is conserved.

The conservation of matter also applies when matter changes state.
Matter changes state in various ways as it changes between solid,
liquid, and gaseous forms. Remember that these changes in state
are physical changes. The amount of matter in a substance does not
change, just its physical form. If you were to melt solid gold to a
liquid, you would see that it has the same mass as the solid.
Examine the following pictures to discover more about changes
in state.

Here is a block of ice sitting in

a beaker. The scale reads 215 g.
This beaker will be left out at
room temperature.

83
 What does the ice look like now?
Here it is partially melted and partially
solid. You know this because there
is some liquid water in the beaker.
The mass is still 215 g.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (c) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (b) tk
All the ice has melted and the
thermometer shows that the liquid
water is almost near its boiling point.
The mass is still 215 g.

The water is now at a full boil.

Its temperature has also gone up.
The mass is now 175 g. It is less than
before. Why is this?

Analyze Results
Given what you explored with the boiling water, explain why the
conservation of matter applies to state changes.

84
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the conservation of matter, check your
learning with this question.

Why does the mass change as the water in the beaker

changes state?

A. When boiled, part of the liquid is released as a solid and falls to

the bottom of the beaker.

B. When boiled, part of the liquid is released as gas and is no

longer in the beaker.

C. When boiled, part of the liquid is released as gas. Then it

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Chaiya Ruangyoo/EyeEm/Getty Images

condenses and returns to the beaker.

D. When boiled, part of the liquid is released as a solid, which

makes the beaker have a greater mass.

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

85
DAY 5

People in Science
Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier is known as the father of modern
chemistry. He was a French scientist who actually
started his career as a lawyer. After law school, he got
a job at the Royal Gunpowder and Saltpeter
Administration. It was here that he began his studies
in chemistry. He is responsible for what we know
today about how things burn.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wellcome Images, Wellcome Library, London
Lavoisier discovered the element oxygen and
determined that it makes up a percentage of the air
we breathe. He also figured out that in order for
things to burn, oxygen must be present.
Lavoisier became very curious about how different
chemicals could be mixed together while still having
the same mass. He studied the heating of a chemical
called mercury oxide. He found that when this is heated, it loses
mass. He figured out how to collect the oxygen that is released
from the mercury. It turned out that the mass of the oxygen is
exactly the same as the decrease in mass of the mercury oxide.
This led him to other experiments that would result in him
developing the law of conservation of matter.

Explain how Antoine Lavoisier’s scientific discoveries while studying mercury

oxide affected the future of science.

86
 When things burn, a chemical change is taking place.
The image below shows a chemical called phosphorus
undergoing a chemical change.
The conservation of matter also applies to chemical changes.
During a chemical change, new substances are formed.
Sometimes, it looks like the original substance disappears, but in
reality, the substance transforms into something new! When new
substances are formed, their mass will still be the same as that of
the original materials. The conservation of matter still applies!

Have you ever wondered how something works and had to ask
questions to find your answer? Scientists do the same thing!
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Scientists always start their work by asking a lot of questions. Since

Antoine Lavoisier began his career as a lawyer and not a chemist,
he must have had many questions that led him down the path to
becoming a scientist. His work as a scientist contributed greatly to
the study of matter.

Write a question about matter that interests you. With your teacher’s permission,
use your resources to conduct research and investigate your question.

87
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this lesson, revisit what
you have learned.

Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now, use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

What happens to amount of matter when ice melts in a glass of water?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©mkitina4/istock Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson, and give
reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim. Before writing, think about what you
know about matter and mass.

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

88
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Image Source/Alamy

Name
TEKS 4.7.A • DAY 1

Patterns of Forces
Date

89
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will plan and conduct investigations to explore
patterns of forces. Before getting started, think about what you already
know about forces in contact and at a distance.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Nadezhda/Adobe Stock, (c) ©HMH, (b) ©CristiNistor/iStock/Getty Images
Magnetic forces can push magnets
away from each other when they are
at a distance.

A pull is a force. When something

is pulled, it can move.

The force of gravity pulls objects like

hailstones toward Earth’s surface from
very high in the sky.

90
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to patterns of forces.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tr) ©lordn/Adobe Stock

magnet friction
An object that attracts iron and a few other— A force that acts between two touching objects
but not all—metals. and that opposes motion.
(b) TK

gravity
A force that attracts all objects in the universe toward one another; near Earth’s
surface, a force that pulls things toward the center of Earth.

91
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

What patterns of forces act on the student playing

on the lawn water slide?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©SolStock/E+/Getty Images

Friction and several different forces act on the girls playing on the
lawn water slide.

What do you notice about patterns of forces on

the student?

What do you wonder about patterns of forces

on the student?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

92
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Sometimes it seems that some things are
not affected by gravity. This dancer looks
as if he is floating through air. But gravity,
the force that that pulls things toward the
center of Earth, will bring this dancer back
to Earth.
Gravity is a force that acts on objects from
a distance. You can learn more about how
gravity works by investigating how it affects
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©VIAR PRO studio/Adobe Stock

objects. In this activity, you will plan and

conduct an investigation to find out how
the force of gravity affects different things.
Ask a question about how gravity pulls
on different objects.

Safety
• Do not exceed the mass rating of
the spring scale.
• Start with less massive objects and
Materials
work up to more massive objects.
• spring scale
• Measure objects over a desk or
• plastic bags table top to limit the risk of heavy
• objects of various masses objects falling on your feet.

93
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Explore your spring scale. It can
measure the force of gravity.
It has a spring on one end and a
hook on the other end. The scale
measures the weight of an object
when the force of gravity pulls the
object against the spring.

Step 2
Plan an investigation to explore patterns of how gravity affects
different objects from a distance. Be sure to include appropriate
scientific practices in your plan.
• Choose at least three different objects to weigh.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

• Plan how you will record your results. Use the space on the next page to
record your observations and results.
• Compare your plan with others in your class.

Step 3
Conduct your investigation into patterns of the force
of gravity. Record your observations, so you can use
them as evidence in your analysis.

94
 Analyze Results
Review your measurements. Identify patterns of how gravity affected
different objects on the scale.

Patterns
Use the patterns you identified to explain how gravity affects objects
weighed on a spring scale.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Think about what you discovered from your investigation. Make a claim
to describe how gravity from a distance affects objects. Support your
claim with evidence from your investigation. Explain your reasoning
to connect your claim to your evidence.

95
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated gravity and weight in the
Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this activity.

Complete the paragraph. Circle the correct answer.

The force of gravity pulls / pushes on some / all objects near Earth.

Objects do / do not need to be touching Earth’s surface to be pulled by the

force of gravity. The force of gravity acts on objects at a distance / in contact .

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Pincasso/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

96
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
What makes it so hard to move this stack of
weights? Would it be easier on a smoother
surface? The amount of friction, the force
that acts between two touching objects,
depends on the surfaces that are in contact.
Friction works against motion.
Increasing or decreasing the amount of
friction really changes how things move.
In this activity, you will plan and test how
certain surfaces affect friction.
Ask a question about what factors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©alfa27/Adobe Stock

influence friction.

Materials Safety
• spring scale • Do not drop heavy objects.
• tape They could hit people’s feet and
hurt them.
• zip-top bags
• heavy objects
• sandpaper
• wax paper
• meter sticks

97
 Hands-On Activity

That’s Rough
Step 1
Plan a descriptive investigation of
patterns in friction forces. Investigate
how surface types affect friction. Include
in your plan a list of the surface types you
will test. Use the space on the next page
to draw a sketch of your setup. Include
a way to record your results.

Step 2
Use scientific practices to handle your materials and collect
data. Identify the safe practices you will need to use in carrying
out your plan.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 3
Conduct your investigation safely based on your plan.
• Using a meterstick for measurement, observe, test, and record the distance
across which you pulled your materials.
• In recording your results, record all aspects of your trial conditions.

98
 Analyze Results
How did the different surfaces affect how the different objects moved?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Patterns
Think about the patterns you observed when the objects were in contact
with different surfaces. What patterns did you observe in measuring how
objects moved across different surfaces? Explain what those patterns tell
you about friction.

99
 Hands-On Activity

Conduct Investigations
Scientists record all aspects of their investigations, sometimes
including measurements that didn’t end up influencing the results.
Why do they do this? What data did you record that did not
influence your results?

Think about the experience of planning and conducting an

activity with your teammates. What was fun about working
as a team? What was challenging?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Make a claim to explain how different surfaces affect friction.
Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.

100
 Exit Ticket
Now that you
have investigated
the force of friction
in the Hands-On
Activity, check
your learning with
these activities.

This child is pushing the sliding gate open. Which of the following describe
forces acting on the gate? Circle all that apply.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©zilvergolf/Adobe Stock

A. force of gravity pulling the gate toward the ground

B. force of the child pushing the gate
C. force of magnetism pulling the gate toward the ground
D. force of friction making the motion easier
E. force of friction making the motion harder

Describe the forces involved in the child opening the gate. Use patterns
of forces you identified in the Hands-On Activity to support your answer.

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

101
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
A magnet can make life a lot easier. You may
have seen how magnets can hold doors and
handbags closed. You can use a magnet to
help hold a picture or a note in place on a
refrigerator. Stronger magnets can even hold
spice containers on a spice rack.
Magnetic forces from magnets can move
magnetic objects. In this activity you will plan
an investigation to measure the strength of a
magnetic force from a distance.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Pascal PIOT/Adobe Stock
Ask a question about the patterns of
magnetic forces acting on objects.

Materials Safety
• two bar magnets Be careful when handling
• metal paper clips the ends of paper clips that
can scratch or poke you.
• tape
• string
• metric ruler
• nonmagnetic materials (crumpled
paper formed into balls, cotton
balls, etc.)

102
 Mighty Magnets
Step 1
You have probably played with magnets before. Think about
what you already know about how they can attract and push
away other magnets or other objects.

Step 2
Plan an investigation that uses scientific practices to explore
patterns of magnetic forces. In your investigation, you should
plan to use a metric ruler to measure how magnetic force acts
on different materials. Be sure to figure out a way to record your
results to use them in your analysis. Use the space on the next
page to record your results.

Step 3
Use safe practices during your investigation. For example, make
sure no one gets hurt when handling sharp objects, such as the
ends of the paper clips.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 4
Conduct your descriptive investigation according to your plan.
Record all your measurements. Later, you will analyze them to
look for patterns.

103
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
Describe how much the magnetic force from the magnet affected other
objects. Use the data you gathered from your measurement to analyze
your results.
In your investigation, how did magnetic force affect other objects without
the magnet touching them?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Patterns
Patterns can explain scientific phenomena. What patterns did you observe
during your investigation?

104
 T hink about how you worked together with others to conduct your
investigation. What tasks did you take on? Which tasks did your
partners take on? How did you decide who did what?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

What can you conclude from your investigation? Make a claim
to describe how objects are affected by magnetic force. Support
your claim with evidence from your investigation. Explain
your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

105
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored magnetic force phenomena in the Hands-On Activity,
check your learning with this activity. Use the word bank to tell what kind of force
is being described in the first column. Write your answer in the second column.

magnetic force force of gravity force of friction

Example Type of Force

force that pulls all

objects toward Earth

force that only acts in contact

force that depends on the surfaces

in contact

force that pulls in the opposite

direction of motion

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

force that can push or pull magnets

force that can pull some materials

but not others

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

106
DAY 5

People in Engineering
Suppose you are in a spacecraft getting ready to blast off into space. The
spacecraft engines need to produce a lot of force to get you free of Earth’s
gravity. Once the spacecraft gets far from Earth, the pull exerted by Earth’s
gravity fades and the engines can be shut off to conserve fuel. Yet, as you
approach other objects in space, their gravity draws you toward them.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©NASA Photo/Alamy, (b) ©NASA Johnson Space Center

A mighty force is needed to get free from Earth’s gravity.

Imagine you are in this spacecraft in orbit and cannot feel the pull
of Earth’s gravity.

107
Dr. Martin Lo
Dr. Martin Lo finds paths for spacecraft that let them dodge the gravity of
large objects and use less fuel. Lo received a bachelor of science degree in
1975 from the California Institute of Technology. In 1981, he received his
doctorate from Cornell University in New York. Both degrees were in
mathematics. Today, he works for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
in California.

The force of gravity causes objects like stars and planets to pull on one © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: TK

another. Gravitational forces drive the motion in our solar system. They
also cause some parts of space to have strong gravity and others to have
almost none.
By using his knowledge of math, science, and computing, Dr. Martin Lo
developed a program that could identify the locations of these low-gravity
and high-gravity paths. Using Dr. Lo’s superhighway of the low-gravity
paths, spacecraft can travel in less time, using less fuel and energy.

108
 Lagrange points are places in our solar system where the gravity of two
masses nearly cancel each other out. Dr. Martin Lo’s interplanetary
superhighway passes through these points.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©WMAP Science Team/NASA

109
You can model Dr. Lo’s highway
through low gravity areas of space
using magnets. The bigger magnet,
like a bigger space object, pulls
with greater force.

Look at the illustration. A student is using these objects to demonstrate how

a Lagrange point works. Choose the correct phrase from the word bank to
explain what each object represents.

a small mass in a large mass in a

the solar system the solar system spacecraft

The larger magnet would best represent

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

The smaller magnet would best represent

The paper clip would best represent

What natural force represents gravity in this demonstration?

A. electricity
B. magnetism
C. friction

110
 Dr. Lo mapped paths in space of “least resistance” to gravity to make
space travel less costly and time consuming.

Discuss with a partner how to use magnets to demonstrate how a Lagrange point
works. Then complete the statement below by circling the correct answer.

I would show what a Lagrange point is by putting the paper clip / smaller magnet

next to / between the two magnets in a place where neither magnet pulls it in /

it touches .
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

111
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this lesson, revisit the
concept of patterns of forces from the start of the lesson.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©SolStock/E+/Getty Images

Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now, use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

What patterns of forces act on the student playing

on the lawn water slide?

Use evidence from the activities in the lesson to support your answer to the
Guiding Question.

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

112
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©RichLegg/E+/Getty Images

Name
TEKS 4.8.A • DAY 1

Energy Transfer
Date

113
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson you will investigate and identify examples of energy transfer.
Before getting started, think about what you already know about
everyday examples of energy transfer.

Explore different forms of energy you interact with every day.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tf) ©cs333/Adobe Stock, (tr) ©Elena Schweitzer/Adobe Stock,
(bl) ©Weronica Ankarorn/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (br) ©PicturePartners/Shutterstock
Hit the drum, and produce sound energy.

Turn on a light. That’s electrical energy at work.

Turn on a toaster oven to toast your bread with Spin a top to observe mechanical energy.
thermal energy.

114
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to the transfer of energy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©PhotoLink/Photodisc/Getty Images, (tr) ©Ian Andrews/Alamy

energy transfer collision

The movement of energy from place to place or The result of two objects bumping into
from one object to another. each other.
(bl) ©Mark Coons/Dreamstime, (br) ©Elena Shi/Adobe Stock

sound wave
A kind of energy you hear when The up-and-down movement of surface water. It
something vibrates. can also be a disturbance that carries energy
through space.

115
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How does energy transfer through the bowling game system?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Neil Pope/Alamy

What do you notice about energy in the bowling ball and bowling pins?

What do you wonder about energy in the bowling ball and bowling pins?

Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

116
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
When the soccer player kicks the ball, energy will transfer
from the player’s moving foot to the ball. It will make the ball
move in one direction.
Energy transfer occurs all around you. When a moving
soccer ball hits another player’s body, energy transfers from
the ball to the person. Collisions between soccer balls and
people can hurt! You hear the smack of the ball because
sound energy transfers from the point of contact to your ears.
You can also think about energy transfers as a flow of energy
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©DoublePHOTO studio/Shutterstock

in a system. For example, when a squirrel eats an acorn,

energy stored in the acorn transfers to the squirrel. Then
when a hawk eats the squirrel, energy transfers to the hawk.
In these ways, energy flows throughout an ecosystem.
In this activity, you will investigate and identify the transfer of
energy by objects in motion and sound and learn more about
how energy flows through systems.
Ask a question about how energy transfers.

Sample answer: How does energy transfer in a collision?

Possible Materials Safety

• aluminum pan Loose marbles or
• water spilled water could be a
slipping hazard. Pick up
• table tennis ball
any dropped objects
• objects that can be used to make right away and clean up
noise, such as rhythm sticks, shaker spills according to your
eggs, hand drums, tambourines, teacher’s instructions.
bells, etc.
• marbles • Never eat or drink anything
during a science activity.
• flat ruler with groove down the center
• timing device, such as a stopwatch
117
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Collisions
Lay a ruler flat on a table. Place two marbles in the
ruler groove. Position the marbles so they are not
in contact with one another.

Step 2
With a finger, tap one marble toward the other.
Observe the motion of the marbles.

Step 3
Observe what happens, paying attention to evidence of how energy
flows in the system. Record your results in the chart on the next
page. Conduct several trials. Be sure to record details about

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

anything you do differently in each trial.

Step 4
Sound
Have one student in your group hold a noisemaker. Other students
should stand one step away.

Step 5
As the student makes noise with the noisemaker, other students
should record their observations in the chart on the next page.

Step 6
Now, have the observers stand two steps back. The student with the
noisemaker makes another noise, and the observers record their
observations in the chart on the next page. Be sure to note any
differences in sound.

Step 7
Repeat the process at least two more times with the observers/recorders
taking two more steps away from the sound maker in each round.
118
 Energy Transfer with Marbles
Trials Details Observations
1
2
3
4
5

Energy Transfer with Noisemakers

Steps Away Observations
1
2
4
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

119
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated collisions and sound in Part 1 of
the Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

Complete the sentences to identify how energy was transferred

in the investigation. Circle the correct answer.

When the marble rolled along the ruler, energy transferred

from the stationary marble to the rolling marble/
from the rolling marble to the stationary marble.

Sound energy transferred outward from the noisemaker in

all directions/in one direction.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

120
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Waves transfer energy from one
place to another. One example is
waves in water.
In Part 2 of this activity, you will
investigate and identify the
transfer of energy through water
and learn more about how energy
flows through systems.
Ask a question about how
energy transfers.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety

• aluminum pan Loose marbles or spilled
water could be a slipping
• water
hazard. Pick up any
• table tennis ball dropped objects right
• objects that can be used to make away, and clean up spills according
noise, such as rhythm sticks, to your teacher’s instructions.
shaker eggs, hand drums, • Never eat or drink anything
tambourines, bells, etc. during a science activity.
• marbles
• flat ruler with groove down
the center
• timing device, such as a stopwatch

121
 Hands-On Activity

Investigate Energy Transfers,

Part 2
Step 8
Water Waves
Pour about an inch of water into
the pan. Place the table tennis ball
at one end of the pan.

Step 9
With one finger, tap the water at
the other end of the pan one time.
Observe what happens to the
water and the ball. Record your
observations, focusing on
evidence of energy flowing in the system.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Energy Transfer through Water
Number of Fingers for Taps Observations
1
1
2
4

Step 10
Tap the water with one finger again, one time. Use a stopwatch to
measure how much time it takes until the ball stops moving.
Record your observation.

Step 11
Repeat Step 10, but use two fingers. Then, use four fingers.

122
 Analyze Results
Review the results you wrote from the Collisions steps in Part 1 of the
Hands-On Activity. Describe how matter and energy transferred through
the system.

Analyze Data
Now think about the noisemaker you observed in Part 1 of the Hands-On
Activity. Consider the patterns you noticed as you moved away from the
noisemaker. Describe how energy transferred from the noisemaker.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

123
 Hands-On Activity

Patterns
Now think about the Water Waves investigation you conducted in
Part 2 of the Hands-On Activity. Describe a pattern you observed
when you tapped the water and energy transferred as waves.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH/HMH

Think about what you discovered from your investigations. Make a
claim about how energy transfers. Support your claim with
evidence from your investigations. Explain your reasoning to
connect your claim to your evidence.

124
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored Part 2 of the Investigate Energy
Transfers Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

Choose the words from the word bank to correctly complete

the sentences.

my hand to the ball    resulted from

In the water wave investigation, water waves

my hand’s motion. Water waves transferred energy from

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH/HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

125
DAY 4

Hands-On Activity
Many games you play involve
transfers of energy between objects
in motion. Have you ever played
marbles? Think about how energy
transfer is used in the marbles game
in this picture.
You have explored how energy
transfers through waves, collisions,
and sound. In this activity, you will
design a game that is based on
energy transfer.
Ask a question about how energy

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©biker3/Adobe Stock

transfer can be used in the design of
a game.

Sample answer: How can I design a game that uses transfer of energy with

collisions?

Possible Materials Safety

• marbles Be careful not to drop
objects on the floor that
• rectangular blocks, such
as dominoes could cause someone
to fall.
• paper
Be careful when using
• string sharp objects like scissors
• markers to cut materials.
• tape
• scissors
• other building materials as
provided by your teacher

126
 Step 1
You can use an engineering design
process to design a game that is
based on the transfer of energy.
Define your problem by listing the
criteria you need to meet. Criteria
are the features of a good solution
to your problem. To design a game
based on the transfer of energy,
you’ll need to determine the
rules and the materials used in
the game.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

127
 Hands-On Activity

Step 2
Continue to use engineering practices like brainstorming and modeling to
design a solution to your problem. Identify and use information you
gathered about energy transfer patterns as a basis for your solution. Think
of ideas for your solution—the rules to your game. Draw a model of your
game in the space below. Write labels and explanations about how objects
are used in the game. Make sure your design meets the criteria that you
determined in Step 1.

Step 3 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Present and discuss everyone’s models in your group. Decide together how
you will evaluate designs and select one to move forward with to build and
test. Talk about the criteria that a model needs to meet to be considered.
Consider questions such as these:
• Are the rules clear and easy to follow?
• Is there a way to meet the objective and win the game?
• Are energy transfers involved in the game?

128
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored Part 1 of the Hands-On Activity,
check your learning with this question.

How does your game design use energy transfer?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©biker3/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

129
DAY 5

Hands-On Activity
Many games you play involve
transfers of energy between objects
in motion. Have you ever played
marbles? Think about how energy
transfer is used in the marbles game
in this picture.
In Part 1 of the activity, you designed
a game. In Part 2, you will test a
prototype of your design.
Ask a question about how energy
transfer can be used in the design of
a game.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©biker3/Adobe Stock

Possible Materials Safety
• marbles Be careful when using sharp
objects like scissors to cut
• rectangular blocks,
such as dominoes materials.
Be careful not to drop objects on
• paper
the floor that could cause someone
• string to fall.
• markers
• tape
• scissors
• other building materials as
provided by your teacher

130
 Engineer It: Design an
Energy Game, Part 2
Step 4
Design Prototypes
Building a prototype is another engineering
practice that is part of designing solutions
to problems. A prototype is a trial version
of a solution that you can test. Design a
prototype of your group solution, the
game that you decided together to test.
The prototype should include the rules
for playing the game and the materials
for the game.

Step 5
Use your prototype to test your solution by
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

playing your game.

Step 6
Record notes about how each step in the game works. Look for
details about these features.
• Were the rules clear and easy to follow?
• Was there a way to meet the objective and win the game?
• What were the energy transfers involved in the game?

131
 Hands-On Activity

Evaluate Designs
T alk with your group about how the game design worked. For any parts of the
game that did not work well, write down the criteria that were not met well.
Identify what you could change to improve the game design.

Analyze the Process

What did you have to do to progress from your diagram that modeled the
game to a prototype that you could test?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

132
 Energy and Matter
How did energy transfer from one object to another in the test of
your game prototype? How were objects in the game trial affected
by the energy transfers?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim to describe how energy transfers can be used in the
design of a game. Support your claim with evidence, and explain
the reasoning you used in choosing that evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

133
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored Part 2 of the Engineer It: Design
an Energy Game Hands-On Activity, check your learning with
this question.

How do models help engineers design solutions to problems?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

134
DAY 6

Identifying Energy Transfers

Motion happens all around you every day. When you brush your teeth,
you move your hand, and your hand moves the toothbrush. You move
doors when you open and close them. Cars roll along streets, and birds
fly through the air. Balls that you play games with might roll on the ground
and fly through the air, as well.

The energy from each

player’s movement is
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Eugene Gorun/Adobe Stock

transferred as the ball

collides with the paddle.

What examples of energy transfer can you identify in table tennis, as pictured above

135
Large boats produce big waves when they move through water. Those
waves transfer their energy to other objects floating in the water. Objects
like small boats, buoys, leaves, and even birds floating on the water can
be affected by the movement of larger boats.

Energy from the passing boat is

transferred to the bouy when the
waves make it move.

How did energy transfer from the boat to the buoy?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©blackboxguild/Adobe Stock

136
 You might awaken to the song of birds in the morning or fall asleep to the
sound of crickets at night. Many animals make sounds. Animals make
sounds for a variety of reasons. They might be communicating the
location of food they found. They could be trying to attract a mate. Or they
might be trying to warn other animals of danger.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Melani/Adobe Stock (r) ©Sahara Frost/Adobe Stock

This male Gambel’s Quail is calling to other Sound energy is transferred from the whale by
nearby quail. Is he sending a warning, trying to sound waves to your ear. Sound energy is
attract a mate, or just sharing a food source? transferred even under water.

How is energy transferred between animals in both of the

examples in the pictures? Circle the correct answer.

A. by animals making contact

B. by waves in water

C. by transfer of sound energy

137
A child leaps into the air, grabs his knees to his
chest, and does a cannonball with a splash into
one end of a swimming pool. At the other end of
the pool, a pool float starts bobbing up and down.
Think about why that happens. All the objects and
energy in this scenario make up a system.

Draw a diagram to model the objects in the pool system. Label the model
to represent transfers of energy in the system.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Matthew Apps/Dreamstime

Use your model to identify and explain the transfer of energy by waves
and objects in motion in the system.

138
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored examples of energy transfer, check your
learning with this question.
Write the correct answers from the word bank in the third column.

waves sound collision

Saputro/Shutterstock, (b) ©Mat Hayward/Adobe Stock

Image Situation Energy Transfer

A baseball bat hits

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) TK, (c) ©Wiz Saputro/Shutterstock,

a baseball.

A buoy bobs in
the ocean.

A dog can tell when

a child calls it.

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

139
DAY 7

People in Science
Dr. Marion Downs
Dr. Marion Downs was an audiologist, a doctor specializing in hearing.
She helped many thousands of children to speak and hear better by
noticing and solving a problem. Infants born with hearing problems can’t
hear their own voice or the voices of others. So, they can’t develop
language skills as they get older. Before the 1960s, it took two or three
years to notice a child’s hearing problem.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Marion Downs Center

140
 Dr. Downs pioneered the use of a hearing testing program that
didn’t require infants to talk. A doctor watched infants respond to
sounds, such as rattles. A second part of the solution was to
change what doctors did nationwide. Now, doctors screen all
infants to see if they might need hearing aids.
One type of hearing aid infants, children, and adults can receive is
a cochlear implant. This hearing aid is implanted under the skin
behind the ear. It converts sounds to electrical signals that are
sent to the inner ear. Although Dr. Downs was not an engineer,
she engineered a solution to fill a serious gap in our nation’s
health system.
Noise is a major cause of hearing loss later in life. The loss can be
temporary after being exposed to a loud noise, such as a
firecracker. It might take a day or more to recover. A person can
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) TK, (bl) ©energyy/Getty Images, (br) ©Corbis

have permanent hearing loss if they are exposed to loud noises for
long periods of time. Loud music, jet engine noise, and power tools
can cause permanent hearing loss. Musicians, construction
workers, or others who have jobs in loud noise environments can
protect their sense of hearing from permanent damage. Devices
like over-the-ear hearing protectors block loud noises from
damaging the sense of hearing. Dense foam earplugs also protect
the ear from loud noises. They are flexible and fit snugly in the
ear canal.

141
We are able to hear sound when sound energy transfers through matter,
usually air or water, to our ears. If the sound energy reaching the ears is
too powerful, it can cause injury to parts of the ear and damage hearing.
Hearing protectors can prevent such damage from occurring.
If the sound energy does not transfer effectively to the structures in the
ear, hearing can be impaired. Hearing aids can help the transfer of energy
to produce the sense of hearing.
What are some criteria for a good hearing protector?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

142
 What are some criteria for a good hearing aid?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

143
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration of this topic, go back and
review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start of this lesson.
Use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How does energy transfer through the bowling game system?

Identify and explain how energy transfers through the bowling

game system.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Neil Pope/Alamy

The bowler throws the heavy bowling ball down When the ball hits the pins, all the pins
the smooth wooden lane. go down.

Great Job! You have finished Day 7.

144
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Goss Images/Alamy

Name
TEKS 4.8.B • DAY 1

Insulators
Conductors and
Date

145
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will explore conductors and insulators. Before getting
started on materials that do or do not conduct heat, revisit what you
already know about how energy is transferred.

Identify the transfer of energy by objects in motion, waves in water, and sound.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©sirtravelalot/Shutterstock, (bl) ©photogerson/Shutterstock,
The energy of the bat’s motion transfers to the ball. Some of it also transfers to
the surrounding air, producing a loud crack sound.

(br) ©lifcolor/Adobe Stock

Water waves have energy of motion, and they Energy can be transferred through sound
transfer energy to the surfers who ride them. waves. When an object, like this drum, is
struck with force, it makes vibrations that
carry this energy.

146
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to conductors and insulators.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images, (tr) TK

conductor insulator
A material that transfers energy easily. A material that reduces or prevents the transfer
of energy.

147
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How does this cup keep a drink hot or cold all day long?

A hot cup of water can stay

warm in an insulated cup.
Insulated cups can reduce the
transfer of energy. They keep
hot beverages hot and cold
beverages cold.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) TK, (b) ©Hero Images/Alamy
What do you notice about the insulated cup in the photo?

What do you wonder about the insulated cup in the photo?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

148
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever stirred a cup of hot cocoa with a
metal spoon, only to realize that the spoon (and
your hand!) became hot, too? Certain materials
used in cooking allow heat to transfer through
them. These materials are called conductors.
Other materials don’t let heat flow through them.
They are called insulators. In the kitchen, you
will find many types of conductors and insulators
that are used to store, prepare, and cook food.
Ask a Question about how different materials
can transfer heat.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety

• metal butter knife (not sharp)  ven though the knives
E
are not very sharp, be careful
• plastic knife
when cutting the pats of butter
• glass beaker and handling the knives.
• stopwatch Do not touch the hot plate or
• butter the heating beaker of water.
• marker  ear thermally insulated
W
• water gloves when working with and
• hot plate around hot materials such as
hot plates.
• notebook
 nly use hot plates when an
O
• safety goggles adult is present to supervise
you during the classroom
investigation.

149
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Put on your safety goggles.
Then begin your classroom
investigation by cutting the butter
into four thin, equal pats.

Step 2
Gently press one piece of butter
onto the plastic knife at its tip, and
press one piece of butter near the
center of the knife’s blade. Using
safe practices, press butter pieces
onto the metal knife in the same positions. Use your marker to
mark each knife at the level of the lower piece of butter.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 3
Fill the beaker with water just below the line on the knife, and
place it on the hot plate to conduct your test.

Step 4
Place the knives with butter pressed on, handle first, into
the beaker.

Step 5
Observe the butter in 1-minute intervals for a total of
10 minutes. Use your stopwatch to measure the time.
Record your observations in your notebook.

150
 Analyze Data
Describe the significant features of your investigation. Then, review
your data and observations from the two types of knives and their ability
to conduct heat energy. Were there any potential sources of error in
your investigation?

Use Models
You were testing two types of materials in your investigation: plastic and
metal. What were the advantages of your model? Describe the things that
worked well. Were there any limitations to your model?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

151
Structure and Function
How does what the knives are made of (their structure) relate to how they
transfer heat energy (their function) in this activity?
Record your conclusion in the chart below.

Structure Function

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Think about what you discovered from your investigation. Make a
claim to describe how heat energy is transferred differently through
different materials. Support your claim with evidence from your
investigation. Explain your reasoning.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

152
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored how different materials conduct or
insulate from heat in the Hands-On Activity, check your learning
with this question.

INSULATOR DATA

Material Material Starting Temperature after

Temperature (°C) 5 Minutes (°C)

1 19 37

2 19 48

3 19 31

4 19 42

Rami tests how quickly different materials change temperature.

He heats each one the same way and constructs a table to examine
and evaluate his data. Based on these data, which material is the
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

best insulator?

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

153
DAY 3

Exploring Thermal Energy

Thermal energy moves through some materials very easily. A material that

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©fotofabrika/Adobe Stock, (tr) ©Adam Hart-Davis/SPL/Photo Researchers, Inc.
allows thermal energy to move through it easily is called a conductor.
Many thermal energy conductors also conduct electricity well. For the
most part, solids are better conductors of heat than liquids or gases.
That’s because the particles that make up a solid are packed closely
together. They vibrate but don’t move apart much. Heat can move quickly
from one particle to another.
Explore materials that are good conductors of heat.

Metals are great heat conductors. Some metals Marble does not conduct heat as well as metals
conduct heat better than others do. Copper and do. But it can still conduct heat away from your
aluminum are great conductors, which is why body. That’s why marble feels cool when you
pots often have a copper bottom. touch it.

(bl) ©Pixel/Adobe Stock

Mercury, a liquid metal, is a good conductor.

This is why it was once used in thermometers. It
is, however, dangerous to humans.

154
 In metals, heat moves from particle to particle very easily. The
diagrams below show the thermal energy transfer among particles
of a metal bar. The red dots model warm particles, and the blue dots
model cool particles.
Compare the diagrams.

heat heat

One end of a metal bar is placed over a flame, After holding just one end of a metal bar above a
but the other end is not. The particles on the flame, the entire bar is hot. Heat has traveled
end away from the flame are not yet hot. among all the particles in the metal, including at
the end of the bar that is not over the flame.

Thermal conductors and insulators are all around us, especially

when it comes to cooking and food. Practice what you know about
thermal energy.
These four spoons are sitting in a hot bowl of soup. Imagine you touched
the handles of all four spoons. Identify which spoon is the best conductor
of thermal energy. Then explain your choice.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

155
Recall the diagram you saw of how particles in a metal transfer energy
when the metal warms up. Metals conduct heat well. Many metals are
also good conductors of electricity. Electrical energy can transfer from
place to place through certain materials, very quickly and even across
long distances.
Look at the photo to discover more about using materials that conduct
electrical energy. Identify materials that insulate against the transfer of
electrical energy, too.

People who work with electricity wear

protective gear, such as heavy gloves,
that keep them safe. Insulated materials
prevent or reduce the transfer of heat
energy so people can safely handle
electricity without getting shocked.

We use electrical cords every day to make things work. They allow

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
electricity to flow through and power things like blenders, microwaves,
and lights. Cords and plugs have been designed to make them safe for
people to use. That means there are parts that act as conductors and
other parts that act as insulators.
Identify the part of this plug that is a conductor of electrical energy. How
do you know?

Never touch the metal parts of an

electrical cord when plugging it into a
wall socket.

156
 You’ve explored how thermal energy moves from particle to particle
within certain materials, like metals, which are called conductors.
You’ve also seen how the transfer of thermal energy can be prevented
or reduced.

Draw a concept map to show how conductors of electrical and thermal

energy work.
vvww
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

157
Exit Ticket

Which of the following are effective conductors of thermal

energy? Select all that apply.

A. metal spoon

B. plastic knife

C. cloth glove

D. copper pot

E. foam cup

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great Job! You have finished Day 3.

158
DAY 4
Do the Math: Materials that do not conduct heat or electricity well are
called insulators. Oven mitts are examples of insulators. They can be
made of layers of cloth, rubber, or even silicone. These materials are poor
conductors of heat and electricity. When you remove a pan of cookies
from the oven, your hands don’t get burned.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©AntonioDiaz/Adobe Stock

These materials are all insulators, but it takes different amounts to protect
you from heat. Place the decimal thicknesses of oven mitts in order from
least to greatest in the chart below.

Material Measurement Order

cloth 1.2 cm

neoprene rubber 0.65 cm

silicone 0.35 cm

159
Let’s take a closer look at insulators. Insulated materials are found in many
ordinary items, and they also occur naturally.

Plastic and foam coolers keep drinks and ice

cold for a few hours.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Corbis, (tr) ©Africa Studio/Shutterstock,
Metal wires conduct electricity and heat. Most
wires are covered in rubber to insulate them and
keep people safe from the electricity and heat
passing through them.

(b) ©Sepp Friedhuber/E+/Getty Images

Animal fur is an insulator. It keeps animals warm

in cold weather.

160
 Remember this guy? Notice his
gloves. He’s covered with
insulated materials to protect
him from possible electric shock
while repairing power lines.

You may have used a metal tumbler like the one below to keep your
drinks hot or cold.

Lid
Outer layer The removable lid is thick plastic, a
The stainless steel layer on the good insulating material to keep
outside of the container protects the warmth from the outside air
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©sonicbox/Adobe Stock

the insulating layer, but by itself from heating the cold liquid inside
it’s not good at preventing the the container.
transfer of thermal energy.
Inner layer
A The liquid inside the container
stays colder than the outside air.

Insulated layer
A layer of empty space that serves
as a buffer between the inner and
outer layers so heat does not
transfer from outside to inside or
vice versa.

How would the diagram differ if it was modeling a hot drink in the tumbler?

161
 Language SmArts: Imagine you are in charge of supplying the kids
in your class with containers so that they can have drinks during a
school party and a camping trip.
Think about the criteria needed for the party and the camping trip, including
the cost and the amount of time the drinks need to be kept cold.
Use these criteria to evaluate the drink containers. Select which drink
container to purchase for the party and which drink container to purchase for
the camping trip.
Which drink container would be best for a school party, and which would be
best for a camping trip? Explain your reasoning.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

162
 Thermal conductors and insulators are very different materials with very
different purposes. However, they often work together and might even
share things in common.

Construct a Venn diagram to compare thermal conductors

and insulators.

Thermal Conductors Insulators

Both
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

163
Exit Ticket

Identify the insulators of thermal and electrical energy below.

Select all that apply.

A. metal wire

B. silicone

C. cloth

D. copper

E. foam

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©AntonioDiaz/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

164
 DAY 5

People in Science
Dr. Paul Ching Wu Chu
Imagine having a career that combines your love
of physics with your desire to teach physics to
others. This is what Dr. Paul Ching Wu Chu does!
Dr. Paul Ching Wu Chu is a physicist and
professor of physics whose work and research
focus on a specific area of science known as
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©K.Y. Cheng/South China Morning Post/Getty Images

superconductivity.
During the transfer of energy, some heat can be
lost due to the natural resistance of certain
materials. Scientists came up with the idea that
cold temperatures can reduce some of that
resistance and energy loss but only if the
materials reach a superconductive state.
If a conductor is a material that transfers energy
easily, the word superconductor refers to a
material that is cooled to a very low temperature
. . . so low that materials in that state can
conduct electricity without losing any energy.
Dr. Chu and his colleagues achieved stable
superconductivity in their testing environments,
which was a big breakthrough for the scientific community!

165
Superconductivity is a scientific phenomenon that can be used in
everyday life. Let’s take a look at an example of this.
Maglev trains are trains that use superconductivity. With Maglev
trains, magnets use energy transfers to push the train forward as it
hovers over the tracks for a smooth and fast ride. Many people use
these trains on a daily basis, perhaps without even knowing that
they are riding on a system of conductors combined with cold
temperatures to make superconductors.

Maglev trains, short for magnetic

levitation trains, use superconducting
magents that let the train levitate, or
float, above the train tracks. The
superconducting materials are cooled

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Yaorusheng/Shutterstock

to a temperature that is way below
freezing, allowing the transfer of
energy without any energy being lost.

What are superconductors, and how can they benefit society?

166
 Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations in this lesson, revisit the
information about conductors and insulators from the start of the lesson.

As you review this information, think about what you learned about
conductors and insulators in the lesson.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

A hot cup of water can stay warm in an insulated cup. Insulated cups
can reduce the transfer of energy. They keep hot beverages hot and
cold beverages cold.

167
Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now, use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How does this cup keep a drink hot or cold all day long?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson,
and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Hero Images/Alamy

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

168
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©damrong/Adobe Stock

Name
TEKS 4.8.C • DAY 1

Energy
Electrical
Date

169
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will explore how electrical energy travels in closed paths
and can be transformed to light and thermal energy. Energy is the ability to
do work or cause changes in matter. Before getting started, revisit what
you already know about electrical energy, light, and thermal energy.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©photology1971/Adobe Stock, (bl) ©light key/iStock,
Electrical energy can travel through wires. Some
materials conduct electrical energy, but others
do not.

(br) ©MCCAIG/E+/Getty Images

Light can travel through empty space and Thermal energy transfers from warmer matter to
through some matter. Light enables people to cooler matter as heat. Thermal energy from the fire
see objects that either emit light or reflect it. causes the marshmallows to change.

170
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to the flow of electrical energy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tr) ©Corbis, (bl) ©Wongsakorn Napaeng/

circuit electrical energy

The closed path or loop that an electric charge Energy caused by the
flows through. movement of electric charges.
Shutterstock, (br) ©NaturaLight - No Release Needed/Alamy

light thermal energy

Energy that lets you see. The energy of a system related to the
system’s temperature and mass.

171
Can You Explain It?
This question will guide your learning throughout the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

How does tightening the flashlight affect how

electrical energy flows in the system?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (b) ©HMH

What do you do when a flashlight Tightening the flashlight The flashlight can only turn
does not turn on? Sometimes it lid can also help ensure on when the different parts
helps to take the batteries out to that all the parts inside the are connected correctly.
make sure they are placed in the flashlight are connected.
flashlight in the right direction.

What do you notice about the flow of electrical energy in the flashlight?

What do you wonder about the flow of electrical energy in the flashlight?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

172
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
In a flashlight or other electrical
device, a battery may be
connected in a circuit. A circuit is
a closed path or loop that
electrical energy flows through.
When you turn on a light,
electrical energy flows through
a circuit to produce light energy.
Light bulbs also give off
thermal energy.
Ask a question about how
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wavebreak Media ltd/Alamy

electrical energy transfers and

transforms in a circuit.

Possible Materials Safety

• battery with holder Handle only the insulated
• light bulb with holder sections of wires to avoid
shocks.
• wires
L ight bulbs can be hot.
• switches Always use thermally
• laser pointers insulated gloves when
handling them.
• other materials as provided by
your teacher • Never shine a laser pointer at
people or animals. Do not look at
the lighted end of the laser.

173
 Hands-On Activity

Light the Bulb, Part 1

Step 1
Plan a simple classroom investigation to make the bulb light up
using the available materials. Record your plan in your notebook.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

In your plan, describe the safe practices you will need to follow
and the safety equipment you will need to use during your
classroom investigation.

Step 2
Lay out the parts in the order you think will make the bulb light
up. Develop and label a model in your notebook to show how
you plan to connect all the parts.

Step 3
Connect all the circuit parts to test your model. Demonstrate
safe practices when working with the materials for building
circuits and the laser pointers. Wear thermally insulated gloves
to protect your hands.

Step 4
Record your observations in your notebook. Make sure to note
evidence of different types of energy, such as light and thermal
energy, present in the circuit system.

174
 Step 5
Analyze your observations. Based on your analysis, use your laser
pointer to trace out the path electrical energy takes through your
circuit system.

Science and Society

Think about the scientific discovery that electrical energy travels in closed
paths. Many devices that are used by scientists and by people in society
were built based on this idea.
Explain how science has been affected by the scientific discovery that electrical energy
travels in closed paths. Give an example of one piece of scientific equipment that relies
on electrical energy.

Explain how society has been affected by the scientific discovery that electrical
energy travels in closed paths. Give an example of something you use in your
everyday life that uses electrical energy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

175
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored how electrical energy flows in Part 1 of the
Light the Bulb Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

What data have you collected that demonstrate that electrical energy
traveling in the circuit produces thermal energy?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

176
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You have observed how electrical energy
flows through a circuit. When it moves
through a light bulb, the energy is changed
to light and thermal energy.
Now, in Part 2, you will change the order of
the parts of a circuit to explore which
arrangements do and do not let the
electrical energy transfer and transform.
Ask a question about how energy flows
through a circuit to transform to thermal
energy and light.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wavebreak Media ltd/Alamy

Possible Materials Safety

• battery with holder Handle only the insulated
sections of wires to avoid shocks.
• light bulb with holder
L ight bulbs can be hot. Always
• wires
use thermally insulated gloves
• switches when handling them.
• laser pointers • Never shine a laser pointer at people or
• other materials as provided animals. Do not look at the lighted end
by your teacher of the laser.

177
 Hands-On Activity

Light the Bulb, Part 2

Step 6
Continue your investigation into how electrical energy flows
through the circuit system to light the bulb. In every step of this

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

activity, demonstrate safe practices when working with the
materials for building circuits and the laser pointers to test
your plans.
• If the bulb did not light up during your investigation in Part 1, investigate
until you find a way of connecting the parts to make the bulb light up.
• If the bulb did light up during your investigation in Part 1, investigate until
you find another way of connecting the parts to make the bulb light up.

Step 7
Record your process and observations. For each circuit you
build, develop and label a diagram to model how you connected
the parts. Remember to record observations of light energy and
thermal energy in your circuit.

Step 8
Use your laser pointer to trace the path of electrical energy
through each circuit you build. Draw the path on your models.

178
 Analyze Results
Reflect on your thinking as you modeled different circuits to find
those that lit the bulb. Share your thoughts with a partner.

Use Models
Look back at the model you made of a circuit that worked to light the bulb
and produce light energy. Use information from the model and from your
observations to describe how electrical energy moved in the system.

Define Problems
Some arrangements of parts in a circuit light a bulb, and some do not.
What is the problem with the circuits that do not light a bulb? Use
evidence from your investigation to define the problem.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

179
 Hands-On Activity

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how electrical energy travels in a closed path
that can produce light energy. Use evidence from your
investigation to support your claim. Explain your reasoning.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

180
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated electrical energy in circuits in Part 2 of the
Light the Bulb Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

Why doesn’t this phone charger cord work? Explain your answer.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©shootingtheworld/Adobe Stock, (b) ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

181
DAY4

Electrical Energy in Systems

A battery can store electrical energy to be used when it is needed.
Connecting the battery to a circuit allows the electrical energy to transfer
to other devices. Devices that operate on electrical energy transform the
electrical energy into a different type of energy for some useful purpose.
As you study the photographs, think about where the energy is coming
from and how it is being used.

Electrical energy flows when a circuit is a Removing one part of the circuit will
closed loop. open the loop, and the electrical device,

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

such as a light bulb, will not work.

Each part of the circuit is important. Any changes that open the circuit will
prevent the electrical device from
functioning properly.

What are two questions you might ask if you were trying to make this circuit work?

182
 Plugging devices into an electrical wall circuit makes the devices part of
the circuit so electrical energy can travel through them. Electrical energy
is used to produce thermal energy or light in many devices.
Explore how everyday items produce thermal energy from electrical energy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Melissa Ross/Getty Images, (tr) ©Rad K/Shutterstock,

When a toaster is plugged in, it becomes When a light bulb is turned on, it
part of a complete circuit. The heating becomes part of a complete circuit. The
element of a toaster gets hot and cooks light bulb both gives off light and gets
the bread when electric current runs warm when electric current runs
through it. through it.

A phone, a charger, and an electric outlet

connect and form a complete circuit. The
phone battery is not designed to get warm
when charging, but thermal energy is a result
of the electric current charging the battery.
(b) ©Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

Circle the correct words to complete the sentences.

A circuit | device | transfer | transformation is a system of parts that make a

closed path for electrical energy to travel in a loop. Devices added to the path can use

electrical energy to keep the path closed | open the path | produce light or

thermal energy

183
Now that you have done an investigation and learned more about circuits
and ways that electrical energy can transform into other forms of energy,
look at this photo that shows a person trying to turn on a flashlight.

A flashlight is an electrical device that

relies on a closed circuit to work. When
the flashlight does not work properly, it
can be a challenge to figure out how to
close the circuit.

What is the problem the person is trying to figure out?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

The parts of a flashlight make up a system. Each part serves a different
purpose in the system to make the whole thing work.
Look at the individual parts as the person takes apart the flashlight.

The different parts of a flashlight work

together to form a system. This system
is the circuit. In order to find out why the
flashlight is not working, it is important
to look at each part of the system to
make sure it is functioning properly.

184
 Write the correct answer in each space to identify the function of each
object in the system.

light bulb  switch  wire  battery

Function Part

produces light energy

opens and closes the path for energy

to travel

makes up the path for energy to travel

supplies electrical energy

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Notice how the person continues working to solve the problem!

After checking the

different parts of You can make the
the circuit, you flashlight work
might discover again by making
the part that is sure all the parts
preventing the are connected
circuit from correctly and the
being closed. circuit is closed.

Now the
flashlight works!

185
 Language SmArts: So how was the flashlight problem solved?
Read below to discover the theories of two students.
• Henry thinks the flashlight didn’t produce light at first because the batteries
were dead.
• Claire thinks the flashlight didn’t produce light at first because there wasn’t a closed
path for electrical energy to travel.

You know how the person in the photos solved the problem with
the flashlight. How would you communicate the solution to
Henry and Claire with their different ideas about the problem?
You will plan a live conversation with Henry and a written email to
Claire. Think about how the different formats and settings affect
your approach.

Henry thinks the flashlight batteries were dead. If you were having a conversation with
Henry, what would you say? How would you explain whether his idea about the
flashlight problem is correct? What details from the video would you use as evidence?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

186
 Claire thinks the circuit in the flashlight was incomplete. If you were writing an email to
Claire, what would you say? How would you explain whether her idea about the
flashlight problem is correct? What details from the video would you use as evidence?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

187
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored electrical energy in systems, check
what you’ve learned with this question.

Which of these is most likely to fix the circuit and cause the bulb to light up?

A. adding another battery

B. connecting the wire to the battery

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

C. replacing the light bulb
D. replacing the battery

Great Job! You have finished Day 4.

188
DAY 5

Engineering in Careers
Electrical Engineer
Electrical engineers design systems that produce electricity or are
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Robert Sacha/Getty Images, (bl) ©David J. Green - technology/Alamy,

powered by it. They design small devices, like phones or household

appliances. Or they design larger systems, like the lighting and wiring
of buildings.
Electrical engineers often work in an office or lab, but sometimes have
projects where they need to be on-site. They get involved in projects
that are still just ideas on paper, and they often see projects through
to completion.
Almost all electrical engineers hold bachelor’s degrees—or sometimes
master’s degrees—in electrical engineering. In addition, they often
(bm) ©David Parker/Science Source, (br) ©WLADIMIR BULGAR/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

specialize in particular areas of engineering. Some work with the energy

grid that powers our homes and communities. Others work in computing
or in communication systems.

Engineers plan for the placement of electrical power lines, which carry electric
energy from one point to another.

189
Electrical engineers design circuit boards. Satellite dishes were developed as a
These send electrical signals to other means to send and receive information
parts of an electronic device and tell it from satellites that are circling Earth.
how to work. Many electronic devices, like TVs, depend
on satellite dishes to function.

Laboratory equipments use electrical

energy in different ways. This heart
monitor records the electrical activity of a
patient’s heart and depends on the flow
of electrical energy to work.

Think about some of the things that electrical engineers do. They figure out solutions to
problems that involve electrical energy. They design helpful devices that use electrical
energy. They plan systems that are safe and useful.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

If you were to meet an electrical engineer, what questions might you ask them?

190
 Electrical engineers develop innovative solutions like cell phones that
affect both science and society.

Explain how cell phones are innovative solutions that affect science and society.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

191
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this lesson, revisit the
photos from the start of the lesson.
As you look at these photos, think about the transfer of electrical energy in
the complete circuit in the flashlight.

Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now use what you have learned to answer the question.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

GUIDING QUESTION

How does tightening the flashlight affect how

electrical energy flows in the system?

Make a claim. Use evidence from the lesson, and give reasoning to connect the
evidence to your claim.

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

192
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Name
TEKS 4.9.A • DAY 1

Patterns in Seasons
Date

193
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will use patterns in data to predict changes in seasons.
Before getting started, think about what you already know about seasons.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Robert/Adobe Stock

How Do Seasons Change?

Winter, spring, summer, and fall come and go each year in a predictable pattern. Look for clues
from the photos that tell you that the season is changing.

194
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to weather patterns.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) TK, (tr) TK, (b) ©PiLensPhoto/Adobe Stock

weather precipitation
What is happening in the atmosphere at a Water that falls from the air to Earth’s surface.
certain place and time.

season
A time of year that has a certain kind of weather.

195
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How can data from the photos be used to predict

what the weather will be like in six months?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Elva Etienne/Moment/Getty Images
Think about the photo of the children
playing. What do you notice about the
weather?

What do you wonder about the weather?

Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

196
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
One way scientists describe
weather and different seasons is
by describing the temperature of
the air outside. In addition to using
your senses to tell how hot or cold
it is, you can take measurements
of temperature.

Ask a Question about things that

can affect the temperature that a
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©GLandStudio/Adobe Stock

thermometer measures.

Possible Materials Safety

• thermometer When outside, stay
with your teacher, and
stay away from roadways.
• When outside, do not look
directly at the sun.
• When outside, be aware of your
environment. Inform your teacher
of changing weather conditions
or nearby wildlife.
• When outside, do not touch any
unfamiliar plants.

197
 Hands-On Activity

Measuring Outdoor
Temperature
Step 1
Look at your thermometer. Notice the temperature markings.
Use the data table below to record your temperature readings.

Step 2
Prepare for your field investigation by reviewing safe practices
with your teacher.

Temperature Readings
Location Temperature

outside

on pavement © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

on plant

198
 Step 3
Once outside, use the thermometer to measure the temperature.
Hold your thermometer by the casing for at least 1 minute so you don’t
affect the temperature reading. Record the temperature reading.

Step 4
Rest the thermometer on pavement or concrete for at least
1 minute. Record the temperature reading.

Step 5
Rest the thermometer on a plant for at least 1 minute. Record
the temperature reading.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

199
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Information
Review your temperature readings. How do they compare?

Develop Explanations
Think about why the temperature might be different when you took
readings in different places.
Explain why the temperature might be different in different outside locations.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

A scientist is installing a thermometer at a new weather station. Make a claim

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

about how the thermometer should be installed to get the best measurements
of air temperature. Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
Make your claim. Use evidence and reasoning.

200
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated ways to collect temperature data in the
Measuring Temperature Outside Hands-On Activity, check your learning below.
Choose the picture that shows the best practice for measuring accurate outdoor
air temperatures.

Circle the picture that shows the best practice for measuring accurate
outdoor air temperatures.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great Job! You have finished Day 2.

201
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Weather changes from day to day. One
day, it might be cold with precipitation
such as rain or snow. The next day, it
might be hot and sunny.
Looking at long-term patterns over years
tells a different story. Both temperature
and precipitation change from season
to season, and many people want to
know what weather to expect. Farmers,
for example, want to know whether the
seasonal weather patterns show a lot of
precipitation or a lot of dry weather.
How are seasonal weather patterns
different depending on location? Are
some places usually hot and dry and others cold and rainy?
Ask a question about the weather patterns in different
locations in Texas.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Possible Materials Safety

• digital device with Internet access • Access only websites and
• research materials provided by resources that have been
your teacher approved by your teacher.
• calculator

202
 Collecting Weather Data, Part 1
Step 1
Your teacher will assign a Texas city to your group. Ask people who know the
city or conduct research to learn more about the city. Where is it? Who lives
there? What kind of vegetation and wildlife live there? Write down the
sources of the information you find. Make sure they are reliable sources.

Texas City Research

City Source

Where is it?

Who lives there?

What kinds of vegetation and wildlife live there?

More information:

Step 2
Use a digital device like a computer or tablet to find the average weather
data measurements for your city for each month. You will need information
on average temperature and average precipitation. You will use this data as
evidence to predict patterns of change in seasons. Record the reliable
sources of information you will use to collect your data.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

January February March April May June

Average
Temperature
Average
Precipitation
July August September October November December
Average
Temperature
Average
Precipitation

203
 Hands-On Activity

Step 3
Use a digital device to construct a data table, which you will use to collect
and analyze information. Collect and record data about your city’s average
temperature and the average amount of precipitation for each month. Be
sure to record the units of measurement, such as temperature in degrees
Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 4
Based on the data you recorded, how would you describe the weather
in each season in the city? Describe the sequence of
the seasons and share your ideas with your group.

204
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated seasonal weather data in Part 1 of
the Collecting Weather Data Hands-On Activity, check your learning
with this question.

How did you select the data sources you used? Why did you use data from
one source and not another?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©John Anderson/Alamy

Great Job! You have finished Day 3.

205
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity

In Part 1 of the Collecting

Weather Data Hands-On Activity,
you collected monthly weather
data for one city in Texas. Now,
in Part 2, you will graph and
analyze your data and the data
collected by other groups in
your class.
Ask a question about seasonal
weather patterns in different
locations in Texas.

Possible Materials Safety © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

• digital device with Internet access • Access only websites and
• other research materials as resources that have been
provided by your teacher approved by your teacher.
• calculator

206
 Collecting Weather Data, Part 2
Step 5
Review the average temperature and average precipitation
data you collected for your city for each month during one year.

Step 6
Use your findings to analyze your weather data. On a separate piece
of paper, construct one bar graph for temperature and another for
precipitation to present your data. Include axis labels, units of measure,
and graph titles to make your information easy to read and understand.

Step 7
As a class, design one graph for average temperature and another
for average precipitation that display the data for each location.
Include axis labels, units of measure, and graph titles so information
is easily identified.

Step 8
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Each group should record their data for January, April, July, and October
on the precipitation and temperature graphs. This will make it easier to
compare weather in different locations.

207
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Information
Do the Math: Review the data in the bar graphs. Use
your calculator and mathematical calculations to analyze
your data for patterns. Which season shows the greatest
range in temperatures in the city you researched? Which
location shows the greatest range in temperatures
throughout the year? Review your results with a partner.
What can you learn by calculating differences in temperature and
precipitation in one location and in different locations?

Use Patterns
Look for patterns in your bar graph data. Can you identify
the changing of seasons just by your data?
Based on the data in your bar graphs, what months would
you associate with winter, spring, summer, and fall?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

208
 Develop Explanations
Study your class data in the class bar graphs. What patterns can you see
in all the cities? What does this tell you about the typical weather in Texas
throughout a year?
Use patterns in temperature and precipitation data to explain seasonal
similarities between the cities your class studied. Support your
explanation with evidence from the data.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how you can use weather data to predict patterns
of change in seasons. Support your claim with evidence from your
investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your
evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

209
Exit Ticket
Now that you have analyzed seasonal data for patterns in Part 2
of the Collecting Weather Data Hands-On Activity, check your learning
with this question.

The statements below describe the weather patterns in Texas. Circle the
correct word that best completes each statement.

The highest temperatures are in the summer | spring.

The highest amount of precipitation occurs in the winter | spring and fall.
The lowest temperatures occur in the spring and fall | winter.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Sean/Adobe Stock

Great Job! You have finished Day 4.

210
DAY 5

Seasonal Temperature Patterns

In this lesson, you will learn more about seasons and the weather patterns
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Kathy Van Torne/Moment/Getty Images, (b) ©Kartik Deshpande/Adobe Stock

that define the seasons in different places.

Look for clues in each picture that identify what season it is in Austin, Texas.

Winter

Spring
211
 Fall

212
Summer

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©RoschetzkyIstockPhoto/iStock/Getty Images, (b) ©Jacki/Adobe Stock
 In Austin, some people might think it is warm all year round. Although
it never gets as cold as Fairbanks, Alaska, the temperature patterns do
change. By studying the temperature patterns, you can identify seasons.

Average High Temperatures in Austin, TX (°C)

Year Winter Spring Summer Fall

1 15 22 30 22

2 12 22 31 21

3 12 20 30 23

4 13 22 31 22

Study the temperature table. You can see that the temperatures in each
season are pretty similar year after year. The temperatures change from
season to season.
Analyze the data in the Austin temperature chart for patterns.
Circle the word that correctly describes the patterns in the data.
Research and collect temperature data for the place where you live for the
last six months. Record the name of the place where you live, the units of
measurement for the data you found, and the sources you used for research.

The hottest season is summer/ fall.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Spring is warmer than summer / winter.

The two seasons with the closest temperatures are spring and fall |
winter and summer.

213
Construct a data table to record your data on a separate piece of paper.

Use the weather data measurements you collected for your city to determine
which seasons took place in the last six months. List them in order.

Use the information in your chart to make a bar graph of the data
you gathered.

Use patterns in the data you gathered to explain how weather varies
by season.

Analyze the data you collected for the place where you live.

Based on the data you collected for the place where you live, what seasonal
patterns do you see?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Based on the data you collected for the place where you live, predict
the average high temperature in your town next month.

214
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored seasonal patterns in temperature,
check your learning with this question.
A student has gathered Houston temperature data by season for
four years. At winter in year 5, she is trying to make predictions.

Average High Temperature in Houston (°C)

Year Winter Spring Summer Fall

1 16 22 29 23

2 13 22 30 21

3 13 21 29 22

4 14 23 30 23

Houston Weather Predictions

Circle the prediction that is supported by the data in the chart.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

A. The lowest temperatures this year will occur in spring.

B. The highest temperatures this year will occur in spring.
C. The temperatures this spring will be warmer than the temperatures
were in winter.
D. The average temperature this spring will be 29 degrees Celsius.

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

215
DAY 6

Patterns in Weather Data

Scientists who study weather are called meteorologists. They define
seasons based on patterns in temperature. Meteorologists break up
the year into four seasons of three months each.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Seasons of the year in the Northern Hemisphere
Season Months

Winter December, January, February

Spring March, April, May

Summer June, July, August

Fall September, October, November

Other scientists, called astronomers, separate seasons based on patterns in

daylight and Earth’s position as it moves around the sun. These patterns do
not line up with the beginning and ends of calendar months.
Astronomers consider the seasons to start around December 20, March 20,
June 20, and September 20.
216
 The times of sunrise and sunset change throughout the year. This
leads to some days, months, and seasons having more hours of daylight
than others.
Analyze the data in the two graphs with data from Dallas–Fort
Worth, Texas.

Sunrise and Sunset Times in Dallas–Fort Worth

Sunrise Sunset
10:00 pm

8:00 pm

6:00 pm

4:00 pm

2:00 pm
Time

12:00 pm

10:00 am

8:00 am

6:00 am

4:00 am
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

Sunrise and sunset times change throughout the year.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Length of Daylight in Dallas–Fort Worth

16

14

12

10
Time (hours)

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

The length of daylight in each month also changes throughout

the year.

217
Seasonal Patterns

Circle the statements that represent the data in the two graphs.

A. The days are shorter in summer than in spring.

B. The days are longer in spring than in winter.
C. The days are longer in summer than in spring.
D. There is less daylight in fall than in winter.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Balazs Kovacs/iStock/Getty Images, (tr) ©Si Vo/Shutterstock,
Precipitation also changes in patterns during the year. Scientists count
precipitation in total amount of water that falls from the atmosphere,
which can include rain, snow, hail, or sleet.
Explore different forms of precipitation.

Rain is water from the atmosphere that falls Sleet is formed when liquid rain falls
in drops that you can see. through a layer of cold air and freezes
into ice pellets.

(b) ©Photodisc/Getty Images

When clouds are cold enough, water vapor

freezes into ice crystals called snow. These fall
to the ground in light white flakes.

218
 The table shows the average precipitation data for each month in
Dallas–Fort Worth. What patterns do you see?

Precipitation in Dallas–Fort Worth

Month Precipitation (cm)
January 6
February 7
March 8
April 8
May 12
June 9
July 5
August 6
September 7
October 11
November 6
December 7

Add the monthly totals, and record the precipitation for each season.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Season Months Total Precipitation (cm)

Winter December, January, February

Spring March, April, May

Summer June, July, August

Fall September, October, November

219
 Circle the statement that describes a pattern supported
by the precipitation data for Dallas–Fort Worth.

A. Spring and fall have the most precipitation.

B. Summer has more precipitation than spring.
C. Winter has much less precipitation than summer.
D. Fall has the most precipitation.

Scientists often use multiple pieces of information to help them make

good predictions. When making predictions about changes across
seasons, scientists may look at patterns in daylight hours, temperature,
and precipitation in addition to other sets of data.
Review the data sets that scientists might use to make predictions about seasons.

Length of Daylight in Dallas–Fort Worth

Winter Spring Summer Fall

16

14

12

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

10
Time (hours)

0
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Month

Notice patterns in the hours of daylight in each season.

220
 Temperature in Dallas–Fort Worth
Winter Spring Summer Fall

35

30

25
Temperature (°C)

20

15

10

0
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Month

Notice patterns in temperature in each season.

Precipitation in Dallas–Fort Worth

Winter Spring Summer Fall
14

12

10
Precipitation (cm)
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

0
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Month

Notice patterns in precipitation in each season.

Which data sets shows the most consistent patterns, and would
be best to use for predictions? Circle the correct answer.

A. daylight and precipitation

B. temperature and precipitation
C. temperature and daylight

221
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored patterns in weather data, check
your learning with these questions. Circle the correct answers.

The average high temperature during a particular season was 30 °C, which
is very warm. The days were long, with an average of 14 hours of daylight.
Based on these data, what season is it?

A. spring
B. summer
C. fall
D. winter

Which season comes after the season with the most daylight and the
warmest temperatures?

A. spring
B. summer
C. fall
D. winter

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Think of the season with the longest days and warm temperatures.
What patterns of change do you expect in the season that follows?

A. higher temperatures
B. more hours of sunlight
C. fewer hours of sunlight
D. lower temperatures

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

222
DAY 7

Science in Careers
Satellite Meteorologist
Scientists use satellites to collect weather data and then analyze and
use those data to predict weather patterns. Weather balloons, cameras,
and satellites help scientists monitor weather activity from far above
Earth’s surface. Satellites can record precipitation data from around the
world for scientists to use in predicting future weather. They can also track
hurricanes and detect falling snow from space.
NOAA, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, is the government agency responsible for weather data
and forecasting.
A satellite meteorologist uses data from remote-sensing devices
orbiting Earth to learn about and predict the weather. These tools
are becoming more and more advanced, and they provide lots of
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©aapsky/Adobe Stock

opportunities for investigating, collecting, and analyzing data. Satellite

meteorologists need a background and understanding of geoscience,
physics, chemistry, and applied mathematics.
Scientists use satellites to help them study and predict weather. Select each
lettered circle to explore parts of a weather satellite.

A Imager The imager tool records precipitation data from around

the world for scientists to use in predicting future weather. It can
track hurricanes and detect falling snow from space.

B Radar This part of the satellite is a precipitation-radar tool.

It takes measurements of the rain or snow falling at certain
places and times.
223
NOAA uses multiple groups of satellites to gather different information.
Research to learn about two different types of satellites.

Use this table to record the information you discovered about satellites.

Satellite Information
Satellite Name Locations Studied Data Collected

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

224
 Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations in this lesson, go back
and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start of this
lesson. Use what you have learned to answer the question.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©wundervisuals/Adobe Stock

225
 GUIDING QUESTION

How can data from the photo be used to predict

what the weather will be like in six months?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson,
and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Elva Etienne/Moment/Getty Images

Great Job! You have finished Day 7.

226
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Noah Clayton/Photodisc/Getty Images

Name
TEKS 4.9.B • DAY 1

Date

Phases of the Moon

227
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will analyze patterns and sequences of moon
phases. Before getting started, revisit what you already know about
patterns of motion in the sun-Earth-moon system.
As you view the illustrations, recall how the moon orbits around
Earth and how Earth orbits around the sun.

This model shows how objects

move in space. The smallest
circle represents the Moon. The
medium-sized circle represents
Earth. The large circle represents
the Sun.

The Moon moves around Earth.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

At the same time, Earth moves

around the Sun.

228
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to the moon and moon phases.

orbit moon phase new moon

The path of one object in One of the shapes the The phase of the moon
space around another object. moon seems to have as it when the moon cannot
orbits Earth. be seen from Earth.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

first quarter moon full moon third quarter moon

The phase of the moon when The phase of the moon when The phase of the moon when
the moon looks like the right the moon looks like a full the moon looks like the left
half of a circle when seen from circle when seen from Earth. half of a circle when seen from
Earth’s Northern Hemisphere; Earth’s Northern Hemisphere;
occurs after a new moon and occurs after a full moon and
before a full moon. before a new moon.

229
Can You Explain It?
This question will guide your learning throughout the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

What causes the changes and the patterns in the

appearance of the moon?

Think about the Guiding Question while you explore the images.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

230
 Think about the images of the moon you just explored.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia What do you notice about how the moon’s appearance changed?

What do you wonder about how the moon’s appearance changed?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

231
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever noticed that on
some nights the moon looks
like a big glowing circle in the
dark sky and on other nights it
is shaped like a banana? The
moon does not actually change
its shape. The moon is always
round, but sometimes it looks
different because of its orbit
around Earth.
The changes in the moon’s not to scale
appearance are called moon
phases. In this investigation, you will set up a model to learn
more about moon phases.
Ask a question about how the moon’s orbit around Earth
leads to changes in the appearance of the moon from Earth.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Possible Materials Safety

• foam ball on a pencil Do not point the flashlight at
• masking tape anybody’s eyes, and do not
look directly into the flashlight.
• flashlight
Look out for slip, trip, or fall
• chair hazards when moving in the
modeling activity.
RESBALADIZO

232
 Modeling Moon Phases, Part 1

Step 1
Work in teams of three. Each student
will represent either the sun, Earth, or
moon. You will use a model to
investigate the cause-and-effect
relationship between moon phases and
the sun-Earth-moon system.

Step 2
Make a large X on one side of the foam
ball with masking tape. The foam ball
represents the moon. Have one
teammate hold the moon.

Step 3
Have a second teammate stand a few feet away and shine the
flashlight directly onto the moon. This student represents the sun.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 4
Have a third teammate sit between the moon and the sun to
represent Earth.

Step 5
Have the first teammate rotate the moon so the X faces Earth.
Now dim the lights in the room, but continue to shine the
flashlight on the moon.

Step 6
Observe the direction the marked side of the moon model is
facing with respect to Earth and the sun. Collect and record
your observations as data evidence in the table on the next
page.

233
 Positions of the Moon, Appearance of the
Earth, and the Sun Moon from Earth

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

234
 Step 7
Have the student representing Earth draw the portion of the moon that
appears lit. They should use the data table on the previous page.

Step 8
Have the student representing the moon walk counterclockwise one
quarter of the way around Earth. Make sure the marked side of the
moon model faces Earth. Earth stays seated and moves around in the
chair to match and watch the movement of the moon. The sun keeps
its distance and shines the flashlight directly on the moon model.
Continue recording observations and collecting data about the
appearance of the moon.

Step 9
Repeat Steps 6–8, with the moon stopping one quarter of the way
around Earth until it is back to its starting position.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

235
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated moon phases in Part 1 of the
Modeling Moon Phases Hands-On Activity, check your learning with
this question.

Based on the observations you made of the Earth, sun, and moon model, what
questions can you ask to learn more about moon phases?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

not to scale

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

236
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever read a good story and
guessed what was going to happen
next? If so, you were making a
prediction. A prediction is a learning
strategy that helps people figure out
what might happen in the future
based on data.
In Part 1 of the Modeling Moon Phases
Hands-On Activity, you used a model
not to scale
to explore how the moon’s motion, or
orbit, around Earth causes changes
in its observable appearance. Think about the observations you
made. You may have noticed how the light on the moon changed as
the moon moved around Earth.
Now in Part 2 of this investigation, you will use those observations to
make predictions.
Revisit Your question about how the moon’s orbit around Earth
leads to changes in the appearance of the moon from Earth.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Possible Materials Safety

• foam ball on a pencil Do not point the
flashlight at anybody’s
• masking tape
eyes, and do not look
• flashlight directly into the flashlight.
• chair Look out for slip, trip, or
fall hazards when moving
in the modeling activity.

237
 Hands-On Activity

Modeling Moon Phases, Part 2

Step 1
Study the drawings your team
made from Part 1 of this
investigation. Pay close attention
to the position of the moon and
how it was lit up by the sun in the
different positions.

Step 2
Draw a model of the positions of

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

the sun, the moon, and Earth
that would result in a full moon
as seen from Earth.

Step 3
Test your prediction by using your
team’s physical model to act out
the drawing.

Step 4
Repeat Steps 2–3 to find the
positions that would result in a
third quarter moon.

238
 Use Models
You just acted out the orbit of the moon around Earth to learn about
moon phases. What were some of the advantages of your physical
model? What were some of its limitations?

Analyze Data
Think about the data you collected from your model. Identify any
sources of error in your data. Did you have errors because of the
limitations of your model? What could you do to get more precise data
out of your model?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

239
 Hands-On Activity

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Look at your drawings made based on your model. Compare the sizes and
distances between the moon, Earth, and the sun in your model to the
scale of the real system in space. How accurate do you think the scale of
your model is?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim to explain how the positions of the sun, Earth, and the
moon cause moon phases. Support your claim with data evidence
from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect your claim
to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

240
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated moon phases in Part 2 of the
Modeling Moon Phases Hands-On Activity, check your learning by
completing the following.
Identify and explain the cause-and-effect relationship between the
moon’s motion around Earth and the observable changes in the
appearance of the moon.

Then on a separate sheet of paper, construct an input-output cause and

effect table like this one. Label one column Inputs and the other column
Outputs. Inputs are causes, and outputs are the effects. On the outputs
side, draw each moon phase. On the inputs side, draw a model of the
locations of Earth, the moon, and the sun that cause each phase.

MOON PHASES
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Inputs Outputs

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

241
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You already investigated how the
moon’s appearance changes based
on the moon’s position around
Earth. These moon phases occur in
predictable patterns. A pattern is
something that repeats itself. This
means that the phases of the
moon go in the same sequence
over and over again.
Ask a question about patterns in
moon phases.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Shutterstock

Possible Materials Safety
• digital device with Internet • Use only resources approved
access, such as computer by your teacher.
or tablet
• drawing paper
• colored pencils

242
 Identifying Moon Phase Patterns,
Part 1
Step 1
Using the computer, look up the last full
month on a calendar.

Step 2
Print or draw the calendar. If not already
included in the calendar, label the
month, the year, and the days.

Step 3
Use the Internet to research and collect
data about the phase of the moon for
each day of the month on your calendar. Use light and dark colored
pencils to shade in a circle and represent the observable appearance of
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

the moon for each day.

Step 4
Talk with classmates about what you notice. Are there any patterns?
What would you expect the following month? What about the
month before?

243
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the moon phases during a month in
the Hands-On Activity, check your learning with this question.

Analyze your collected data to place the moon phases in the correct
sequence. Fill in the blanks with the name of the correct moon phase.

Full Moon New Moon Third Quarter Moon

First Quarter Moon

New Moon

First Quarter Moon

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Shutterstock

Third Quarter Moon

First Quarter Moon

Full Moon

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

244
DAY 5

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You can look up at the sky and know
where the moon is in its cycle just by
its appearance. The four moon
phases that you have been learning
about in this lesson are part of a
recurring pattern or cycle. These
phases include new moon, first
quarter moon, full moon, and
third quarter moon. Each of these
phases has a different appearance,
and we can use these different
appearances to know which moon
phase will be coming next.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Shutterstock

In Part 1 of the Identifying Moon Phase Patterns Hands-On

Activity, you made calendars and researched the appearance
of the moon for each day last month. Now, in Part 2, you will
do research to gather data about the dates of specific moon
phases for the last few months.
Revisit Your question about patterns in moon phases.

Possible Materials Safety

• digital device with Internet • Use only resources approved by
access, such as computer your teacher.
or tablet
• colored pencils
• drawing paper

245
 Hands-On Activity

Identifying Moon Phase Patterns,

Part 2
Step 1
In this activity you will use the data table below to record
the moon phase patterns for three months. Label each
column with the names of the three months.

Step 2
Use the Internet to research and collect data on the dates of
the last three new moons, first quarter moons, full moons,
and third quarter moons.

MOON PHASES

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Months

New Moon

First Quarter Moon

Full Moon

Third Quarter Moon

246
 Step 3
Add the dates for each of the moons into the table on the previous page.

Step 4
Use the calendar or other tool to count or calculate the days between
each new moon, each first quarter moon, each full moon, and each
third quarter moon. Record these data below.

Step 5
Finally, count or calculate the days between each moon phase (new to
first quarter, first quarter to full, etc.). Record these data below.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

247
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Data
Look at the information you collected. Do you notice any patterns in the
data? If so, what do these patterns tell you about the sequence in changes
of the moon phases?

Do the Math: Use Mathematical Calculations

 sing the data you collected, make a prediction about the
U
patterns of change for moon phases. Calculate and report an
average of the number of days between each moon phase.
Then predict what the moon phase will be 15 days after the

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

last new moon.

248
 Analyze Results
Study the data from your investigation. Which moon phase did you
observe at the beginning of each of the three months? Which moon phase
did you observe at the end of each of the three months? Use your data to
explain why this occurred.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about patterns in moon phases. Support your claim with
evidence from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect
your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

249
Exit Ticket
Now that you have collected data and studied moon phases for the past
three months, check your learning with this question.

One week ago, the moon was full. What phase of the moon should you expect to
see tonight?

A. full moon
B. new moon
C. third quarter moon
D. first quarter moon

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

250
DAY 6

Moon Patterns
You may have heard of (or even seen) a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse
occurs when Earth, the sun, and the moon are in a straight line. During a
lunar eclipse, Earth is positioned between the sun and the moon, so it
casts a shadow and blocks sunlight from hitting the moon. Most of the
time, the sun, Earth, and moon are at a slight angle, so a lunar eclipse
does not occur every month. Occasionally, though, the objects are in a
straight line.
Think about the data you observed and collected in your activities. Make
a prediction about which phase of the moon you think occurs during a
lunar eclipse.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Brenn/Adobe Stock

Discuss your prediction from the previous screen with a partner. Talk
about why you made the prediction you did. What data was it based on?
Then watch the video.
Look at these photos that show a lunar eclipse.

251
Explain why a lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon.

Draw the alignment of the sun, Earth, and the moon during a
lunar eclipse.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

Throughout this lesson, you have learned that the moon’s phases
occur in predictable patterns. You know that a new moon is
followed by a first quarter moon, which is followed by a full moon,
which is followed by a third quarter moon. You also learned that
the phases repeat themselves. Finally, you learned that it takes the
moon a certain number of days to move from one phase to the next
each month. All of these data can be used to help predict future
phases of the moon.

252
 Did you know that you can have two full moons in one month? The
data you collected on moon phases for the past three months may
or may not have shown this, but it’s true!
When there is a second full moon in a single month, this is
sometimes referred to as a “blue moon” even though the moon is
not actually blue.
Work with a partner. Discuss whether you think “blue moons” are
something that occur often or only once in a while.

 o the Math: Imagine there was a full moon on January 6

D
of this year. Determine whether or not this year will have a
“blue moon.” If so, in which month will that “blue moon”
occur? Use a calendar to help you answer the question.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

253
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored more about moon patterns, check
your learning with this question.

A lunar eclipse can only occur during a full moon. Given this, which of the following
are true? Select all that apply.

A. The next moon phase following a lunar eclipse is a third quarter moon.

B. The next moon phase following a lunar eclipse is a new moon.

C. The moon phase prior to a lunar eclipse is a third quarter moon.

D. The moon phase prior to a lunar eclipse is a new moon.

E. The moon phase prior to a lunar eclipse is a first quarter moon.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

Great job! You have finished Day 6.

254
DAY 7

People in Science
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei (commonly referred to as “Galileo”) was an Italian
mathematician and scientist. As a young man, Galileo decided to focus on
mathematics and make that his profession. However, as he became more
involved in his career, he eventually discovered a passion for science as well.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©DEA PICTURE LIBRARY / Contributor/Getty Images

In the early 1600s, Galileo designed and built his own telescope. He
taught himself how to work with lenses and came up with a way to make a
telescope that was more powerful than any other at the time. Galileo used
his telescope to study the moon and its phases. He also used it to look
beyond the moon at other planets and their celestial bodies.

Explain how the innovative solution of the telescope affected science.

255
One of Galileo’s more notable scientific discoveries is that he realized the
moon’s surface had craters on it and was not smooth, as people back then
believed it to be. As he was able to see through his telescope that the
moon had a rough and uneven surface. Galileo also used his powerful
telescope to draw the moon’s phases.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Mila Tomsich/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Explain how knowing more about the moon’s phases would have affected
Galileo’s study of the moon.

256
 Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this lesson,
revisit the images from the start of the lesson.

As you explore the images, think about what causes changes and patterns
in the appearance of the moon.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

257
Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

What causes the changes and the patterns in the

appearance of the moon?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson
and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

Great job! You have finished Day 7.

258
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Yongyut Kumsri/Shutterstock

Name
TEKS 4.10.A • DAY 1

Water Cycle
The Sun and the
Date

259
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will investigate the water cycle. Before getting started,
revisit what you already know about how wind and water move rocks,
sand, and soil.

As you look at the image, think about how the physical land changes.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Saudi Desert Photos by TARIQ-M/Getty Images
B

A blowing sand The wind blows the sand across the desert.

B dunes The shape of the sand was formed by the wind.

260
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to the water cycle.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©keller/Fotolia, ©Aleksandar Vrzalski/E+/Getty Images,

evaporation atmosphere
The process by which a liquid changes The mixture of gases that surround
into a gas. a planet.
©Bobbushphoto/iStock/Getty Images, ©Olga Denisova/Shutterstock, ©Osaze/Adobe Stock

water cycle condensation

The process in which water continuously The process by which a gas changes into
moves from Earth’s surface into the a liquid.
atmosphere and back again.

runoff
Precipitation that flows over the
land and into streams and rivers.

261
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How did this water get to the mountains, and how

did all of the streams form?

Mountains play an important role in supplying much of the

natural world, including humans, with fresh water. Water can
be stored on mountains in different forms. Often snow, ice,
running water in streams and creeks, and lakes and ponds are
found on mountains.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©zefart/Adobe Stock

What do you notice about the water?

What do you wonder about the water?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

262
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever jumped in a big
puddle after it rained? After a day
or so, you may have noticed that
the puddle got smaller and smaller.
But where does the water from the
puddle go? The puddle water gets
smaller because of evaporation.
The water looks like it disappears
from the puddle, but the water
does not actually disappear—it
changes form! The liquid water
from the puddle moves into the air
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Viktoriya/Adobe Stock

as water vapor. We cannot see this

happen, but we can see the puddle
shrink until it dries up.
Ask a Question about how
water evaporates.

Possible Materials Safety

• resealable bags Clean up spills right away
• water so no one will slip.

• clear cups
• digital scale
• Celsius thermometers

263
 Hands-On Activity

Where Does the Water Go?

Step 1
Form small groups. Each group gets
four bags and four cups. Fill each bag
with equal amounts of water. Use the
scale to measure the amount of water
in each bag, in grams. Place each bag
inside a cup.

Step 2
Set two cups and a Celsius thermometer in a sunlit area. Set the
other two cups and a Celsius thermometer in a shaded area that
does not get sunlight.

Step 3
Unseal one bag in each location. Four times throughout the day,

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

record the temperature at each location where your cups are
placed. Write down the data on the table.

Step 4
The next day, reseal the open bags and measure them again on
the scale. Determine if they still have the same amount of water
in each bag. Compare the mass of each bag over the two days.
Take note of which bag lost the most water.

Times During the Day Sunny Area Shady Area

Temperatures Temperatures

264
  o the Math: Collect the temperatures you recorded for each
D
location over time. Put the data into a graph that you make here.
Graph the temperature data you collected for two days.
Analyze Results

Look at the graph and data table where you recorded your observations.
Think about the water you placed in the sunny and shaded areas. What
differences do you observe in the mass of the bags of water? How did the
open bag in the sunlight differ from the one in the shade? What role do
you think the sun played in causing these differences?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

265
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
How was the mass of the closed bags different from the mass
of the bags that were left open? Why?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim related to how the temperature and sun affected
evaporation in the open and unopened bags. Support your claim
with evidence from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to
connect your claim to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

266
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated evaporation and identified
factors that make evaporation happen more quickly, check
your learning with this question.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

In which bags did evaporation cause the mass of the bags to

decrease? Circle all that apply.

A. open bag in the shade

B. open bag in the sunlight

C. closed bag in the shade

D. closed bag in the sunlight

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

267
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You use water in many of your
daily activities, from brushing your
teeth in the morning to drinking a
cold glass of water after playing
outside. Water is an essential part
of everybody’s day. But have you

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Noppawat Tom Charoensinphon/Getty Images
ever thought about how we get
the water that we use? The water
you see as rain or that comes out
of your faucet is not new. Rather
the water you see and use cycles
continuously through Earth and
its atmosphere in what is known
as the water cycle.
Generally, the amount of water on Earth stays the same, but
the water is constantly moving and changing form. In this
investigation, you will see how water moves through this cycle.
Ask a Question about how water cycles between Earth and
its atmosphere.

Possible Materials Safety

• clay • clear plastic
wrap Clean up spills promptly.
• shoebox
• bowl • tape

• cup • golf ball

• water

268
 Modeling the Water Cycle, Part 1
Step 1
Build a model to investigate how water
cycles in a system. Use the clay to make a
model of a mountain scene on one end of
the shoebox. Set a bowl in the middle
of the mountain area, and make sure it
is level.

Step 2
Place a cup on the other side of the
shoebox. Make sure the cup is stabilized.
You can use clay to help with this. Fill the
cup halfway with water.

Step 3
Cover the shoebox with the plastic wrap. Use the tape to seal
the plastic wrap to the shoebox so it seals the model completely.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 4
Place the golf ball on the plastic wrap directly over the bowl in
the mountain area so that the wrap dips slightly there.

Step 5
Place the shoebox in a sunny and warm location. Construct a
graphic organizer to illustrate the sequence of what you predict
will happen to the water in this model.

269
 Hands-On Activity

Make a Prediction
Think about the model you made and where the water is located.
List the changes to the water, if any, that you expect to observe in
this activity.

Analyze Results
Why did the shoebox model need to be completely sealed by the
plastic wrap?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

270
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have set up your model, check your learning with
this question.

How do you think the model will change over time? Draw how you
think the model will look tomorrow.

Two students place clay around the outside

of a bowl.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

271
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Water moves between the land
and the atmosphere because of
steps in the water cycle, like
condensation. When water vapor
changes into a liquid, clouds are
formed in the sky. Clouds allow
water to fall back to Earth. This
replenishes our supply of water
on land, like rivers and streams.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Olga Denisova/Shutterstock

In Part 1, you set up a model that
represents the water cycle. Now,
you will observe what happened
to the water in the model as it sat
in your classroom.
Revisit Your Question about how
water cycles between Earth and
its atmosphere.

Possible Materials Safety

• model from Part 1
Clean up spills promptly.

272
 Modeling the Water Cycle, Part 2
Step 6
Observe your group’s model from Part 1, paying
attention to the water in the system. Do not
remove the plastic wrap or change the model in
any way.

Step 7
Make notes about where you see water in your model. Recall that you put water
only into the cup. Has any water condensed on the clear wrap? Has any water
appeared in the bowl on the mountain side of the shoebox? If this has not occurred
yet, leave the model for one more day and observe it again tomorrow.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

273
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
Look at your model or at the notes from your observation. Where
did the water on the plastic wrap come from?

Think about how the water has moved and changed in your model.
You may have observed that the water in the cup looks lower and
that there is now water in other parts of the shoebox. The total
amount of water in your system did not change. What do you think
happens when the water level in a lake or another body of water
goes down?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

274
 Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Make a claim about how water moves above the surface of Earth.
Support your claim with evidence from your investigation and
model, and explain your reasoning.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

275
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated the evaporation and condensation
parts of the water cycle, check your learning with this activity.
In the space below, draw your model. Label where the following
occurs on your model to illustrate the sequence of how the water
moved above Earth’s surface in your model.
• Water evaporated into the air.
• Water condensed on the plastic wrap.
• Water fell into the bowl.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Olga Denisova/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

276
DAY 5

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Many states have reservoirs that
make it possible for people to
access water. A reservoir is a large
body of water that is a source of
water for animals and people in
that area. The water in the
reservoir is stored and saved so it
can be used for things like
watering crops and bringing
water into people’s homes.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Michael Shake/Adobe Stock

Reservoirs are also good for

collecting water when it rains.
Reservoirs are especially
important in places that do not
get a lot of rainfall, like certain
parts of Texas. Did you know that
much of the available water in
Texas comes from reservoirs? The
state of Texas has 196 reservoirs!
Ask a Question about the
purpose of reservoirs.

Possible Materials Safety

• digital device with • Access only those websites
Internet access approved by your teacher.

277
 Hands-On Activity

Researching Reservoirs
Step 1
Research two or three reservoirs in
Texas. Take notes on how the reservoirs
are used. Think about and write down
why preventing evaporation is
important, especially in some parts of
Texas.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

278
 Step 2
Research different solutions that are currently being used to prevent
water from evaporating from reservoirs. Select and evaluate one
solution of your choice. Evaluate the solution based on criteria such as
cost, ease of use, and effectiveness at preventing evaporation.

Step 3
Share your findings with a partner. Explain why the solution would
work to prevent the water from evaporating. Talk about why it is
important to prevent or slow the process of evaporation from
reservoirs. Listen to your partner explain their findings.

Analyze Results
Explain how the solution you chose prevents evaporation. For example,
does it focus on preventing evaporation or recapturing evaporated water?
Write about its design and how it works.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

279
Exit Ticket
Now that you have researched reservoirs, check your
learning with this question.

Which of the following describe how the water cycle affects

reservoirs? Circle all that apply.

A. Precipitation adds water into reservoirs.

B. Condensation removes water from reservoirs.

C. Water in the reservoir escapes as runoff.

D. Evaporation occurs after reservoir water condenses.

E. Water evaporates at the surface of reservoirs.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Michael Shake/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

280
DAY 6

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Think about a time you designed
something. Maybe you designed a
special fort, or maybe you designed
a lemonade stand. When you
designed it, you probably had in
mind how you wanted it to look and
function. Many times, people design
things in order to solve a problem.
Think back to the solutions you
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Gert Hochmuth/Shutterstock

learned about for how to keep the

water in reservoirs from evaporating.
Now, you will use these ideas to
design your own solution to prevent
water from evaporating in reservoirs.
Ask a Question about how to design solutions to a problem.

Possible Materials Safety

• paper Be careful when using
• pencils sharp objects like
scissors to cut materials.
• label stickers
Clean up spills and pick
• various materials used to build up dropped objects
prototypes, such as small lids, paper
immediately.
towel rolls, cylinders, water,
vegetable oil, clear wrap, glitter,
small beads, chenille sticks,
cardboard, glue, paper, scissors, etc.

281
 Hands-On Activity

Designing a Solution, Part 1

Step 1
Work with group members to brainstorm
ideas for a solution to prevent water from
evaporating in reservoirs. Base your
proposed solutions on data from your
research in the Researching Reservoirs
activity. As a group, select one idea to
design.

Step 2
Keep designing your solution by drawing a model of it. Label
the parts of your solution.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

282
 Step 3
Describe specific materials you would want to use and how the
structure of those materials would help prevent evaporation of water
in the reservoir.

Step 4
Be prepared to share and discuss the solutions you designed with the
rest of the class.

Analyze Results
Look at the solution you modeled. Pick one of its structures to discuss.
Explain how that structure is supposed to function. How does it help
prevent the evaporation of water from the reservoir?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

283
Exit Ticket
Now that you have designed a solution for reservoirs, check
your learning with this question.

Think about the solution you designed. Identify any limitations in the
materials available to you that affected your overall plan. Were there any
materials that you would have liked to use for your solution but that were
not available?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

284
DAY 7

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Previously, you and your group
designed and modeled a solution to
prevent the evaporation of water from
a reservoir.
Next, you will use your plan to build
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Gene Blevins/LA DailyNews/ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy

a prototype of the solution.

Ask a Question about building
prototypes for solutions.

Possible Materials Safety

• models for solutions designed in Be careful when using
Part 1 sharp objects like scissors
• various materials used to build to cut materials.
prototypes, such as small lids, Clean up spills and dropped
paper towel rolls, cylinders, objects immediately.
water, vegetable oil, clear wrap,
glitter, small beads, chenille
sticks, cardboard, glue, paper,
scissors, etc.

285
 Hands-On Activity

Designing a Solution, Part 2

Step 5
Use the available materials to build your
prototype based on your model. Refer to
your drawing as often as necessary to
help construct the prototype.

Step 6
When you are finished, check to make
sure your prototype accurately represents
the solution you designed.

Step 7
Do a show-and-tell with other groups. Individually, take turns
describing your prototype, why it is a good solution, and any
concerns or limitations you encountered.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 8
Pretend you are on a phone call with a friend. Describe your prototype,
the structures that you would keep, and any improvements you would
make now that you have seen prototypes from other groups.

Step 9
Check with your teacher to see if you can take your prototype
home to test it over a period of several days.
286
 Analyze Results
Look at the model and prototype you made while designing your solution.
How do you think your solution would work in reservoirs found in various
terrains? For example, would it work in a reservoir with steep walls to
match the hills or mountains it is surrounded by? Consider how your
design might need to be modified depending on the landscape around it.
Illustrate an environment that would require a reservoir to have a different
shape or wall height than what is in your solution. Next, draw the reservoir
and its new shape. Finally, draw your solution to show how it can also
work in a new environment.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Describe how your solution might need to be modified based on the new
environment and reservoir shape.

287
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
Consider how the scale of your prototype compares to the size of an
actual reservoir. Would your prototype still work, or would the materials
be too expensive or the solution too difficult to adapt to various locations?
Explain how your solution would need to be modified to scale to a much
larger reservoir.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Compare your solution to the one that you researched and discussed in
class. Make a claim about which solution is better. Use your discussion
with others and evaluation of your own model as evidence and
reasoning to support your claim.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

288
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have made a prototype based on your ideas, check
your learning with this question.

How do you think scale affects the effectiveness of a prototype?

Why is scale important to consider when designing solutions?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Gene Blevins/LA DailyNews/ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy

Great job! You have finished Day 7.

289
DAY 8

The Water Cycle

The next time it rains, think about where the water goes once it touches
down on Earth. Perhaps it soaks into the grass or flows down a street
drain. Some rain flows over the land and into streams and rivers. This
moving water is called runoff.
Runoff is an essential part of the water cycle. It is the water that helps
replenish Earth’s bodies of water. Runoff will eventually evaporate back
into the atmosphere. There, it will condense to form clouds and come
back to Earth as precipitation, starting the cycle all over again.
Review the diagram to see how water moves through the water cycle.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

C

A condensation The change from a gas to a liquid.

B precipitation The water that falls from the atmosphere to Earth.

C runoff Precipitation that flows over the land and into streams and rivers.

D evaporation The change from a liquid to a gas.

290
 The water cycle is a continuous process in which water moves between
Earth and the atmosphere. Water is not lost in this cycle; rather, water
changes forms and moves around.
The sun drives the water cycle. Energy from the sun evaporates liquid
water on Earth into water vapor so that water vapor can enter the
atmosphere and condense to form clouds.
Illustrate the water cycle. Show where evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, and runoff occur. Use arrows to connect the flow of water in
the cycle.

FPO
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

291
You might be familiar with precipitation in the forms of rain, snow, sleet,
and hail. Precipitation falls from the sky, but have you ever wondered how
precipitation forms?
Review the images to see how precipitation forms in a cloud.

Air that is high in the atmosphere is cooler Dust particles provide surfaces for water to
than air below it, causing water to change from condense on. Water vapor condenses on these
a gas to a liquid. particles to form water droplets.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

At first, the water droplets are not heavy Water continues to condense, and droplets
enough to fall from the cloud. More water merge, making them larger.
needs to condense.

When the droplet has enough water, it is heavy

enough to fall as rain.

292
  o the Math: A raindrop is many times bigger than a water
D
droplet and a dust particle. For example, a dust particle is very
small compared to a raindrop. Use the table and word bank to put
the items in order and identify how much smaller a dust particle is
than a raindrop.
The fractions show the sizes of dust particles and droplets in
relation to the size of raindrops. In the middle column, place the
fractions in order from least to greatest. Then place the words that
correspond to that fraction of a raindrop’s size.

1 1 1
raindrop   ​​ ____ ___ _
5,000 ​​   ​​  100 ​​   ​​  1 ​​    dust particle
1
__
large droplet   average droplet   ​​ 
20 ​​

Sizes Ordered Fractions Items

smallest
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

largest

293
Reflect on how the sun, Earth’s surface, and Earth’s atmosphere interact in
the water cycle.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Olga Denisova/Shutterstock

Describe how water moves continuously on and above Earth’s surface in
the water cycle. Be sure that your description identifies the major source
of energy in the water cycle.

294
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated the water cycle, check your
learning with this question.

Write the labels from the word bank on the drawing to show where the
actions take place in the water cycle.

condensation   runoff   precipitation   
evaporation
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Great job! You have finished Day 8.

295
DAY 9

Science in Careers
Hydrologist
Hydrologists are scientists who study water on Earth. Not only do they study
bodies of liquid water on Earth’s surface, like lakes, rivers, oceans, and
streams, they also study glaciers, fog, underground water, and the different
types of precipitation.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©CEW/Shutterstock, (r) ©Jose Arcos Aguilar/Shutterstock,
Water is essential to life on Earth, so it is very important to study water. Water
has an effect on the environment and the organisms that live in an area. The
amount and quality of water available can determine if people can live in a
particular place and what types of plants and animals can survive there.
Hydrologists examine how the water is affected by things like pollution,
environmental changes, weather, and organisms and how water impacts life
on Earth.
Hydrologists often have to help communities solve problems related to water.
Examples of problems might include how to treat polluted water, how to
design buildings and structures for areas that are prone to flooding, and how
to make sure people have access to clean water resources.
Explore the different things that hydrologists do.

(b) ©David W. Leindecker/Shutterstock

Hydrologists measure, record, and research how much

rainfall a particular area gets.

296
 Hydrologists examine and
test water to check how
clean or dirty it is.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Darren Baker/iStockPhoto.com

Hydrologists determine the

impact of an area’s water on
the local wildlife.

Language SmArts: Hydrologists work outside in

the field but also work indoors in labs and in offices.
They use computers to analyze water samples and
graph patterns of water movement. They also work
on software models that help predict water-related
events like flooding.
Use what you learned about hydrologists. Choose
the correct word to complete the sentences.

water | hydrogen.
Hydrologists are scientists who study

They may help solve benefits | problems related to water concerns,

like pollution or flooding.

Water impacts the sunlight | environment around it, so hydrologists

help make sure water is safe for people to drink and use.

297
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this lesson, go back and
review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start of this lesson.
Use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How did this water get to the mountains, and how

did all of the streams form?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©zefart/Adobe Stock

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the
lesson, and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

Great jJob! You have finished Day 9.

298
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Katrina Brown/Fotolia

Name
TEKS 4.10.B • DAY 1

Changes to
Earth’s Surface
Date

299
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will model slow changes to Earth’s surface. Before
getting started, revisit what you already know about how water moves on
and above the surface of Earth.

Explore the movement of water on and above Earth’s surface, known as

the water cycle.

The Sun’s Role Condensation

The sun provides energy that As water vapor rises into the
warms water on Earth’s surface. atmosphere, it cools. This change
This energy is needed for liquid in temperature causes water in
water to change into gaseous the gas state to change to water
water vapor. in the liquid state.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Evaporation Precipitation
Water in the liquid state, such as in As tiny particles of liquid water
this pond, changes into a gas when increase in size, they get heavier.
heated by the sun. The gaseous This causes the particles to fall to
water vapor rises into the Earth’s surface as rain, sleet, snow,
atmosphere. or hail.

300
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to slow changes to Earth’s
surface.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Léonard Rodriguez/Alamy, (tr) ©Alan W Cole/Photographer’s Choice/Getty

erosion weathering
The process of moving sediment from one place The breaking down of rocks on Earth’s surface
to another. into smaller pieces.
Images, (bl) ©zeesstof/Moment Open/Getty Images, (br) ©jordi2r/Adobe Stock

deposition sediment
The dropping or settling of eroded materials. Very small pieces of rock, sand, and silt.

301
Can You Explain It?
This question will guide your learning throughout the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

Why is the rock slope in front of El Capitan so wavy?

What do you notice about the rocks that slope

uphill to the base of the tallest structure, called
El Capitan?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wirestock Creators/Adobe Stock
What do you wonder about how Earth’s surface slowly changes
over time?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

302
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Look at the smooth, rounded rocks in this mountain stream. Does
the rushing water have anything to do with the shapes of the rocks?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Tracy Immordino/Alamy

Ask a question about moving water changing rocks and landforms.

Possible Materials Safety

• graduated cylinder
Clean up spills promptly.
• kitchen sieve
• chalk
Dispose of all materials as
• small rocks (pebbles) directed by your teacher.
• water
• Do not taste or eat any materials
• 2 plastic containers with tight- used in science activities.
fitting lids
• baking pan
• sugar cubes

303
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Use the graduated cylinder to measure 200 mL of water. Pour
the water into a plastic container. Add the rocks and chalk. Snap
the lid on tightly to complete your model.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 2
Shake the container for 3 minutes, taking turns with
your partner.

Step 3
Remove the lid. Hold the kitchen sieve over a baking pan. Use
the sieve to separate the pieces from the water.

Step 4
Observe the contents of the sieve and baking pan.

Step 5
Add a few sugar cubes to the dry plastic container and snap on
the lid. Shake the container for 3 minutes, taking turns with
your partner. Observe the contents of the container.

304
 Analyze Information
What did you observe after shaking the water, chalk, and rocks, and then
pouring them through a sieve?
What did you observe after shaking the sugar cubes?

Use Models
The container holding water, chalk, and rocks is a model for what
happens to rocks in a stream. Identify one advantage of this model.
Identify one limitation of the model.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Think about what you discovered using a model. Make a claim about how
Earth’s surface is slowly changed by water. Support your claim with
evidence from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect
your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

305
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored using a model to explain one way
Earth’s surface slowly changes, check your learning with this
question.

Roberto’s family is hiking along the edge of a small stream. They look up and
see this high, smooth wall of rock. On top of the rock are soil and growing
trees. Based on the model you used, how can you explain what Roberto sees?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©duke2015/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

306
DAY 3

Weathering and Erosion

Does the river at the bottom of the Grand Canyon have something to do
with those amazing rock walls? Those rock walls were formed by the
process of rock breaking apart, called weathering.
Many different things can cause weathering. Flowing water can cause
rocks to tumble and scrape against rocks in the riverbed. Sand blown by
wind can scrape against rocks. Living things can also cause weathering. A
tree’s roots can grow in a small crack in a rock. As the roots grow, they
push the rock apart until the rock breaks. Animals may dig up rocks,
causing the rocks to be exposed to wind and rain.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l, r) ©Monica Schroeder/Science Source

before weathering after weathering

307
When river water weathers the rock of a canyon wall, what happens to all
the broken bits of rock? The process of erosion carries them away.
Erosion of rock is caused by many different things. Moving water is one
cause of erosion. The fast-moving water in a stream can shift or move
large rocks near the top of the mountain. Together with gravity, water can
cause the rocks to slowly move downhill.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©stockwerk/iStock/Getty Images

Water rushes downhill over a rocky stream bed. Notice that the rocks are of different sizes. What do
you think will happen to the small rocks when the water increases in speed?

308
 Fast-moving water carries pieces of rock farther than slow-moving water.
This is because, as the water slows down, it has less energy.
How far eroded rocks move also depends on the size of the rocks. The
largest rocks and pebbles are often left behind as the water moves on. The
smallest particles of rock are carried farther along by the water before
they are dropped. This dropping of eroded rock is known as deposition.
Explore to see how deposition slowly changes Earth’s surface over time.
A stream flows between two mountains carrying brown rock particles. It
drops the rock particles in the flat lands at the base of the mountains.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

309
 Do the Math
Eroded rock of all sizes is called sediment. Size and mass determine how
long sediments stay suspended in water. Deposition of sediment happens
when moving water can no longer carry the rock pieces. As flowing river
water slows down, some sediments sink and are deposited on the river
floor. Most sediment that is carried by rivers all the way to the ocean is
made of very small particles. Slow-moving water can only carry very small
pieces such as silt.

All types of sediment are classified by their size. Place them in order
from smallest to largest particle sizes.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

pebbles (2–64mm), boulders (>256mm), silt (0.004–0.0625mm), clay
(<0.004mm), sand (0.0625–2mm), cobbles (64–256mm)

Sediment Size

310
 Some sieves can only catch particles that are greater than 5 mm in size.
Which of the six types of sediments will pass through a 5 mm sieve?
Which sediments do you think would be deposited in a river and which
would travel to the ocean?

Changes to Earth’s surface caused by weathering can be very, very slow.

It took 250 million years for Palo Duro Canyon to form in what is now the
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Zack Frank/Adobe Stock

Texas Panhandle. Now, some of the rock walls are 800 feet tall! Most of the
weathering and erosion was caused by a river that now sits at the bottom
of the canyon it formed.

311
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored changes to Earth’s surface caused by
water, check your learning with this question.

Cai’s class is planning a field trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
They will be looking for evidence of slow change to Earth’s
surface. Which most likely produced the rock towers and walls of
the canyon?

A. erosion

B. weathering

C. deposition

D. sediment

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Zack Frank/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

312
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You’ve learned that liquid water can cause weathering,
erosion, and deposition. Use a model to explore how frozen
water can do the same.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Ask a question about a glacier and Earth’s surface.

Possible Materials Safety

• 2 paper cups
Clean up spills promptly.
• water
• sand
• marker
• aluminum foil sheets
• plastic or metal tray with sides

313
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Half-fill two paper cups with water. Add 2 tablespoons of sand
to one cup. Mark “S” on the cup with sand, and freeze both
cups overnight.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 2
Place a sheet of aluminum foil in a tray with sides. Get the two
cups of frozen water. Remove the ice from both cups.

Step 3
Talk with your partner. Decide how to best model the process of
a glacier moving over Earth’s surface.

Step 4
Using your model, move each piece of ice across the aluminum
foil. Observe what happens to the foil in this process. Compare
any differences.

Step 5
Let the ice with the sand melt on the foil. Observe what
happens in this process.

314
 Analyze Data
How did each piece of ice affect the foil? What caused any differences you observed?
Use your observations from the model to support your explanation.

Use Models
You developed and tested two models of glaciers. Which model had parts that made it
function more like a real glacier? Explain why. How did your model glacier differ in size from
a real glacier?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how glaciers cause weathering, erosion, and deposition on Earth’s
surface. Support your claim with evidence from your investigation. Explain your
reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

315
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated how glaciers cause weathering,
erosion, and deposition, check your learning with this question.

Some of the grooves, or scratches, in this rock are deep enough for you
to put your whole arm into them! How did using a model help you
understand what happened to Earth’s surface here?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©appletat/iStock/Getty Images

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

316
DAY 5

Carving Earth’s Surface

How, exactly, does a river slowly change the land? Think about what
moving water does. A river picks up sediment along its path. The
tumbling sediment scrapes against the bottom and sides of the riverbed.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Corbis, (c) ©Adwo/Adobe Stock, (r) ©Jeffrey Lepore/Science Source

This weathers the material along the river’s path. Over millions of years,
the flowing water can carve deep canyons through rock. A canyon is an
open space between cliffs of rock.
Why do rivers often have winding paths? Deposits of sediment can build
up and force river water to change directions. Curves in a river’s path
change over time and produce different landforms.
Explore the images to learn more about how rivers change the land.

These narrow, rounded This wave-shaped rock Long ago, the path of the
canyon walls were wall was formed by river on the left took a
weathered by a river and weathering. winding loop. Later, the
the sediments were carried river straightened its path.
away. The streambed, at the Now the loop is separated
base of the walls, is dry from the river and forms an
now. oxbow lake.

Write about one photo you just saw. Explain how a river caused
weathering, erosion, or deposition.

317
Ocean water can also cause weathering, erosion, and deposition. Ocean
waves carry energy. When they strike a shoreline, the energy is transferred
to the rock. This breaks off pieces of rock. Then the ocean water erodes the
rock pieces, carrying them away. Have you ever walked on a sandy beach?
Sand is tiny pieces of rock left along the shoreline by deposition.

As you learned in the activity, frozen water can also cause weathering,
erosion, and deposition. Glaciers are huge, thick sheets of ice found in
very cold places, often on tall mountains. Because glaciers are made of

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

solid ice, you may think they do not move. But they do—very slowly! The
force of gravity slowly pulls glaciers downhill. The ice flows like a very slow
river. As it moves, a glacier can pick up boulders as big as school buses!

Changes in Erasmo Glacier, Chile from 1987 to 2021.

318
 As a glacier moves downhill, it pushes boulders against the ground
beneath it, scraping and scratching rock. This slowly changes the rock by
weathering and erosion, carving deep grooves into it. The grooves can be
seen when the glacier melts. As a glacier melts, the rocks and other
sediment it carries drop out. The deposited sediment forms different land
features, including hills called moraines.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©appletat/iStock/Getty Images, (r) ©Totajla/Shutterstock

Take a close look at the grooves in this rock. What looks like a pile of sand in this image is
Notice how they are all lined up in the same called a moraine. The sediment dropped here
direction. Each groove was made as another when a glacier melted. This moraine has sand-
rock stuck in the ice of a glacier was slowly sized sediment, but glaciers can drop all sizes,
dragged against it. including boulders.

Think about the above images. Describe how ice caused slow changes to
Earth’s surface through weathering, erosion, and deposition.

319
 Do the Math

In the distant past, much more of Earth’s surface was covered with
glaciers than today. A huge glacier once covered most of Canada and the
northern United States. The ice cut deep grooves that filled with fresh
water as the glacier melted. This formed the Great Lakes. The largest, Lake
Superior, is more than 400 m deep in some places!
Alaska, in the 21st century, still has glaciers, though they are melting. As
the ice melts, liquid water fills low places in the landscape.

Southeastern Alaska’s Harlequin Lake is one of the fastest-growing in North America. These images © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:
show the rapidly-retreating Yakutat Glacier, which feeds the lake. The lake has expanded by more
than 15 square miles since 1999. The upper lake was nearly free of ice by 2020.

The ice that covered much of North America thousands of years ago was
about 3 km thick. To model the glacier system in your classroom, you’d
have to use scale. Think about freezing water in a baking pan. How thick
should the ice be if you want the scale of your model to be 1:100,000?
What units will you use to measure your model? Show your work in your
Science Notebook.

320
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored changes in Earth’s surface caused by
rivers, oceans, and glaciers, check your learning with this question.

Which of these describe slow changes to Earth’s surface caused

by glaciers? Choose all that apply.

A. grooves scraped into rock

B. melting water forming lakes

C. U-shaped oxbow lakes forming

D. canyons forming between cliffs

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Karen Van Atta/EyeEm/Getty Images

E. moraines deposited where ice melts

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

321
DAY 6

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
You’ve learned how liquid and
frozen water can shape the land.
In this activity, you’ll use a model
to investigate what moving air
can do to sand and soil.
Ask a question about wind and
weathering and erosion of
Earth’s surface.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety
• 13-inch by 9-inch pan
Wear safety goggles.
• uncooked rice or barley
• wood toothpicks
Wash your hands after
• straws
handling the materials.
• camera
• Do not share straws.
• Never taste or eat materials in
science activities.

322
 Step 1
Pour rice or barley into one side of a 13-inch by 9-inch pan.

Step 2
Model tall grasses by standing up toothpicks in the rice or barley.

Step 3
Use a camera to take a “before” photo of your model. Show the
contents of the whole pan so you can observe them later.

Step 4
Put on your safety goggles. Use a clean straw to gently blow across the
rice or barley toward the empty side of the pan for 5 seconds.

Step 5
Use a camera to take an “after” photo of your model from the
same angle.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 6
Alternate blowing and taking more “after” photos for a total of
1 minute.

323
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Data
Analyze the information you collected using the camera. Compare
the “before” and “after” photos you took of your model. What
looks the same, and what looks different? Explain the effect the
toothpicks had on erosion in your model.

Use Models
After working with your model, what are two questions you have
about erosion caused by wind? What is one problem related to
wind erosion that people can solve?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Make a claim about the kinds of materials or objects that wind can
slowly erode. Support your claim with evidence from your
investigation using a model. Explain your reasoning to connect
your claim to your evidence.

324
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated erosion by wind using a model,
check your learning with this question.

You just used a model to answer a science question. What

other questions could you answer using the same small model
of erosion by wind? Choose all that apply.

A. How fast does the wind blow away soil in farmers’ fields?

B. Does planting grasses very close together slow soil erosion?

C. What would happen if there were no toothpicks in the model?

D. Does erosion by water carry soil farther than erosion by wind?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Corbis Historical/Getty Images

E. Can the wind move large boulders on Earth’s surface?

F. Do fences stop wind from eroding the soil in farm fields?

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

325
DAY 7

Wind
Language SmArts: Weathering, erosion, and deposition by
wind slowly change landforms. Wind can erode sand, moving it
long distances. When the wind deposits a lot of sand in one area,
sand dunes form. Sand dunes are often found near ocean
beaches, but can also be found far from oceans. The dunes of
some deserts span thousands of kilometers.
The shape of a sand dune constantly changes. As wind sweeps up
one side of a dune, it lifts sand from its surface. Then, gravity pulls
the sand down the other side of the dune. An entire hill of sand
gradually moves forward in this way.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©blackboxguild/Adobe Stock

Wind blows sand in dunes in the vast empty Namib Desert. The dunes change shape and
move in the direction the wind blows.

Picture yourself as the person taking this photo of the sand dunes. Write a
personal narrative to explain what is happening to the wind, sand, and
dunes. Describe the directions the wind and dunes move. Use comparing
adjectives to make your narrative exciting.

326
 Wind-blown sediment can also change other landforms. Particles
carried by wind collide with exposed rock and cause weathering,
leaving interesting shapes. Some mushroom-shaped rocks and
arches are weathered by water but further shaped by the wind.
Over time, they become thinner and more fragile. Eventually,
gravity pulls these formations to the ground.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©pop_gino/Adobe Stock, (tr) ©Mark Brodkin Photography/Getty Images,

This structure in Kansas may look like a Delicate Arch in Utah is made of rock that was
sculpture, but it was made by nature. It is weathered and eroded by wind and water.
called a “mushroom rock” because of its
shape. The “stem” is made of rock that
weathers more easily than the rock that makes
up the “cap.”
(b) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt, was carved

by humans about 2,000 years ago. Since then,
sand blown by wind and underground water
have caused weathering and erosion.

327
Erosion by wind contributed to a major disaster in American history, called
the Dust Bowl. During the 1930s, the southern Plains states had very little
rain. To plant crops, farmers had plowed up all the wild grasses that held
the soil in place. Without water and the wild grasses, the soil dried out and
loosened, and the crops failed. Any winds easily eroded the dustlike soil,
blowing it away. Huge dust storms darkened the daytime sky. Thousands
of families gave up their farms and migrated to other states.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Soil erosion can be reduced. In places where the ground is usually dry,
wind easily erodes soil. The dust that the wind carries up into the air is
unhealthy for living things to breathe. But soil erosion by wind can be
slowed. One solution is planting wild grasses. The grasses’ roots hold the
soil particles in place so that they are not carried away by wind or even
water. The stems and leaves of tall grasses slow the speed of the wind, too.
Slower winds pick up less soil than faster winds.

328
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored some ways wind changes Earth’s
surface, check your learning with this question.

How does planting wild grasses and other plants alongside a farmer’s
field reduce soil erosion?

A. The plants will be shaped by the wind.

B. The plants will slow the speed of the wind.

C. The plants will take up water from the soil.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Kidstock/Blend Images/Getty Images

D. The plants will increase the speed of the wind.

Great job! You have finished Day 7.

329
DAY 8

People in Science
Kerry Sieh
Dr. Kerry Sieh is a well-known Earth scientist. He investigates Earth’s rocky
outer layer and energy waves that move through it. In Sieh’s early career,
he studied the San Andreas Fault in California. A fault is a crack in Earth’s
crust. Rocks on either side of the crack can move. That is what an
earthquake is. The motion can send waves that cause shaking on Earth’s

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images
surface.
By studying the San Andreas Fault, Dr. Sieh made an important discovery.
He learned how often the fault produced large earthquakes in California.
Sieh also discovered that very slow processes had been causing small
changes along the fault for 40 years. He concluded that these small
changes could add up to a big, fast change—a powerful earthquake. Big
earthquakes can damage buildings and injure people.

How could Dr. Sieh’s discovery help people understand that it is important
to observe small, slow changes in Earth’s surface?

330
 Wangari Maathai
Dr. Wangari Maathai was a scientist, college teacher, and
environmentalist. She taught the world about the effects of cutting
down trees on erosion. Born in Kenya and educated in the United
States and Germany, she earned many science degrees. Maathai
dedicated her life to saving the environment by planting trees.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Pond5/Rivetentrtainmnt/Alamy

In Kenya, there is limited land for farming. This is because much of

the soil lacks the nutrients plants need to grow. So, farmers cut
down forests, where there are nutrients, to plant their crops. This is
called deforestation. When the trees are gone, rain and wind can
easily erode the soil. Dr. Maathai worked tirelessly to teach the
people of her country about harmful deforestation.

How does deforestation increase erosion?

331
Impact in Kenya
Dr. Maathai started a group called the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. The
group finds ways to solve problems caused by erosion and deforestation.
The engineering design process can be used on large problems like these.
Many of the Green Belt Movement’s solutions include planting young
trees. But, as with all problems, constraints limit the solutions. For
example, lack of rainfall, the number of young trees they can get, and the
amount of money they have all affect the group’s work. There are also
criteria that help measure success. Often, large problems such as these
need to be broken down into smaller goals.

Discuss the benefits of the Green Belt Movement with a partner.

Lake
SO UT H
Turkana E TH IOPIA
AN
SU D A N Arid

Semi-arid
S OMAL I A
Not arid

UGA NDA
ANDA Lakes
K EN YA

Lake INDIAN

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Victoria OCEAN
N
km 0 150 300
W E
TA NZA NI A
TANZA
S mi 0 150 300

332
 Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in this lesson, revisit this
image from the start of the lesson.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Rob Stankiewicz/Shutterstock

Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now, use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

Why is the rock slope in front of El Capitan so wavy?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson,
and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

333
334
Can You Explain It?

Great job! You have finished Day 8.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wirestock Creators/Adobe Stock
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Sam’s photography/Moment/Getty Images

Name
TEKS 4.10.C • DAY 1

Date

Weather and Climate

335
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will recognize and describe the difference between
weather and climate. Before getting started, revisit what you already know
about how weathering, erosion, and deposition change Earth’s surface.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Léonard Rodriguez/Alamy, (tr) ©Alan W Cole/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images,
As you view the images, think about how weather conditions affect the
ways landforms are weathered and eroded.

These sand dunes change shape as wind carries This arch slowly formed by weathering from
rock particles from one place and deposits them water. Sometimes, water freezes and the ice
in another place. breaks rocks apart. Other times, liquid water
wears away the rock.

(bl) ©zeesstof/Moment Open/Getty Images, (br) ©sframe/Adobe Stock

Erosion by water results when a stream carries Ocean winds and water weather rocks to form
weathered sediments. In places where the sand. They also move, or erode, the sand and
water’s speed slows, the sediments are deposit it along the shoreline. Plant roots hold
deposited. the sand in place, and this slows erosion.

336
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to weather and climate.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Gillian Henry/Moment/Getty Images, (cl) ©David H. Carriere/Photodisc/Getty Images

weather climate
What is happening in the atmosphere at a The pattern of weather an area experiences
certain place and time. over a long period of time.

climate zone equator

An area of Earth that has similar average An imaginary line around Earth,
temperatures and precipitation throughout. equally distant from the North and
South Poles.

latitude
A measure of how far north or south a place is
from the equator.

337
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How can there be snow on a mountain near a

giraffe’s home that is warm all year?

Look at the photo. What clues can you find

about the weather and climate where the
giraffe lives?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©rickray/Adobe Stock, (r) ©Byrdyak/Adobe Stock
What do you notice about the weather and
climate where giraffes live?

What do you wonder about places near giraffe homes that have very
different weather or climates?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

338
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Currents are movements of water. In
the ocean, some currents carry warm
water away from the equator to the
north or south. Others carry cold
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©National Park Service Cape Hatteras National Seashore

water from the poles toward the

equator. Ocean currents often affect
the weather patterns of land areas.
Ask a question about how the
weather patterns in coastal land areas
differ from areas inland from the coast.

Materials Safety
• two 13-inch by 9-inch pans 
Clean up spills promptly.
• hot water
• cold water
Do not touch or carry hot
• Celsius thermometer water. Have an adult fill the
• books or blocks pan with hot water.
• timing device (stopwatch or I mmediately alert your
clock with second hand) teacher if the glass in the
• fan thermometer breaks.
T ape down any electrical cords
so that they cannot move.

339
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Place a 13-inch by 9-inch pan on a flat surface.

Step 2
Ask an adult to add hot water to the pan until it is half filled.

Step 3
Set up a fan so it will blow air from one end of the pan to the
other end.

Step 4
Set up a Celsius thermometer at the opposite end of the pan.
Place the thermometer on books or blocks. It should sit as high
as the top of the pan.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 5
Turn on the fan so it blows air over the water.

Step 6
Use the thermometer to measure and record the air
temperature every 2 minutes for 10 minutes.

Step 7
When the water is no longer hot, empty the pan. Add cold water
until the pan is half filled. Then repeat Steps 3–6 to test again.

Start 2 min. 4 min. 6 min. 8 min. 10 min.

Step 6

Step 7

340
 Analyze Data
Construct two line graphs on paper to display your data. In one graph,
record the temperatures of the air blown over the hot water. In the other
graph, record the temperatures of the air blown over the cold water. Use
mathematical calculations to compare the relationship between the data.
What was the difference between the temperatures after 10 minutes?

Develop and Use Models

Draw a diagram on a separate piece of paper to model how ocean
currents affect the weather of land along a coast. Use arrows to show the
motion of air and water. Add labels to explain relationships.
How could you use your diagram to share ideas with another student?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how ocean currents affect the weather of land next to the
ocean and inland from the ocean. Support your claim with evidence from your
investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

341
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated how ocean currents affect the weather
patterns along coasts, check your learning with this question.

Which units do you use to record how warm or cool the air is?
Circle the correct answer.

A. centimeters
B. degrees
C. grams
D. minutes

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©©IanS/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

342
DAY 3

What Causes Weather?

Earth’s atmosphere is the air surrounding the solid and the liquid parts of
our planet. This blanket of air protects living things from the sun’s harmful
rays and shields Earth from space debris. The atmosphere is about
600 km (372 mi) thick, which seems very thick. However, when compared
to the rest of Earth, the atmosphere is actually quite thin.
The atmosphere is a mixture of gases. It is mostly made up of nitrogen and
oxygen. Water vapor is a small but important fraction of the gas mixture.
What is happening in the atmosphere at a certain place and time is called
weather. Weather takes place in the layer of the atmosphere closest to
Earth’s surface. Without the movement of gases in the atmosphere, there
would be no weather.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Gorodenkoff/Adobe Stock

A television weather report includes predictions for weather conditions in

the next few hours and days.

343
Scientists measure different things to describe the weather. Many
factors—including air temperature, humidity, air pressure, and
precipitation—help us describe the weather of a place.
Explore factors that describe weather and how they affect each other.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©irenetinta/iStock/Getty Images, (b) ©Suzanne Long/Alamy
Air temperature is how warm or cool the air is around us. Air temperature
affects how much water vapor is in the air. The air temperature also affects how
we dress and what we do outside.

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. When the air feels dry, we
have low humidity. When the air feels damp, we have high humidity. High
humidity can also affect another weather factor—precipitation.

344
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Gregory Johnston/Alamy, (b) ©Chris Pancewicz/Alamy

Precipitation is water that falls from the atmosphere toward Earth’s surface.
Depending on air temperature, precipitation falls as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Air pressure is the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on Earth’s surface.
Air temperature and humidity both affect air pressure. Changes in air pressure
usually bring changes in weather.

345
Observe the photo. Think about factors that affect weather. What
questions might you ask about this scene to find out what the weather is?
Maybe what clothing they are wearing? List your questions below.
What questions might you ask to find out what the weather is?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jaren Jai Wicklund/Shutterstock

346
 The sun warms Earth’s surface unevenly. This uneven heating causes
differences in air pressure. Air moves away from areas of higher pressure
to areas of lower pressure, similar to how water flows downhill. This
movement of air is called wind.
Look at the photo. Think about how knowing the wind speed is useful to
people.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Creatas Video/Terry Wilson/Getty Images

Scientists collect weather data using weather station tools. This forked
holder has two tools on it used to measure the wind. The spinning cups on
the right measure wind speed. When the wind is strong, the cups spin
faster than when the wind is weak. What do you think the cups do on days
when there is no wind? The tool on the left is called a wind vane. A wind
vane moves as the direction from which the wind is coming changes.

347
 Do the Math
Precipitation forms when water particles in clouds
grow too large to stay suspended and fall to Earth’s
surface. Rain, snow, freezing rain, sleet, and hail are
common kinds of precipitation.
A rain gauge is a tool used to measure rainfall. Rain
fills the tube and the scale on the side shows how
much rain fell.
People depend on precipitation to meet their water
needs. Too much or too little precipitation can be a
problem. The table shows the average number of
inches of precipitation in Austin, TX, over 22 years.
Find the months with the most and least precipitation.
Use mathematical calculations to determine the
difference between these two times of year.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Month Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

precipitation
2.58 1.62 2.91 2.35 4.88 3.52 2.27 2.47 3.63 3.92 3.09 2.31
data

Calculate the difference between the months with the

most and least precipitation. Show your work.

348
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored factors that describe weather, check
your learning with this question.

Circle the correct word to complete the sentences.

• Weather occurs in the part of Earth called the atmosphere /

precipitation.
• Depending on other weather factors, atmosphere /
precipitation can be in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Chris Pancewicz/Alamy

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

349
DAY 4

What Is Climate?
Your area has certain weather patterns
during the year. These patterns make up
the climate where you live. Climate is the
long-term weather pattern of a place.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Bobbushphoto/iStock/Getty Images, (b) ©vasilii_ko/Adobe Stock
Climate is different from weather. Recall
that weather describes what the
atmosphere is like at a given time and
place. It might be rainy one day and dry
the next. Climate describes more than one
or two days. The climate of a place is the
typical weather based on 30 or more years
of weather data. For example, over 30
years, a desert might typically get only a
few centimeters of rain each year. Overall, the desert has a dry climate.
But the weather in the desert can vary from day to day. Sometimes you
can get caught in a desert rainstorm!
Turn to a classmate. Describe today’s weather and then discuss the
climate for the area where you live. Explain how they are different.
Scientists find the climate of an area by averaging weather conditions over
a long period of time. They study an area’s temperature, wind speed, wind
direction, cloud cover, air pressure, and amount of precipitation. They find
the average of these conditions for each month or year. They look at
30 years or more of data to determine the climate of an area.
This scientist is setting up a weather
station high in the mountains. It is windy
and cold there. The tools on the tripod
have to be sturdy to collect and transmit
data under such harsh conditions. If the
tools break or stop working, scientists will
have to come back to fix or replace them.
This is the only way scientists can collect
data for enough years to describe the
climate there.

350
 Places on Earth can be grouped into different climate zones. A climate
zone is an area that has similar average temperatures and precipitation
throughout. Three of Earth’s climate zones are the tropical, the temperate,
and the polar zones.

Temperate climate zones have

moderate temperatures and varying
precipitation. For most of the year, the
temperature ranges from 10ºC to
18ºC. They usually have four distinct
seasons. Much of the United States is
found in this zone.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Corbis, (m) TK, (b) ©Wollertz/Shutterstock

Polar climate zones are generally

covered in ice and snow year-round.
They are found near the poles, where
the sun is never high in the sky. The
temperature rarely rises above 10ºC,
and there is little precipitation. Few
plants or animals live in this zone.

Tropical climate zones are near the

equator. There the sun is directly
overhead nearly all year. The sun’s
position causes intense heating of
Earth’s surface. Generally, the
temperature is greater than 18ºC.
The amount of rain varies greatly in
this zone. We can find lush rain
forests and dry grasslands in this
climate zone.

351
Draw a concept map that can be used to compare weather and climate
data in a particular place. Include units for time and other measurements.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

352
 Tropical climates are generally warm. They occur near the equator. The
equator is the imaginary line that divides Earth into its Northern and
Southern Hemispheres, or halves. Temperate climates are found in middle
latitudes, between the tropical and the polar climate zones. Latitude is a
measure of how far north or south a place is from the equator. Polar
climates are generally the farthest from the equator. They have cold
temperatures year-round and low amounts of precipitation.
Explore climate zones at different latitudes.

A
80° latitude

60°
NC
ORTH D
40° AMERICA EUROPE

B ASIA
20°

AFRICA
Equator E
SOUTH
20° AMERICA
AUSTRALIA
40°

Tropical
Dry/Desert
Temperate N
Tundra
Polar
F W E
ANTARCTICA
S
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

A  olar Climate Zone: There are two polar climate zones. One is located between the
P
latitudes 66.5 degrees north of the equator and the North Pole. The other is located
between 66.5 degrees south of the equator and the South Pole.

B Desert Climate Zone: Dry deserts are found in the temperate and tropical zones.
Most dry deserts are located between 15 and 30 degrees north or south of the
equator.

C  emperate Climate Zone: The temperate climate zone is located at latitudes 23.5 to
T
66.5 degrees north and south of the equator.

D  undra Climate Zone: The tundra climate is cold and dry, and the winters are very
T
long. The tundra is located between 60 and 75 degrees latitude north of the equator.

E  ropical Climate Zone: The tropical climate zone is located at between the latitudes
T
23 degrees north and south of the equator.

F  olar Climate Zone: Both Earth’s north and south polar regions are harsh, cold
P
climate zones.
353
 Language SmArts: How
would you explain the
difference between weather
and climate to a child in a
younger classroom? Or to a
penpal who lives in a place
with a different climate than
where you live? You would
explain the ideas differently
depending on the setting
and format.

Speaking to a child in a younger classroom

Explanation

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Bobbushphoto/iStock/Getty Images

Writing to a penpal in another climate
Explanation

354
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the weather and climate of different
places, check your learning with this question.

A television reporter says, “Tomorrow will be warm and sunny.”

What is she describing? Circle the correct answer.

A. weather
B. climate
C. climate zone
D. latitude
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

355
DAY 5

What Factors Affect Climate?

Why does it rarely snow in Florida? Why isn’t Alaska warm year-round?
What makes one climate different from another? Several factors affect the
climate of a place. These factors include distance from the equator,
elevation, and landforms. Bodies of water such as oceans and large lakes
also affect the climate of land near them.
Water heats up and cools down more slowly than land does. So places
near the coast often stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter than
places far from the ocean. Ocean water moves in currents too, affecting
climate as it transports warmer or colder water.
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that carries warm water from the Gulf
of Mexico into the colder northern Atlantic Ocean. Look at the photos to
see how ocean water circulates. Look for the relationship between ocean
water temperature and climate.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Antrakt/Adobe Stock

This model shows where water flows
in the Atlantic Ocean. The current
moves warm water northward from
South America, through the
Caribbean Sea, and along eastern
North America.

Richmond, Virginia, is located near the coast, along which a warm ocean
current flows. Ask and answer a question about the climate of Richmond if
the ocean current stopped flowing.

356
 Most places that are close to the equator have warmer climates than
places that are far from the equator. But if a place has a high elevation, it
will have a cool climate, even if it is on the equator. That’s why snowy
mountaintops can be found in tropical places.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©WLDavies/Getty Images, (b) ©Image created by Hunter Allen, using Landsat
data provided by the United States Geological Survey’s Global Visualization Viewer/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Landforms affect climate too. When wind blows moist ocean air over
mountains, the air rises and cools. This causes clouds and rain needed for
green trees and vines to grow. When the air reaches the other side of the
mountains, it is dry. There is not enough rain for plants to grow, so the
ground looks brown.

357
Climate affects where different kinds of organisms can survive.
Explore how plants or animals are adapted to different environments.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Dennis Donohue/Dreamstime, (tr) ©mirceax/iStock/Getty Images,
A polar bear has a thick layer of fat that keeps it Maple trees live in temperate climate zones.
warm in the polar climate where it lives. They have broad leaves to capture sunlight
during the warm summer months. They shed
their leaves during the cold, dry winter to
prevent water loss.

(bl) ©Brian Lasenby/Getty Images, (br) ©Getty Images News

Cacti have thick stems to store water on the few Alligators live in or near tropical climate zones.
days it rains in the desert. The stems also have a They spend much of their year around warm,
waxy coating that keeps water inside the plant. swampy water. Their skin color matches the
mud next to the water, so it is hard for other
animals to see them.

358
 Climate also affects the nonliving parts of the environment. Over time,
wind-driven waves can reshape a continent’s coastline. Rain, wind, and
changes in temperature can cause rock to break. In climates where water
stays frozen most of the year, huge masses of ice, called glaciers, may
form. Glaciers move slowly downhill, dragging rocks of all sizes with them.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (b) ©GeoJuice/Alamy

before
September 2009

after
September 2018

359
Exit Ticket
You have explored some factors that affect climate. You have also
considered how climate affects living things. Now check your learning
with this question.

You hope to take a trip someday to a city on the other side of the
world. Which questions should you ask to learn more about the
climate of that city? Circle all that apply.

A. Is it near a large body of water?

B. What foods are good to eat there?

C. Is it at a low or a high elevation?

D. How much does it rain there?

E. What is the population of this city?

F. How far is it from the equator?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

360
DAY 6

People in Science
Dr. Maureen Raymo
Can a television show change your life? It
did for eight-year-old Maureen Raymo!
When Maureen Raymo was in elementary
school, she watched a television show
about scientists who explore the world’s
oceans. She decided that she too wanted
to go to sea as a scientist. As a college
student, she got a job at Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory. In 2020, Dr. Raymo
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Guy Jarvis/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

became the first woman scientist to direct

the entire observatory.
As a young woman scientist, Raymo
experienced discrimination by male
scientists. As the boss of a world-famous
observatory, she wants to increase the
number of women and people of color
in science.
In her work as a scientist, Dr. Raymo asks
big questions about climate change. She
analyzes fossils in rocks near ocean coasts
to explain when sea levels rose or fell. She
is also in charge of a “library” of sediment
core samples taken from the ocean floor.
Climate and ocean scientists come from all
over the world to investigate questions
about these sediments.

361
How do scientists get core samples, and what are they for? Sediments are
collected using metal tubes that are driven into the ocean floor. This is
similar to how a chef removes the core from an apple. Unlike the apple
core, which is thrown away, the sediments are saved!

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©StockFactory/Adobe Stock

Core samples drilled on land work similarly to those drilled into the ocean
floor. A hollow tube cuts through sediments and lifts a rod-shaped sample
out of the ground.

362
 Pieces of core samples are labeled so they can be kept in order. The order
of the pieces corresponds to the depth from which they were collected.
And the depth from which they were collected corresponds to the age of
the samples—how long ago the sediments in the sample were deposited
on the earth’s surface. A core sample with few gaps provides the clearest
information about the geologic and the climate history of a place.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ludmila/Adobe Stock

You can model collection of a core sample by using different colors of clay
layered on top of each other to represent sediment layers. Then use a
clear plastic drinking straw to extract a core sample. Compare the
quantity, or number, of layers in your sample to the quantity of layers of
clay you constructed. Draw a plan for this modeling exercise, then try it!

363
Can you Explain It?
Now that you have completed your
exploration in this lesson, revisit the
concepts of weather and climate from
the start of the lesson.

Go back and review your ideas about the

Guiding Question from the start of this
lesson. Now use what you have learned
to answer the question.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©rickray/Adobe Stock, (r) ©Byrdyak/Adobe Stock
GUIDING QUESTION

How can there be snow on a mountain near a

giraffe’s home that is warm all year?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson
and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim. Before writing,
think about what you know about the difference between weather
and climate.

Great job! You have finished Day 6.

364
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Bryan Roschetzky/Dreamstime

Name
TEKS 4.11.A • DAY 1

Resources
Nonrenewable
Renewable and
Date

365
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will identify and explain the advantages and
disadvantages of using Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural
resources. Before getting started, revisit what you already know about
Earth’s natural resources.
As you view the images, think about what natural resources humans use

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Stacey Lynn Payne/Adobe Stock, (b) ©Yury Gubin/iStock/Getty Images
and how they are used.

Water, soil, rocks,

trees, petroleum,
and sunlight are
natural resources.
Water, soil, and
sunlight are needed
to grow plants for
food and clothing.
All animals need
water. Farmers use
petroleum in the
fuels used by farm
machinery.

Trees, rocks, and

minerals are used for
buildings. Wood is
used to make forms
that concrete is
poured into.
Concrete is made
from sand, gravel,
limestone, and
water. Machines are
mostly made of
steel, a metal made
from mined iron.

366
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©chictype/iStockPhoto.com, (b) ©Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

Transportation uses natural resources like minerals, trees, and petroleum.

A car or bus body is made of steel. Engines often burn fuel made from
petroleum. Roadways and bridges are made of steel, iron, and concrete.

Whiteboards may be made of steel, aluminum, or glass. They are made of

mineral resources from mines. The tops of desks are often made of layers of
paper, a tree product, and a plastic coating. The window glass is made from
sand and limestone.

367
Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms relating to Earth’s natural resources.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Jerry Horbert/Shutterstock, (b) ©Davee Hughes/Getty Images
natural resource
Anything from nature that people can use.

renewable resource
A resource that can be replaced within a reasonable amount of time.

368
 nonrenewable resource
A resource that, once used, cannot be replaced in a reasonable amount
of time.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Vadiar/Shutterstock

369
Can You Explain It?
This question will guide your learning throughout the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

How do people choose the natural resources they will

use to meet their needs?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Andreas Weber/iStockPhoto.com

The picture shows some of Earth’s natural resources.

What do you notice about these resources?

What do you wonder about how people decide which natural resources to use?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

370
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Trees, water, sunlight, and wind are examples of
natural resources. These natural resources are renewable.
A renewable resource is one that can be replenished within a
reasonable amount of time. Trees can be grown again on tree
farms. Water on Earth can be used over and over again. The sun
will be sending out light energy for billions of years. Air is constantly
moving due to changes in the weather.
This wind energy can be converted to other useful energy.
Hundreds of years ago, windmills were used to turn stones that
ground grains into flour. Today, wind turbines spin generators that
produce electrical energy. Texas has the most wind turbines of any
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock

state in the United States and generates the most electrical energy
from wind energy.
In this activity, you will build a model wind turbine. You’ll think about
how turbines interact with moving air to generate electrical energy.
Ask a question about how a windmill or wind turbine reacts to
changes in the wind.

Possible Materials Safety

• sheet of printer paper Be careful when using
• pencil sharp objects like scissors
and pushpins in your
• ruler investigation.
• scissors
Take care with electrical
• plastic straw cords and outlets.
• pushpin
Wear goggles when using
• goggles a fan or blow dryer to make
• fan or blow dryer your model move.

371
 Hands-On Activity

How Do Wind Turbines Work?

Step 1
Use the ruler and pencil to draw a square 6 inches
by 6 inches on a sheet of printer paper. Cut out the
square with scissors.

Step 2
Fold the square in half to make a triangle. Open it.
Fold the opposite corners of the square to make another triangle.
Open the square, and lay it on your desk.

Step 3
On each fold line, make a pencil mark 1 inch from the center
of the square. Starting at each corner, cut along the fold line,
stopping at the pencil mark. There should now be eight corners
around the outside of the square.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 4
Number the corners 1 to 8 going around the outside of the
square. Bring corners 1, 3, 5, and 7 to the center, and stick the
pushpin through them. Carefully press the pushpin through the
center of the paper and into one end of a plastic straw. You have
now made a model of a wind turbine.

Step 5
Make sure that your model turbine can turn freely. Use a fan
or blow dryer set on cool to model wind. Experiment with your
model. What causes the wind turbine to start or stop spinning?
What causes it to move faster or slower?

372
 Wind Turbines and Energy Transfer
You’ve modeled some of the parts of a wind turbine. A wind turbine is
designed to use the energy of moving air to generate electrical energy.
Steadier winds generate more electrical energy. This is why wind turbines
are often put up in groups in places that have steady winds. These include
mountain ridges, coastlines, and even above the ocean floor. Electrical
transmission lines transfer the energy from the turbines over long
distances to places where people need it.
Explore the structures that make up a wind turbine and how they transfer energy.

A wind direction

B C
generator

D tower power line

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

A Blades and Hub: The blades are connected at the hub. As air
pushes against the blades, energy is transferred from the moving
air to the blades, making the hub spin.

B Gearbox: The gearbox transfers energy of motion from the hub

to the generator. It changes the low-speed motion of the blades
and hub into high-speed motion.

C Generator: The generator converts energy of motion into

electrical energy. Electrical energy can be transferred long
distances through wires to farms, cities, and factories where
it is needed.

D Wind Turbine Tower: The tower supports the turbine and

holds it high above the ground, where there is more wind energy
to transfer to the blades and hub.

373
 Hands-On Activity

Stability and Change

Think about how you made your model wind turbine spin,
and then answer these questions.
• What makes your model start spinning? What makes it continue spinning?
What makes it stop spinning?
• What factors change the speed at which your model spins?
• How might changes in wind speed and the starting and stopping of the blades
affect the amount of electrical energy produced?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Structure and Function
Think about the diagram you saw of the parts of a wind turbine.
Explain how each structure of the wind turbine functions to
generate electrical energy.

374
 Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Make a claim about how people can use wind as a natural resource.
Support your claim with evidence from your exploration. Explain your
reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

375
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored using wind as a natural resource, check your
learning with this question.

Which of the following describe the relationships between wind and

electrical energy in a wind turbine? Circle all that apply.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©TebNad/iStockphoto.com

A. More wind causes the turbine to generate less electrical energy.
B. More wind causes the turbine to generate more electrical energy.
C. Less wind causes the turbine to generate more electrical energy.
D. Less wind causes the turbine to generate less electrical energy.

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

376
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
The electrical energy you use to run
computers, TVs, and toasters may
come from a power plant that
burns fossil fuels. Fossil fuels—coal,
petroleum, and natural gas—are
the remains of organisms that lived
millions of years ago. Once these
fuels are used, it will take millions of
years for a new supply to form. For
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Dmytro Zinkevych/Dreamstime

this reason, they are nonrenewable.

A nonrenewable resource is a
natural resource that, once used, cannot be replaced in a
reasonable amount of time.
In this activity, you’ll research a product made from fossil fuels
and explain how it is made.
Ask a question about how people use fossil fuels.

Possible Materials Safety

• objects made from petroleum Wash your hands when
such as: plastic toys, balloons, you are finished handling
ballpoint pens, bandages, materials.
candles, crayons, number cubes, Keep all materials away
lipstick, paintbrushes, paint from your face and mouth.
rollers, toothbrushes
• computing device with • Only access websites and
internet access research resources which have
been approved by your teacher.

377
 Hands-On Activity

Nonrenewable Resource
Products
Step 1
Look over the objects or list of objects made from fossil
fuels. Choose one to research. If a classmate chooses the
same object, work together. Do online or library research
to answer these questions.
• What natural resources are used to make the object?
• How is the object made?
• What are the advantages of making or using the product this way?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Step 2
Think about your audience and their interests. Decide how
you will communicate what you learned in your research.
Prepare any visual aids you will use, such as a poster, diagram,
or slideshow. Plan to act out something about the product.
Try adding humor.

Step 3
Practice your presentation in front of one other student. Use
feedback from your partner to improve how you communicate.

Step 4
Present your explanation to a group of people. It can be your whole
class, a class of younger students, or a group of classroom visitors.

378
 Analyze Results
Explain some properties of the object you researched and how its
properties relate to its function. How did learning about the object
and its structure help you understand its function?

Communicate Explanations
You have communicated your explanation to one person and to a group.
What other ways can you communicate about the natural resources your
object is made from? Describe how you would explain your object
differently if you used a different approach.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about using fossil fuels to make objects. Support
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

your claim with evidence from your investigation and from the
presentations of your classmates. Explain your reasoning to connect
your claim to your evidence.

379
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the use of fossil fuels in everyday life,
check your learning with this question.

Which of these are uses of nonrenewable resources? Circle all that apply.

A. toys made from plastics

B. sunlight used for solar energy
C. lipstick made with oil and wax
D. cooking with natural gas
E. burning wood in a fireplace

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©CreativeNature_nl/iStock/Getty Images

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

380
DAY 4

Choosing Renewable Energy

Resources
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Schroptschop/Vetta/Getty Images, (tr) ©Getty Images, (bl) ©Bernadette

Some of Earth’s renewable resources can be used to produce electrical

energy. Examples include
• wind
• falling or flowing water
• solar energy from sunlight
• burning wood and other plants
Using each of these renewable resources has advantages and
disadvantages. Advantages are positive effects, or benefits. Disadvantages
are negative effects, or drawbacks and risks.
Each picture shows one type of renewable energy and how it produces
electric power. Notice the advantages and disadvantages of using each
energy resource.
Schoeller/Creatas Video/Getty Images, (br) ©sauletas/Shutterstock

Wind Energy Hydroelectric Energy

Solar Energy Biomass Energy

381
Using information from the pictures on the previous page, identify
each renewable natural resource used for energy by its advantages
and disadvantages.

Write the correct answer in the space.

biomass plant hydroelectric dam solar panels wind turbine

Advantages: renewable resource,

does not cause pollution, does not
depend on daily weather
Disadvantages: habitat loss, can
harm wildlife, floods land areas,
expensive to build
Advantages: renewable energy source,
energy source does not cause pollution
Disadvantages: expensive to build,
only works well on sunny days, building
process can cause pollution
Advantages: renewable resource,
does not cause pollution

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Disadvantages: can harm wildlife,
can be noisy and unattractive, only
works well on windy days
Advantages: renewable resource,
low-cost fuel source, does not depend
on daily weather
Disadvantages: can pollute the air

382
 Choose two renewable natural resources you have learned about.
Then explain the advantages and disadvantages of using each of them
for energy.

Complete the table.

Renewable Natural Resources Used for Energy

Natural Resource Advantages Disadvantages
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

383
Other Renewable Resources
Not all renewable natural resources are used for electrical energy.
Explore these other examples of natural resources and their uses.
As you view the images and captions, think about additional ways people use
renewable natural resources.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Aneese/iStock/Getty Images, (b) ©LeonP/Shutterstock
Freshwater comes
from lakes, rivers,
reservoirs, and
wells. The
Mississippi River
supplies drinking
water to over
50 U.S. cities.
It is also used for
recreation, to grow
crops, and to
transport products.

Animals such as
cattle and sheep are
used by humans for
food and to make
clothing. Animals
are also used to
carry loads and
people, pull farm
tools, and help
people who hunt
for their food.

384
 Wood from trees is used to make paper and lumber to build furniture
and homes. Wood is considered a renewable resource because tree
farms grow more trees for human use, but trees do take years to grow
and replace those that were harvested.

Explain the advantages of using renewable resources. Provide examples from

the images in this lesson or examples you have seen elsewhere.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

385
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored renewable natural resources, check
your learning with this question.

Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.

Wind, water, sunlight, and trees are called nonrenewable |

renewable natural resources because they can be replaced in a
reasonable amount of time.
One advantage of using wind, water, and sunlight to produce electrical
energy is that they do not clean | pollute the air.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

386
DAY 5

Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Petroleum, coal, and natural gas formed when ancient organisms died
and were buried in layers of mud that turned to rock. This process took
millions of years. Once these nonrenewable energy resources are used up,
a new supply will take millions of years to form. Nonrenewable resources
cannot be replenished in a reasonable amount of time.
As you view the images, think about how the three kinds of fossil fuels are similar
to one another.

Tiny plants and animals

that once lived in water
died, settled to the
bottom of the water,
and were covered in
mud. Over millions of
years, this material
forms petroleum, which
is a liquid found
underground.
Petroleum is used to
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

heat buildings, to make

gas for vehicles, and in
plastics and paints.

A solid material found

between rock layers,
coal is the buried
remains of plants that
died millions of years
ago. Coal is burned to
produce electrical
energy, heat homes,
and cook food. Some
medicines and carbon
fiber bicycle frames are
made from coal.

387
Natural gas is colorless. It is the remains of once-living organisms. It is

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) TK, (b) ©CreativeNature_nl/iStock/Getty Images
found underground, usually near petroleum. Natural gas is used to heat
buildings, for cooking, and to produce electrical energy. It is also used
to make products such as dyes and inks.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nonrenewable Energy

Using fossil fuels has both advantages and disadvantages. They are
affordable fuels that do not depend on the weather to produce electrical
energy. However, using fossil fuels often causes pollution that affects the
health of living things and Earth’s long-term weather patterns.
As you view the images and read the captions, think about the advantages
and disadvantages of using fossil fuels.

Coal
A significant amount
of coal is available
underground in the
United States. Coal
mining strips away
the soil and rock on the
land’s surface, which
can cause water
pollution. Coal mining
and burning harm
ecosystems and can
damage the health of
people nearby. Coal
burning produces a
variety of air pollutants.

388
 Petroleum
Petroleum is burned
to generate electrical
energy, causing air
pollution. It is used
to make many plastic
products, and can be
transported on ships,
trains, or trucks.
Accidents result in oil
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Nes Jerry/Adobe Stock, (c) ©scharfsinn86/Adobe Stock,

leaks, spills, explosions,

and fires, which can
harm wildlife.

Vehicles
Vehicles use energy
from many sources
including gasoline,
diesel fuel, natural gas,
and electric batteries.
This service station
handles them all!
Vehicles that use fossil
fuels add carbon
dioxide and other
pollutants to the air
when they drive, while
electric vehicles do not.

Electrical Energy
(b) ©David Watts Jr./Dreamstime

Most of the electrical

energy in the U.S.
comes from burning
fossil fuels. This
produces a steady
supply of electrical
energy. Large amounts
of electrical energy
cannot be stored,
so a steady supply is
useful. Burning fossil
fuels releases pollutants
into the air.

389
Based on what you learned above, describe some advantages and disadvantages
of using nonrenewable resources.

Cause and Effect

Use the information you have learned about the disadvantages of using
fossil fuels to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

Match each cause with its effect.

Water and land

Any fossil fuel is
ecosystems are
burned.
damaged.

Coal is surface Ocean wildlife

mined. is harmed.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Petroleum is Harmful gases
transported by and other
ship, and oil spills pollutants are
can occur. added to the air.

390
 Do the Math: Interpret the circle graph comparing the natural
resources used for energy in the United States in the early 2000s.
The data represent energy used for all purposes—electrical
energy, transportation, factories, homes, and businesses. Each
section of the circle is labeled with a percentage. You can convert
the percentages to decimals and relate them to fractions as parts
of the whole.

U.S. Energy Sources

3%

7%

Energy Sources
Oil
20% Coal
45%
Natural gas
Nuclear energy
Other
25%

U.S. Energy Sources

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

1. According to the graph, what fraction of the total energy comes from
all fossil fuels combined?
2. Explain one or more disadvantages of burning fossil fuels for energy.
3. Define a problem people can solve to avoid this disadvantage.

391
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the advantages and disadvantages
of using nonrenewable resources, check your learning with
this question.

Which of the following are advantages of using nonrenewable resources?

Circle all that apply.

A. Burning nonrenewable resources causes air pollution.

B. A large amount of coal exists underground in the United States.
C. Many plastics people use every day are made from petroleum.
D. Nonrenewable resources provide a steady supply of fuel for generating

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Olivier Blondeau/E+/Getty Images
electrical energy.
E. Air pollution from energy generating stations that use fossil fuels harms
the health of people.

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

392
DAY 6

Earth and Natural Resources

From space, the planet Earth looks like a small blue and white
marble. All the natural resources people need to survive originate
from our planet—except one. That resource is sunlight.

The Uses of Electric Power

You have learned that many natural resources are used to generate
electrical energy. Why is electrical energy so important? Think of all the
things you use each day that need electrical energy. Lights, fans, toasters,
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Weronica Ankarorn/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

and game consoles get electrical energy from outlets. Smartphones and
tablets get electrical energy from batteries. What other examples can you
think of?

393
 Language SmArts

Natural Resources Report Card

Report cards are used to describe how well students are performing
in school. Teachers often use grades to represent student performance.
For this task, you will make a report card to describe advantages and
disadvantages of different natural resources. Then you will assign
grades and build an argument about why you gave the resources high
or low grades.
Directions
• In the first column of the table below, list three renewable resources
and three nonrenewable resources.
• In the second column, write whether the resource is renewable
or nonrenewable.
• In the third and fourth columns, write some advantages and
disadvantages of each resource.
• In the fifth column, give each natural resource a grade based on the
other data you have recorded. Use a scale of 1–5, in which 5 is the best
grade and 1 is the worst.

Natural Resources Report Card

Natural Renewable or

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Resources Nonrenewable Advantages Disadvantages Grade

394
 Discuss and Explain Your Thinking

Turn and talk to a partner. Share your natural resources report

card. Explain the evidence you used to give grades. Answer any
questions your partner asks. Then, listen actively and respectfully
as your partner shares their report card. Ask questions about
their evidence.
With your partner, make a plan to share your explanations with the rest of
the class and receive their feedback. Discuss different ways you can
communicate. Will you do it orally, in writing, or with a visual display?
Describe your plan for how you and your partner will communicate your
explanations of your natural resource report cards. Identify any parts of
your explanation that other people may disagree with. How can you
respectfully listen and respond to ideas that are different than yours?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

395
Exit Ticket
Now that you have worked with classmates and explored the advantages
and disadvantages of using Earth’s natural resources, describe your
learning with this question.

Describe the process you used to determine the best way to communicate
and explain your natural resources report cards to the class.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great job! You have finished Day 6.

396
DAY 7

People in Engineering
Geisha Jimenez Williams
When Geisha Jimenez Williams was
five years old, she and her parents
immigrated to the United States from
Cuba. They left their island home with
no money, but her parents worked
many jobs to care for themselves and
their daughter.
When Williams finished high school,
she went to college—the first person
in her family to do so. She studied
industrial engineering and learned about electrical energy. She then
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Bloomberg/Getty Images

worked in the energy industry and earned another university degree,

this time in business administration. Her education helped Williams
as she took jobs with more and more responsibilities. She became the
first Latina to lead a very large U.S. company.
Williams believes in finding ways to use energy efficiently and effectively.
One contribution she made was in the use of new smart grids. Older
electrical grids send energy from generating stations to users through
a one-way network of wires. In contrast, a smart grid is a two-way
network. Users also send measurements about their energy use back to
the energy supplier. Smart grid systems conserve energy. They also help
avoid outages. Electrical energy outages, or blackouts, can occur when
there is too much demand for electrical energy. Technology on a smart
grid can also help energy companies make repairs faster.

397
Geisha Williams is dedicated to solving the problem of how to provide
electrical energy to people’s homes and businesses without causing air
pollution. To accomplish this, she supports solutions that use solar energy
and other renewable energy sources.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

What types of energy are renewable? Explain why Williams supports the use of more
renewable energy sources.

398
 Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations in this lesson, think
about whether the natural resources shown in the pictures are renewable
or nonrenewable and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©metamorworks/Shutterstock

Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now, use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How do people choose the natural resources

they will use to meet their needs?

399
Make a claim to answer the Guiding Question. Support your claim with evidence
from the lesson. Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Andreas Weber/iStockPhoto.com

Great job! You have finished Day 7.

400
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jim West/Alamy

Name
TEKS 4.11.B AND
4.11.C • DAY 1

and Modern Life

Energy Resources
Date

401
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will explain the roles of energy in people’s lives and how
conservation, disposal, and recycling impact the environment. Before
getting started, revisit what you already know about conserving natural
resources through the three Rs.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©BlurryMe/Shutterstock, (tr) ©bedddo/iStock/Getty Images,
Reduce
Turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth
or washing your hands reduces the amount of
water you use.

(b) ©Spiderstock/E+/Getty Images

Recycle Reuse
Recycling means taking materials ready to be When you wash and refill a water bottle or
thrown away and making them into new wash and use plastic utensils again, you use
products. While recycling uses energy, it fewer natural resources.
reduces the amounts of natural resources
needed overall.

402
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to explaining how the uses
of natural resources impact the environment.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tr) ©Toa55/iStock/Getty Images,

conservation pollution
The preserving and protecting of an ecosystem Any waste product or contamination that
or a resource. harms or dirties an ecosystem and harms
organisms.
(b) ©fstop123/iStockphoto/Getty Images

recycling
To use the materials in old things to make new things.
403
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How does saving natural resources affect the

environment?

Natural resources are

needed to produce the
electrical energy that runs all
the devices we plug in. Many
devices that are plugged
into wall sockets draw
electrical energy even when

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Lost_in_the_Midwest/Adobe Stock

we are not using them.

What do you notice about these actions saving natural resources?

What do you wonder about these actions saving natural resources?

Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

404
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Rock is the solid material that makes up most
of Earth’s outer layer, called the crust. There
are many types of rock. Each type has unique
physical properties.
In this activity, you’ll use a model to explore
two properties of rocks. These properties
focus on the air spaces found inside rocks.
The first is how well rocks hold liquids or
gases. The second is how hard or easy it is for
liquids to move through the rock. Both
properties help explain how rocks store
certain natural resources.
Ask a question about how rocks store Earth’s
natural resources.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Corbis

Possible Materials Safety

• two kinds of sponges, both clean Do not step in spilled water.
and dry Wipe up spills right away.
• clear container
• water
• graduated cylinder
• paper towels

405
 Hands-On Activity

Modeling Rock Properties

Step 1
Get two different types of dry sponges, which you will use as
models of rocks. Observe the sponges, looking for differences in
the sizes of the holes and for connections between the holes.

Step 2
Place one sponge in the bottom of a clear container.

Step 3
Use a graduated cylinder to measure 100mL of water. Pour all the
water slowly on top of the sponge in the container. Observe the
sponge for any changes. Record your observations.

Step 4
Use the table on the next page. Record the volume of the water

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

you poured onto the sponge.

Step 5
Carefully pour any water in the bottom of the container back into
the graduated cylinder. Measure the volume of water and record
the measurement in the table. Calculate and record the difference
in volume.

406
 Measurements
Volume of water
Volume of water in bottom of Difference in
poured (mL) container (mL) volume (mL)
Sponge 1

Sponge 2

Step 6
Press down on the sponge. Observe what happens.

Step 7
Repeat Steps 1–5 with the other sponge. Record your measurements in the table.

Use Models
What did your data show about differences between the sponges?
How do you think the sponges model rocks? What are some limitations of
this model? Use information from your model in your explanation.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

407
 Hands-On Activity

Structure and Function

Describe properties of the sponges that affect their ability to hold
water or allow it to pass through. Support your answer by
explaining how the amount of water held by the sponges were
stable or changed during your investigation.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how the properties of rocks affect their ability
to store natural resources like water. Support your claim with
evidence from your investigation. Explain your reasoning to

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

connect your claim to your evidence.

408
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated properties of rocks that affect where
Earth’s natural resources are stored, check your learning with this
question.

Which physical property of rocks did your model show allows them to store
liquid natural resources? Circle the correct answer.

A. color
B. hardness
C. length
D. small holes
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©aninna/Adobe Stock

Great Job! You have finished Day 2.

409
DAY 3

How Do People Get Resources

Oil and Gas
Oil (also called petroleum) forms
in layers of rock below Earth’s
surface. Certain types of rock
have air spaces much like a
sponge. Oil and natural gas can
flow through the spaces and
collect in them. To remove the
stored oil and natural gas, people
have to drill a well with a drill bit
that can cut through rock. As the
well is drilled, steel pipes are
dropped into the hole to keep it
open. When the hole reaches the
oil or gas, a pump is used to draw
it up to the surface.
Oil and natural gas are found in rocks all over the world. Wells are drilled

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: TK

both on land and underwater into the ocean floor. Often, the oil and gas
have to be transported over long distances to reach the people who will
use them.

Groundwater
Water moves underground
when it soaks into the
ground and seeps into
spaces in and between
rocks. Underground water,
called groundwater, often
collects in rocks with the
most or largest spaces.
These areas are called
aquifers. Think of a sponge.
The water in the sponge is
like groundwater, and the
sponge itself is like
an aquifer.

410
 People get the water they need from aquifers by drilling or digging wells.
Motorized pumps are often needed to bring the water up to Earth’s
surface. Then the water flows through pipes to places where it is needed.
Most of the groundwater that is pumped to the surface is used to irrigate
farm crops. More than half of people in the United States depend on
groundwater for use in their homes.

STEM Careers in Natural Resources

Lots of work happens before we can use water, petroleum, and natural
gas. Finding, extracting, transporting, and using these resources involve a
lot of people who have trained for science, technology, engineering, and
math (STEM) careers.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) tk (bl) ©Ingvar Tjostheim/Shutterstock,

Drilling Operators Geoscientists

They are responsible for maintaining and They identify the locations of petroleum and
operating drills. In the control room, computer natural gas by studying rocks on land and
consoles have screens that operators use to underwater. Using 3D modeling,
control the drill. geoscientists map the locations of large
(br) ©Image Source Trading Ltd/Shutterstock

deposits of these resources.

Environmental Engineers
They help minimize and manage waste and air,
water, and soil pollution. Their work helps
protect living things from harmful substances.
They also design new ways to clean wastewater.

411
 Language SmArts
Investigate STEM Careers
Choose and research a STEM career related to natural resources and/or
the environment. Explore at least two resources in your investigation. For
example, you can interview a person with the career, read books, and do
online research.
Complete the table with your answers to the research questions.

STEM Career Research

What is the career title

you researched?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Avatar_023/iStock/Getty Images

What kind of work does a
person in this career do?

What problem did a person

with this career solve?

How did this solution

impact science?

What are two sources you used

for your research?

Turn to a partner and talk about your answers. Listen actively to your
partner by asking clarifying questions. Think to yourself, “Do I understand
what my partner said well enough to share it with the class?”

412
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored how people with STEM careers help get
natural resources from rock, check your learning with this question.

What are three examples of Earth’s natural resources that are stored
in the spaces in and between rocks?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great Job! You have finished Day 3.

413
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity

You use natural resources all day, every

day—without even realizing it! What do
you do when you wake up in the morning?
You may turn off your alarm, make
breakfast, and brush your teeth. Each of
these activities uses natural resources.
Every product you use was made from one
or more natural resource. For example,
the plastic in a toothbrush comes from

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©irina88w/iStock/Getty Images

petroleum, and the bread you eat comes
from plants.
The energy needed to run many devices also comes from
natural resources. Think about the electrical energy needed
to power an alarm clock or toast bread. That energy is
generated from natural resources such as petroleum,
natural gas, sunlight, wind, or moving water.
In this activity, you’ll explore some critical roles of energy
resources in your life.
Ask a question about the importance of energy resources
to our modern life.

Safety
Be careful around electrical wires
and outlets.

Do not touch devices, including

light bulbs, that are hot.

414
 Energy Use Scavenger Hunt
Step 1
Use the School Energy Uses table in your investigation.

School Energy Uses

Form of How was energy Could less energy How can less
Energy being used? be used? energy be used?

Electrical

Light

Thermal
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 2
Look around your classroom or
school to record examples of the
use of energy resources. Try to
find an example for each row in
your table.

Step 3
When you find an energy use,
answer the questions in the table.

415
 Hands-On Activity

Analyze Results
Compare the data you recorded in your School Energy Uses table to
those of another student. List all the uses of energy you both
found. Then, brainstorm other ways humans use each form of energy.

Plan an Investigation
Now that you have looked at different forms of energy and the
ways energy is used in your school, think about what natural

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

resources that energy comes from. What can you do to find out
which natural resource(s) supply the energy used in your school?

416
 Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Make a claim about the importance of energy resources to modern
life. Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

417
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the critical role of energy resources in modern
life, check your learning with this question.

List five uses of energy at home or school. How important are they to your
life? Rank them from 1 to 5. Use 1 for the most important use and 5 for the
least important use.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great Job! You have finished Day 4.

418
DAY 5

Impacts on the Environment

The environment is the natural world you live in. People get the resources
they need from the environment, including water, air, food, wood, rocks,
minerals, and energy. The environment is impacted, or affected, by the
human use of natural resources. Sometimes, these effects can be harmful.
For example, when products such as plastic bottles don’t get recycled and
end up in the ocean, they become pollution. Pollution harms ecosystems
and the organisms in them.
As you view the images, think about how uses of natural resources
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Kochneva Tetyana/Shutterstock, (b) ©Corbis

negatively affect the environment and people.

Harvesting Trees
Trees are cut down, and branches are
trimmed off and taken to a sawmill.
Trees are a renewable resource, but
cutting down a large area of trees can
damage ecosystems, making it
difficult to grow trees in the future.

Irrigating Crops
Some crops require large amounts of
water. Farmers use irrigation systems
that bring water to the plants. As
demand for irrigated crops increases,
more water is used.

419
 Transportation
Vehicles that run on fossil fuels release
pollution into the air.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©David Parsons/Getty Images, (m) ©Jones_L/Getty Images,
Disposal of Trash
Garbage that people throw away can
end up in the ocean. Much of the
trash in the ocean is made of plastics,
which come from petroleum. Plastics
last many years in the ocean and can
harm wildlife.

Conserving Soil
Many farms use pesticides and
chemical fertilizers to increase crop
production. These pesticides and
chemicals can cause health concerns
(b) ©fotog/Getty Images

for both humans and animals.

420
 Resource Conservation
Many cities around the United States are working to conserve natural
resources. Conservation includes protecting natural resources and
ecosystems. People conserve resources by reducing how much they use.
For example, people find ways to use less energy or make products last
longer while using fewer materials.
You can practice conservation in your own home.
Explore the image to discover more about home energy and water conservation.

A
C

B D
F
E

A Electrical Appliances: Use electrical appliances, such as ceiling fans, only when you are
in the room and really need them. Unplug appliances, like toasters, when you are not
using them.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company tk

B Lights: Lights use energy when they are turned on. Turn off the lights when you do not
need them.
C Sunlight: Use window coverings to control the air temperature in a room. Sunlight is a
form of energy that passes through glass. The more light that gets through the window,
the higher the air temperature will be. On cold days, letting sunlight into the room will
reduce the amount of other forms of energy needed to warm the air. On hot days, though,
letting sunlight in will increase the amount of other forms of energy needed to cool the air.
D Keeping Cool: To save on cooling costs, keep windows closed during the hottest part of
the day. Open up windows in the early morning and evening if the outside air is cooler
than the inside air to let cool air in.
E Sleep Mode: Check the settings on your computer so that when it is not in use, the sleep
mode is activated. Computers use less energy in sleep mode.
F Water Faucets: To help conserve water, only use the water you need. Turn the faucet on
and off when washing hands. Only use enough water to wet your toothbrush and rinse.
Take shorter showers.

421
How does conserving natural resources affect the environment?

Getting Rid of Waste

Does an aluminum beverage can have a “life cycle”? Not really but
thinking about life cycles helps scientists understand all the impacts, or
effects, of using natural resources. Think about that beverage can. When
rocks containing aluminum are mined and processed, ecosystems can be
harmed. Then, when the cans are shaped in a factory, energy resources
are used, and the factory wastes cause pollution. The cans then have to be
transported to stores to be sold. Later, melting the cans to make new cans
uses more energy. If the cans end up along the side of the road, they can

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Toa55/Shutterstock

harm wildlife.
For many materials and products, recycling them does less harm to the
environment than throwing them away and making more. Recycling is
using the materials in old things to make new things.
As you view the images, think about possible solutions, including recycling,
to the problems of pollution.

Wastewater Pollution
Wastewater from homes
and factories can pollute
rivers and lakes.
Wastewater treatment
plants remove many of the
harmful substances so the
wastewater has fewer
negative effects on humans
and wildlife.

422
 Plastic Trash
Plastic bottles take 400
years to break down into
simpler substances. Using
containers and bottles that
can be used many times
and recycling them keeps
plastic from polluting the
environment and harming
wildlife.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©photka/Getty Images, (m) ©J J D/Cultura/Getty Images,

Metal Containers
Metals can be melted down
and used again so less
mining is needed.
Recycling also saves
three-fourths of the energy
needed to make new cans
from mined metal.

Landfills
When landfills fill up,
another landfill must be
made. Reducing, reusing,
and recycling can keep
landfills from filling up.
(b) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Trash like batteries,

cleaning supplies, paints,
and electronics should be
taken to a recycling center
and not a landfill.

423
Explain how disposing of natural resources affects the environment. Use
one of the examples from the images.

What Happens When We Recycle?

When we recycle, we use materials in old things to make new things.
Recycling can involve breaking the item down to its raw ingredients.
Although food scraps can be recycled to make rich fertilizers or biofuels,
they do not go in regular recycling bins.

Do the Math: Use Patterns Recycling paper conserves trees

and energy. Let’s see how much. Read the first two rows in the
table to discover the pattern. Then calculate to fill in the
missing information.

Impacts of Recycling Paper

Amount of Paper Number of Trees Saved Amount of Energy
Recycled (metric tons) from Cutting Saved (kilowatts)
1 17 4,000
2 34 8,000

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

3
4
5

424
 Based on your data analysis, explain how recycling natural resources
affects the environment.

Cause and Effect

Think about how human use of natural resources causes stability in or
changes to the environment. Look at the input-output table shown. Write
the causes and their effects in the table using information from this lesson.
Ask your teacher if you may use a library or online sources to collect
more data.

Using Natural Resources and the Environment

Cause Effect
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Communicate Explanations
Share your table with your class. Explain how your table shows that
environments are changed by humans’ uses of natural resources. Answer
any questions your classmates ask.

425
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the effects of using natural resources
on the environment, check your learning with this question.

Which actions can people take at home to conserve natural resources?

Circle all that apply.

A. Do not leave water running.

B. Put newspapers in the recycling bin.
C. Turn off lights that are not being used.
D. Throw clear glass away in the garbage.
E. Throw paper products away in the garbage.
F. Use rechargeable batteries and a solar charger.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

426
DAY 6

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Suppose your school wants to
reduce its negative impacts on the
environment. In this activity, you will
try to convince your school
community to either conserve
energy, recycle, or dispose properly
of waste materials. You’ll share
scientific information about the
environment. You’ll also explain how
people’s actions can change the
environment for the better.
Ask a question about how
conservation, proper disposal, or
recycling can affect the environment.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Possible Materials Safety

• digital device with Internet access If your digital device has an
• poster board electric cord, take care not
to trip over it or touch
• markers the outlet.
• Only access online resources
that have been approved by
your teacher.

427
 Hands-On Activity

Change Your School’s Impact,

Part 1
Step 1
Form a team with one or more other students. Together, think of actions
your school already takes to help the environment, including
conserving resources, disposing of resources, and recycling resources.
Then choose one new action your school can take to make a positive
impact on the environment:
• reducing paper and plastic use
• recycling paper and plastic
• conserving energy
• conserving water

Step 2

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Research the impact your team chooses using library or online
resources. You may also want to interview an adult who knows about
how your school uses natural resources. Find at least one interesting
piece of scientific data about the natural resource. Select data that you
think will impact the behavior of people in your school.

Step 3
As a team, make a poster or infographic. Include the following details:
• a title
• the actions that you are encouraging
• which natural resources will be affected
• scientific data about the natural resource
• the effect of the action on the environment
• a list of reference sources used

428
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored actions people can take to have a positive
impact on the environment, check your learning with this question.

Today you made a poster or infographic with your team. Explain how you
hope to impact the environment with it.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Kochneva Tetyana/Shutterstock

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

429
DAY 7

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
In Part 1 of this activity, you and
your team made a poster or
infographic. Now, in Part 2,
you’ll share your work with
other people in your school.
Ask a question about how you
can communicate information
about the environment.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©deemka studio/Adobe Stock

Possible Materials Safety

• digital device with Internet access If your digital device has
• poster board an electric cord, take care
not to trip over it or touch
• markers the outlet.
• Only access online resources
that have been approved by
your teacher.

430
 Change Your School’s Impact,
Part 2
Step 4
With your team, share your poster or infographic with the rest of
your class. Explain how taking the action will impact the
environment. Invite the class to ask questions.

Step 5
Listen carefully to the presentations from the other teams. Be
respectful when asking questions.

Step 6
With your team, propose the best place in the school to hang
your poster. Think about where your message will have the most
impact. Get permission to hang it there.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Listen Actively
Why do you need to listen actively to your
classmates’ explanations?

431
 Hands-On Activity

Science and Society

What scientific data did you share on your poster or infographic? Explain
how understanding these data can affect what people in your school do.
Explain how knowing these data could affect the work of scientists.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about impactful ways of communicating science
information. Support your claim with evidence from your exploration.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

432
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have communicated the impact of conserving, disposing of,
and recycling products made from natural resources, check your learning
with this question.

What is one way you improved your communication and teamwork skills
during this exploration?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great Job! You have finished Day 7.

433
DAY 8

Science in Careers
Now learn about a career in which people use their understanding of
impacts on the environment to make cities better places to live.

City Planner
Suppose you and your neighbors want to build a new park. To get started,
you would work with a city planner. City planners make plans for using
city land to meet the needs of the people living there.
June Manning Thomas has been a professor of urban planning at the
University of Michigan. Throughout her career, she has focused on
bringing struggling cities back to life. One way she does this is by working
to make sure that all groups of people living in the city are treated fairly.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Emily Burrowes

Professor Thomas has written and edited books on mapping and

developing cities. Much of her work has taken place in Michigan. There,
she helped the state identify the land use needs of cities like Detroit.
Thomas has won awards for her creative solutions to the problems of
growing cities.
434
 City planners like Dr. Thomas also plan for the needs of people in the
future. For example, planners may help manage water resources as a city
grows. They work as part of a team to decide where and how the water is
collected and piped to homes. They also work on how wastewater will be
treated before releasing it back into the environment.
Suppose you were a city planner for a city in Texas. Describe three
changes you would plan to carry out that would minimize the impacts of
your city on the environment.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

435
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations, go back and review your
ideas about the Guiding Question from the start of this lesson. Use what
you have learned to answer the guiding question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How does saving natural resources affect the

environment?

Make a claim about the guiding

question. Use evidence from the
lesson, and give reasoning to
connect the evidence to your claim. In
your explanation, explain how human
use of resources affects stability and
change in the environment.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Corbis

Great Job! You have finished Day 8.

436
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Singkham/Shutterstock

Name
TEKS 4.12.A • DAY 1

Producers
The Role of
Date

437
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson you will investigate how most producers, including plants,
make their own food. Before getting started, revisit what you already
know about parts of plants and their functions.
Explore plant parts and their functions.

Leaf Fruit
This part of the plant This part of the plant makes seeds
captures sunlight. and allows the plant to reproduce.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Tim Robberts/Getty Images

Roots Stem
This part of the plant grows This part of the plant grows away
downward into soil and takes up from the ground and helps hold
water for the plant. the plant upright.

438
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to plants and energy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Peter Austin/iStockPhoto.com, (b) ©Mashabuba/E+/Getty Images

producer consumer
A living thing, such as a plant, that can make its A living thing that cannot make its own food and
own food. must eat other living things.

environment photosynthesis
All the living and nonliving things that surround The process that plants use to make food.
and affect an organism.

439
Can You Explain It?
p_body
GUIDING QUESTION

How do these plants get the energy and matter they need to
grow without soil?

Think about the Guiding Question while you look at the pictures.

Look at these plants. They

are growing out of tubes.
Think about how and where
they are growing. Is this
different from what you
would expect?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©erkaly/Shutterstock

What do you notice about these plants and how they are growing?

What do you wonder about these plants and how they are making their
own food?

Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

440
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Organisms get the food they need for energy and
growth in different ways. A producer, such as a plant, is
an organism that can make its own food. A consumer
cannot make its own food. Many consumers, including
animals, eat other living things to get food.
In this lesson, you will investigate what producers need
from their environments to make their own food. The
environment is all the living and nonliving things that
surround and affect an organism.
Today you will set up two identical model environments
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Panther Media GmbH/Alamy

for plants. Then you will decide how to investigate

plants’ need for light.
Ask a question about investigating producers’ need for light.

Possible Materials Safety

• safety goggles
Wear safety goggles when
• disposable gloves putting together your two
• 2 empty clear plastic bottles, model habitats for plants.
cut in half, with caps
Wear gloves when
• gravel handling materials.
• sand
• soil Clean up spills as soon
• plastic spoon as they happen.
• plants
Wash your hands with soap
• water
and water after handling
• masking tape soil and plants.
• spray bottle
441
 Hands-On Activity

Producers and Sunlight

Step 1
Work with a partner. Build two identical
habitats to model an environment
plants need to survive. These habitats
are called terrariums. First add a layer
of gravel to the bottom of each bottle.
Next add layers of sand. Top the sand
with soil.

Step 2
Spray the soil in each bottle with the
same amount of water. They should be
just damp—not wet. Why is it important
to use the same amount of water?

Step 3 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Get four small plants that are all the same kind. Use the
plastic spoon to plant two in each bottle.

Step 4
Use masking tape to hold the top part of each bottle on the
bottom part. Screw on the cap. Add a strip of tape with your
names and “A” on one container and “B” on the other.

Step 5
Make a plan with your partner. What will you do with each of
your model habitats to test your investigation question?
Write your plan on the next page.

442
 My Plan

Step 6
Get your teacher to approve your plan. Carry out your test.

Step 7
Construct a tree map with a box at the top that says “Plant Habitats.”
Below it, connect two columns. Label the columns “A” and “B,” and
write the difference between the two setups in your test.
Tree Map
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

443
 Hands-On Activity

Step 8
Talk with your partner about how the parts of each
model form a system. How will each system be
affected by the environment around it? Predict what
will happen.

Step 9
Observe your model habitats every day for three days. Record
your observations in your tree map. STOP and move to today’s
Exit Ticket. You will analyze results of this investigation after three days.
Now that you have left your model plant habitats for three days, you
can analyze your results.
Analyze Information
In an investigation, controlled variables are conditions that are
the same in all the setups. Examine the habitat you built. What
conditions were controlled in your habitat and your
investigation? Write your list.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

444
 Stability and Change
A tested variable is a condition that is not the same in all setups.
An investigation should test the effect of only one variable at a time.
What is the tested variable in your investigation? How did the tested
variable affect the stability of the plants in this investigation? In other
words, did the plants change, and how?

T hink of one way you are affected by your environment.

Explain how you are affected and how that makes you feel.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about the effects of light and lack of light on plants.
Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

445
Exit Ticket
Now that you have made a prediction about changes in your model
habitats, check your learning with this question.

How can you be sure what caused the difference in the plants during
your investigation?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Photos by R A Kearton/Moment/Getty Images

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

446
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
In addition to needing light to live and grow,
producers need water. For most plants, the main
structure used to get water from the environment
is the root. However, the plant structure that makes
most of a plant’s food is the leaves. So how does
the water get from the roots to the leaves? And
what happens to the plant if the leaves do not get
enough water? You’ll explore these questions—and
ask your own—in this two-part investigation.
Ask a question about plants getting water and
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Nigel Cattlin/Science Source

making food.

Materials Safety
• 2 clear plastic cups • Do not eat or drink science
materials.
• marker
Be careful when using
• spoon
sharp objects like scissors.
• whole inner stalk of celery,
with pale-colored leaves Keep food coloring away
from clothing. Wash up if it
• food coloring, blue or red
gets on your skin.
• lukewarm water
• scissors

447
 Hands-On Activity

Drink It In, Part 1

Step 1
With a marker, write your name
on the two cups you will use to
model and observe the
processes of plants taking in
water.

Step 2
Fill one cup halfway with water.
Add 10 drops of food coloring
to the water and stir with a
spoon. Leave the other cup
empty.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 3
Get one celery stalk with a freshly cut base. Use scissors to
make a single clean cut upward from the base. Make your cut a
little longer than the height of the cups.

Step 4
Place the cups side by side. Hold the celery stalk with the leaves
sticking up. Gently separate the two sides of the stalk. Slide one
side into each cup.

Step 5
Leave your model plant set up for at least 12 hours to
investigate how producers cycle matter including water. Make
observations a few times, looking for changes. Go directly to the
Exit Ticket for today now.

448
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have begun to explore how plants move the
water they need to make their own food, check your learning
with this question.

Plants need to move water from their roots to their leaves because

A. water is more important than light in making food.

B. plant roots make food and send it to the leaves.
C. plants mostly make their food in their leaves.
D. water can be colored blue or red.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing • Image Credits: Company ©Allstarecho/Wikimedia Commons

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

449
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity

In Part 1 of the Drink It In Hands-On

Activity, you developed a test to show
that water reaches plant leaves, where
food is made. Now in Part 2 you will
investigate further to explain how this
process works.
Ask a question about the structure that

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©YuriyS/iStockphoto.com/Getty Images

allows water to move.

Materials Safety
• 2 clear plastic cups • Do not eat or drink science
materials.
• marker
Be careful when using
• spoon
sharp objects like scissors
• whole stalk of celery, with leaves to cut materials.
• food coloring, blue or red
• lukewarm water
• scissors

450
 Drink It In, Part 2
Step 6
Observe how the celery stalk and leaves changed.
Draw and label a diagram to record your results.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 7
Ask an adult to make a sharp cut across the part of the celery
stalk that was above the cups. Examine the cut edges. Draw and
label a diagram to record your results.

451
Analyze Results
What happened to the leaves above the cup of water? Above the
empty cup?
What did you see when you examined the cut end of the stem?

Use Models
Use a model in the form of a diagram to explain where leaves of a large
tree get the water they need to make food. Use labels and arrows to show
the process for how rainwater gets inside tree leaves.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

452
 Structure and Function
How do the structures inside the celery stalk and leaves help with moving
water? Explain the process of how the rainwater reaches the leaves of the plant.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how water gets to the leaves of plants, where most of
the food is made. Support your claim with evidence from your investigation.
Explain your reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

453
Exit Ticket
Now that you have investigated how and where plants move water,
check your learning with this question.

What evidence do you have to support the following claim?

Circle all that apply.

“A celery plant has a tube system that carries water through the plant.”
A. I can see that different tubes carried water to different leaves.
B. I can see the tubes when the celery stalk is cut open.
C. I can see that some tubes are colored and other tubes have no color.
D. I can see that the water in the cup changed color.
E. I can see that the leaves are the same color as the water.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Martin Shields/Alamy

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

454
DAY 5

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Matter moves in cycles through the environment, getting used
over and over again. Air contains the gases carbon dioxide and
oxygen. These two kinds of matter cycle between producers,
consumers, and the air. When consumers like animals breathe
in, they take in oxygen and use it to live. When animals
breathe out, they give off carbon dioxide as a waste. Producers
like plants take carbon dioxide from the air and use it to make
their own food. They give off oxygen as waste.

All animals need to exchange

gases with their surroundings.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Rick Ray/pond5/Glow Images

Different animals have different

structures for gas exchange.
Mammals, such as this polar bear,
have lungs for taking in oxygen
and breathing out carbon
dioxide. Animals’ circulatory
systems carry oxygen throughout
their bodies.

Ask a question about how gases move between the

environment and plants to make food.

Possible Materials Safety

• plastic bowl Clean up spills as soon as
• freshly picked large leaf they happen.
• small rock
• water
• hand lens

455
 Hands-On Activity

The Carbon Dioxide–Oxygen Cycle

Step 1
Fill a plastic bowl with lukewarm water.

Step 2
Place a large, freshly picked leaf in the bowl
of water. Put a small rock on top of the leaf so
it stays fully under the water. Use a hand lens
to observe the leaf.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: @HMH

Step 3
Put the bowl in a sunny spot or under an electric plant light to
investigate what producers need. Wait a few minutes.

Step 4
Use the hand lens to observe the leaf again. What do you see
that was not there before?

456
 Step 5
This image was captured using a powerful microscope. A
small piece of the underside of a leaf is magnified. Make
observations, as if you are using the microscope.
Did you notice the structures in the shape of mouths?
Carbon dioxide and oxygen move into and out of a plant’s
leaves through the opening in the center of each structure.
The structures on either side of the opening swell in size to
close the hole. They shrink in size to open the hole. Turn and
talk with a partner to discuss what these two gases are.
Examine the parts of the system plants use for moving gases.

Another Structure next to the Opening

The two structures around the opening work Leaf Opening
together as a system. They swell and shrink at Gases can move into and out of
the same time to let gases in and out of the leaf. the leaf through this opening.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Structure next to the Opening

This structure swells to make the opening
smaller. When this happens, less gases
can pass in and out of the leaf.

457
 Hands-On Activity

Step 6
Use what you have learned to draw a model. Show how carbon
dioxide and oxygen cycle between organisms in the
environment. Make sure to include a consumer and a producer
in your diagram. Use arrows to show the flow of matter. Also
show where and how energy from the sun is used.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

458
 Use Models
Use your observations and the model you drew to explain how
producers make their food using carbon dioxide.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how plants use carbon dioxide and where and
how plants get this matter. Support your claim with evidence from
your investigation. Explain your reasoning to connect your claim
to your evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

459
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored how the gases carbon dioxide and
oxygen cycle, check your learning with this question.

Use what you have learned about plants and carbon dioxide to
complete the sentence.

oxygen / carbon dioxide and

Consumers breathe in
breathe out carbon dioxide / oxygen while producers use
the carbon dioxide /oxygen to make food.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Allstarecho/Wikimedia Commons

Great Job! You have finished Day 5.

460
DAY 6

Plant Food Factories

So far you’ve learned that plants need light, water, and carbon dioxide to
make food. But how do the plants do it?
Plants are called producers because they produce their own food. Plants
change carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and food using a process
called photosynthesis. Light energy from the sun is also needed for
photosynthesis to take place. During this process, the energy from
sunlight is changed into energy stored in the food.
A plant is like a factory for making food. Power to run the factory comes
from the sun. Materials move in and out of the factory. Some of the plant
structures that do the work inside the factory are very tiny.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

During the process of photosynthesis, The water then moves up into the stem
plants absorb water through their roots. and leaves of the plants.

Plants have structures that capture light Within the structures, light energy is used
energy from the Sun. Plants take in a gas to change carbon dioxide and water into
called carbon dioxide from the air. sugars and a gas called oxygen. Sugars
are how plants store energy. The oxygen
is released into the air.

461
You have learned that a plant needs carbon dioxide, water, and light
energy to carry out photosynthesis. You’ve explored the plant parts
related to each of these.
Now apply what you’ve learned to develop a model. Draw a diagram that
you can use to show the cycling of matter that allows producers such as
plants to make their own food.
• Label the parts of the system.
• Draw arrows to show where matter moves.
• Include the source of energy that plants need to make food.

Language SmArts: Using the model you drew, write a paragraph

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

explaining how producers make their own food using sunlight,
water, and carbon dioxide. Begin with an introduction sentence
and end with a concluding sentence. Be sure to check your
spelling and punctuation.

462
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored how producers make their own food,
check your learning with this question.

Which of the following are necessary for the process of photosynthesis to

take place? Circle all that apply.

A. water
B. sugar
C. oxygen
D. light energy
E. carbon dioxide
F. soil
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©potowizard/Getty Images

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

463
DAY 7

Engineering in Careers
Now explore some ways engineers use their understanding of how
producers make food to solve problems related to farming.

Agricultural Engineering
Agricultural engineers are people who use their understanding of science
to solve problems related to farming. They improve farm productivity,
increase safety, and try to reduce the impact of farming on the
environment. Some agricultural engineers develop new systems for
growing crops. Others design devices and machines used in farming. Still
others think of new ways to control pests or get enough water to plants.
Examine the pictures to discover more about agricultural engineering.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jim Richardson/Corbis

Seed banks are places where crop seeds can be stored safely for the future. Agricultural engineers
design seed banks in case a disease or pest destroys an entire species of plant that people use
for food.

464
 Crop rotation is a system of
farming based on evidence
that different species of plants
affect soil in different ways.
Some plants rob the soil of
materials needed for healthy
growth. Others put these
materials back into the soil.
Crop rotation involves
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Nick Suydam/Alamy, (c) ©manfredxy/istock Getty Images Plus/Getty Images,

planting different crops in a

field in different years.

Agricultural engineers also

design many kinds of systems
to control pests without
harming people and
the environment.
(b) ©Milan Stojanovic/istock Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Drip irrigation is used to

supply enough water to grow
certain crops. Agricultural
engineers design the
equipment and systems
for getting the water where
it is needed.

465
What’s the Right Amount?
Some engineers specialize in improving irrigation systems that water
plants. Delivering the right amount of water and minimizing waste are key
criteria in an irrigation system design. One way to do this is to deliver the
water close to the plants’ roots. This type of system is made by burying
plastic pipes with holes in them along rows of plants.

Another irrigation solution

uses sprinklers on wheels. The
sprinkler nozzles can spray
less or more water, as needed.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Lisa Kyle Young/Getty Images, (b) ©Siegfried Schnepf/Fotolia
The wheels allow the
sprinklers to move slowly
across large fields.

For thousands of years,

farmers have designed
terraces for growing crops on
mountains. Terraces are flat
fields with walls around them.
When it rains, a terrace holds
water that plants need,
stopping water from flowing
down the mountain.

Suppose you are an agricultural engineer. What kinds of weather patterns

would you look for to decide if a farmer needs to use an irrigation
solution? What kinds of plant growth patterns would you look for to
decide if an irrigation system should be improved?

466
 Let’s say you have a plant growing in a container indoors. Your plant
needs a little water each day to stay healthy. The problem is that your
family will be away for a few days. How can you continue the watering
pattern your plant needs while you are away?
Talk with a partner about how to solve the problem. Together, draw a
diagram to show your solution to the problem. Use patterns in what you
have learned about plant needs to design a solution to the problem. Share
and communicate your solution.
Make a plan to communicate in another setting. Plan to communicate
your solution to someone in your community.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

467
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your
explorations in this lesson, go back and
review your ideas about the Guiding
Question from the start of this lesson.
Use what you have learned to answer
the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How do these plants get the energy and matter they need to
grow without soil?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the
lesson and give reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©erkaly/Shutterstock

Great Job! You have finished Day 7.

468
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Gilles DeCruyenaere/Shutterstock

Name
TEKS 4.12.B • DAY 1

Date

Flow in Food Webs

Matter and Energy

469
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will make a model to show how matter and energy cycle
through a food web. Before getting started, revisit what you already know
about the flow of energy in a food chain.
Recall that food chains tell which organisms depend on other organisms
for food.

A B C D

A The sun is a source of energy for producers.

B Producers make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.

C Consumers get energy by eating other organisms.

D The arrows in a food chain represent the flow of energy.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

470
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to the cycling of matter.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Ronnie Jensen/EyeEm/Getty Images, (tr) ©Mashabuba/E+/Getty Images,

producer consumer
A living thing, such as a plant, that can make its A living thing that cannot make its own food
own food. and must eat other living things.
(br) ©feng67/Adobe Stock

food web decomposer

A group of food chains that overlap. A living thing that gets energy by breaking
down dead organisms and animal waste into
simpler substances.

471
Can You Explain It?
This question will guide your learning throughout the lesson.

GUIDING QUESTION

How do organisms get their energy and matter?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Brian Kelly/iStockPhoto.com, (r) ©HMH
Rabbits are plant eaters. This rabbit is eating Like rabbits, humans eat plants. Food is
grass and clover. The rabbit gets energy that matter that contains energy that people
it needs to live from the plants that it eats. need to survive. How do plants get the
Where do the plants get the energy that they matter and energy that they need to survive
need to live? before they are eaten?

What do you notice about these organisms and their food?

What do you wonder about these organisms and their food?

472 Great Job! You have finished Day 1.

DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Have you ever wondered why you feel more
alert or energized after eating a good snack or
meal? This is because the food you eat
contains energy!
You can trace the energy you get from food
back to its origins by using a food chain. A
food chain is the pathway that food takes
through an ecosystem. It shows the
movement of energy and matter from one
organism to another.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Juergen Faelchle/Shutterstock

Many types of organisms live together in an

ecosystem. They each play a different role in a food
chain. Plants are producers. They use light energy from the sun
to make food. Some of the energy from plants is passed to the
animals that eat them. These animals are called consumers.
Decomposers return leftover matter to the environment.
Food webs are more complex than food chains. This is because
some organisms eat a wide variety of foods.
Ask a question about how energy flows in a food web.

Possible Materials Safety

• list of producers, consumers, Keep yarn off the floor
and decomposers within a to avoid tripping.
prairie ecosystem
• ball of yellow yarn
• tape
• index cards

473
 Hands-On Activity

Making a Food Web

Step 1
Think about the organism
that you have been assigned
to represent. Write the
organism’s name on one side
of an index card. On the other
side, write the diet and the
predator of your organism.

Step 2
Stand in a big circle with the
class. Hold up your index card.
(If you are the sun, stand in the
center of the circle.)

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 3
Read about your organism from the card. Tell how your
organism gets its energy (what food it eats) and who it gives
energy to (what eats it). Go around the circle until everyone
has shared.
• The student representing the sun should hold the end of the yellow yarn ball
tightly and toss the ball to an organism that uses that energy (a producer).
• When the student representing the producer catches the ball of yarn, they
hold on to a piece of string from the yarn ball and throw the rest of the ball
to an organism that can use that energy and matter (a consumer). Make sure
the string is still attached to the ball.
• The yarn ball should keep being tossed to other consumers until it lands
on a decomposer. Cut the string to represent one food chain.

Step 4
Return the yarn to the sun to start another food chain. Continue
making food chains until every student holds at least one strand
of yarn. You have now developed a model of a food web.

474
 Step 5
Imagine that a producer has been removed from the area so a new
building can be built. Have one producer and all the organisms that
consume it and each other leave the food web.

Examine
Think about the model of a food web you just made. What happens
to food webs if any of the parts change?

Use Models
Look at the model your class just made. Use the model to describe
the following:

the role of the sun in a food

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

the flow of energy in a food

the cycling of matter in a food web

475
 Hands-On Activity

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about the how energy and matter flow in a food web.
Support your claim with evidence from the model of your food web
and explain your reasoning.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

476
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored a model of a food web,
check your learning with this question.

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Wolf Avni/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 2. 477

DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
On Day 2, you made a model of a
food web and saw that most food
chains lead to decomposers.
Decomposers are organisms like
mushrooms and earthworms that
break down organic material. Many
decomposers are microscopic.
All plant and animal matter decays.
Decomposers help recycle that
matter back into the soil. This is
because producers depend on

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©yakonstant/Shutterstock

decomposers to get their nutrients.
Decomposers may be eaten by consumers, continuing the
flow of matter and energy in a cycle.
Ask a question about what happens to a fallen tree or a
discarded piece of fruit that is left outside for a long time.

Possible Materials Safety

• apple slices Wash your hands
after handling materials.
• flowerpots filled with soil and
apple slices
Wear gloves to protect
• plastic spoon your hands.
• small brush
• digital balance
• hand lens
• gloves

478
 Break It Down
Step 1
Observe a slice of fresh apple that you get from your
teacher. Do not eat the apple slice. Weigh the apple
slice on the digital scale to find the mass to the nearest
gram. Record your observations in the data table below.

Step 2
Receive a flowerpot filled with soil from your teacher.
Buried inside the soil is a slice of apple that is several
days old. Use a spoon to dig up the apple slice.

Step 3
Gently brush the dirt off the apple slice with a small brush.
Be sure to not break the apple. Do not taste it.

Step 4
Closely observe the slice of apple. Find the mass of the apple
slice on the digital scale. Measure to the nearest gram.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Record your observations in the data table below.

Data for Apple Slices

Item Weight (g) Observations

Fresh apple slice

Buried apple slice

Analyze Data
Write about what you observed in your investigation. Compare
the buried apple slice with the fresh apple slice. How has the
buried slice changed? What do you think happened?

479
Analyze Results
If we used a microscope and looked at the rotten apple, we would
see tiny microorganisms. These are decomposers.
Think of your fresh and rotten apple slices. Describe the role of
decomposers in the flow of energy and in the cycling of matter. What do
you think would happen if decomposers were not part of food webs?

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Think of the apple investigation. Make a claim about whether or not all
food chains end with decomposers. Support your claim with
evidence from your investigation and explain your reasoning.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

480
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored more about the cycling of matter
in food webs, check your learning with this question.

A tree has mushrooms growing on one side. What are

mushrooms, and what are these organisms doing?

A. Mushrooms are producers. They are making their own food.

B. Mushrooms are consumers. They are eating the tree.

C. Mushrooms are producers. They are providing the tree

with food.

D. Mushrooms are decomposers. They are breaking down a part

of the tree.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jukka Palm/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 3. 481

DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
A food web shows how energy flows and
matter cycles in an ecosystem. Organisms
need energy and matter to stay alive.
Energy helps organisms grow, reproduce,
and carry out other life processes. Matter
gives organisms nutrients that they need. It
is recycled within the ecosystem.
Ask a question about using a model to
show and to describe the flow of energy.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©donyanedomam/Fotolia

Possible Materials Safety
• shoebox Be careful when using
sharp objects like scissors
• construction paper
to cut materials.
• modeling clay
• scissors
• markers
• glue sticks
• toothpicks
• string
• other craft materials as needed

482
 Modeling a Food Web, Part 1

Step 1
Work with a partner. Together, choose an ecosystem from
the choices your teacher gives you.

Step 2
Beginning with the sun, research food webs that are found in your
ecosystem. As part of your research, investigate how the consumers
are dependent on producers and other organisms for food.

Step 3
Decide how you will display your food web using the provided
materials. For example, you can make a diorama box to show your food
web. Your model must show each organism’s role in the food web.

Step 4
Sketch the design for your model below. Draw a flowchart of the
ecosystem using arrows to show the flow of energy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

483
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored your food web within the ecosystem,
check your learning with this question.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

How does the energy and food matter move from the producers
to the fox in this food web?

A. The rabbit eats the raspberry bushes, the bird eats the rabbit,
and the fox eats the bird.

B. The grasshopper eats the raspberry bushes, the rabbit eats

the grasshopper, and the fox eats the rabbit.

C. The bird eats the raspberry bushes, and the fox eats the bird.

D. The spider eats the grasses, the grasshopper eats the spider,
the bird eats the grasshopper, and the fox eats the bird.

484 Great job! You have finished Day 4.

DAY 5

Name Date

Hands-On Activity

In Part 1 of the Modeling a Food Web

Hands-On Activity, you researched a
food web within an ecosystem. You
designed and drew how the food
web will look. You planned what to
include in your model and what
materials you will use. Now you will
construct your food web model.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Christian Heinrich/Getty Images

Ask a question about the different

parts of your food web.

Possible Materials Safety

• sketch of food web model Be careful when using
from Part 1 sharp objects like scissors
to cut materials.
• shoebox
• construction paper
• modeling clay
• scissors
• markers
• glue sticks
• toothpicks
• strings
• other craft materials as needed

485
 Hands-On Activity

Modeling a Food Web: Part 2

Step 1
Develop your model to represent a
food web. Use a shoebox, modeling
clay, construction paper, and/or
other craft materials to represent the
different parts of your ecosystem’s
food web, like organisms. Make sure
you represent the flow of energy and
the cycle of matter within your
ecosystem.

Step 2
Review your model with your partner. Make any adjustments
or improvements to the model as needed. Use your model
to explain to others how energy and matter move through
the system.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Examine Parts of a System
Recall when your class acted out different parts of a food web
using yarn. The sun was in the center of the circle.
Study the model of the food web that you just made. What is
the role of the sun in this food web?

486
 Analyze Quantity
Look at your food web model. Describe the quantity of producers
represented in your model compared to the quantity of consumers.
Describe the role of producers in your food web. Include the words
matter and energy.

Examine Parts of a System

Refer to your model. Describe the role of consumers in your food web.
Include the words matter and energy.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about the flow of energy and cycle of matter within a
food web. Support your claim with evidence from your model and explain
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

your reasoning.

487
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the flow of energy and cycle of
matter in a food web, check your learning by matching the term
to its meaning.

eats other
decomposer
organisms

breaks down
producer
matter

gives energy to
consumer
plants

sun makes its own food

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

488
DAY 6

Science in Careers
Now investigate the careers of people who study decomposers,
namely mushrooms!

Mycologist
For years, scientists believed that fungi such as mushrooms were a type
of plant. We since have learned how different fungi and plants really are.
The study of fungi is known as mycology. Mycologists are the people who
study fungi. Mycologists often have degrees in other scientific disciplines.
Some may have medical degrees, for example. They may study the
properties of fungi. Certain fungi can be made into medicines that help
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

people overcome diseases or other problems. These mycologists usually

work in labs.
Look at each image and read each caption to learn more about mycology.

Mycologists often study fungi in the field, or where it grows naturally. This can
help them understand how it helps nutrients cycle through the environment.

489
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Marcin Pieciun/EyeEm/Getty Images, (c) ©Hero Images/Getty Images,
By studying fungi in the field, mycologists can learn more about the conditions
that help them thrive.

Other mycologists study fungi in labs where they can watch it grow and break
down dead organic material in controlled conditions. They can also study its
medicinal properties.

(b) ©Dr. Morley Read/Shutterstock

Mycologists can combine what they learn in the field and in labs to help develop
medicines to fight diseases. Other mycologists study the life functions of fungi
and how they interact with the environment.

490
 Because of their work, mycologists now know that fungi take in food for
energy in ways similar to animals. They break down organic matter, which
gives them energy to grow. They also process nutrients and return them to
the soil. This contributes to the recycling of matter to the
environment. Examples of fungi include mushrooms, molds, and yeast.

Match each word to its definition.

make their own food for

mycologist
energy

a person who studies

fungi
fungi

plants the study of fungi

get energy by
mycology breaking down dead
matter
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Language SmArts: Using your knowledge of a food web, explain

why it is important that mycologists study fungi.

491
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations in this lesson,
revisit the pictures from the start of the lesson.
Think about the flow of energy and the cycle of matter.

Rabbits are plant eaters. This rabbit is eating Like rabbits, humans eat plants. Food is
grass and clover. The rabbit gets energy that matter that contains energy that people
it needs to live from the plants that it eats. need to survive. How do plants get the
Where do the plants get the energy that they matter and energy that they need to survive
need to live? before they are eaten?
Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start
of this lesson. Now use what you have learned to answer the question.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

GUIDING QUESTION

How do organisms get their energy and matter?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson and give
reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

492 Great job! You have finished Day 6.

 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Almudena Marcos Medrano/Alamy

Name
TEKS 4.12.C • DAY 1

Environments
Fossils and Past
Date

493
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will identify and describe past environments based
on fossil evidence, including common Texas fossils. Before getting
started, think about what you already know about past environments
and fossil evidence.
Study the pictures to discover more about what is and what is not a
fossil. Then decide if each picture shows a fossil.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©paocca/Getty Images, (tr) ©lvenks/Getty Images,
(cl) ©Todd Gipstein/Getty Images, (cr) ©Jultud/Getty Images, (bl) ©suprunvitaly/Getty Images
This shell was pressed into the soft mud on These shells belonged to animals that died
the seafloor a long time ago and is now rock. on the beach not long ago.

These footprints were left behind as the These footprints were made long ago in soft
organism walked in the sand. mud. They are now in a rock.

A strong storm knocked this tree over.

The wood is starting to decay.

494
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson by
exploring vocabulary terms related to past environments
and fossils.
(tr) ©Image Source/Getty Images, (bl) ©wrangel/iStock/Getty Images, (br) ©Georgette Douwma/Photodisc/Getty Images
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Marcio Jose Bastos Silva/Shutterstock,

fossil aquatic
The remains or traces of an organism that Something that exists in or on water.
lived long ago.

terrestrial environment
Something that exists in or on land. All the living and nonliving things that
surround and affect an organism.

495
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How do fossils inform us about the past

environment in Texas?

Look at the fossil picture. What do you notice

about the fossils?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©immimagery/Adobe Stock

What do you wonder about the fossil?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

496
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
An environment includes all the living and nonliving things
that surround and affect an organism. Environments can be
terrestrial or on land. They can also be aquatic or in water.

Ask a question about the clues fossils provide as evidence

to help us describe past environments.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Materials
• past environment images
• fossil images

497
 Hands-On Activity

Fossils as Evidence, Part 1

(bll) ©William Cushman/Shutterstock, (blr) ©Michael Rosskothen/Adobe Stock, (brl) ©Josh Schneider/Shutterstock, (brr) ©Fiona Ayerst/Shutterstock
Step 1

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (trl) ©benedek/E+/Getty Images, (trr) ©Sundry Photography/Shutterstock,
Study each pair of pictures. All the fossils you see were found in
Texas. They are millions of years old. What can you tell about the
environment during the time the fossilized organism was living?
Look for clues about whether the environment was most likely
terrestrial or aquatic.

This is a fossil of a cycad cone and a live Here is a fossil of a fern and a live fern
cycad. Cycads are palmlike plants that plant. Ferns don’t have seeds or flowers,
have large cones. Cycads live in tropical but reproduce from spores.
and subtropical regions.

This is the fossil of a Mosasaur in a Here is a fossil of a shark tooth next to a

museum next to an artist’s drawing of a photo of a swimming bull shark and its
Mosasaur. Mosasaurs were aquatic young.
reptiles, somewhat like lizards.

498
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tll) ©Science Stock Photography/Science Source, (tlr) ©Candice/Adobe Stock, (trl)
©Science Stock Photography/Science Source, (bll) ©Philip Gould/Getty Images, (blr) ©Herschel Hoffmeyer/Adobe Stock, (brl) ©imageBROKER/Alamy,

This is a shellfish fossil next to modern Here is the fossil of an ammonite, an

oyster shells. These shells are bivalves invertebrate mollusk, and an artist’s
that have two hinged parts. recreation of an ammonite.

This is the fossil of an Alamosaurus in a Look at the head of this Tyrannosaurus

museum next to an artist’s drawing of an rex that was found in Texas and next to
Alamosaurus. The Alamosaurus was a an artist’s recreation of a T-Rex.
gigantic dinosaur with a long neck and Tyrannosaurus with its massive skull and
long limbs. long tail lived throughout western North
America.

Step 2
(brr) ©Mark Lewis/Adobe Stock, (b) ©HMH

Sort the pictures of fossils

you studied into two
groups—one for terrestrial
fossils and one for aquatic
fossils. Then use a separate
sheet of paper to construct
a concept map that
identifies and describes
each fossil.

499
Exit Ticket
Your backyard might once have been at the bottom of a sea. Fossils in your
area can tell you whether that was the case. Now check what you have
learned about how fossils provide evidence of past environments.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©pedrobingham/iStock/Getty Images, (tr) ©benedek/E+/Getty Images,
Ammonites were animals that lived in Ferns are plants that live in warm, moist

(bl) ©Fred Hirschmann/RGB Ventures/SuperStock/Alamy, (br) ©Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images

coiled shells. They moved by squirting environments such as rain forests. This
jets of water from their bodies. fossil is an imprint of a fern leaf.

Fish use their fins and tails to move. They Snails are small animals with coiled shells.
often move in large groups called schools. They slide slowly along surfaces with one
flat foot made of muscle.

500
 Read the descriptions of these fossils above. Then decide whether the organism lived in
a land or a water environment. Answers can be used more than once, and some
organisms may have lived in both land and water. Write your answers in the chart.

land both land and water water

Ammonite
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©pedrobingham/iStock/Getty Images, (tr) ©benedek/E+/Getty Images,

Fern
(bl) ©Fred Hirschmann/RGB Ventures/SuperStock/Alamy, (br) ©Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images

Fish

Snail

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

501
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
In Part 1 of Fossils as Evidence, you studied many pictures of
Texas fossils. You sorted past environments by whether they
were terrestrial or aquatic.

Ask a question about how fossil structures can help you

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

decide what type of environment an organism lived in. Use
information from Part 1 of your investigation to help you ask
your question.

Possible Materials
• Internet access for research
• observations and answers
from previous activity

502
 Fossils as Evidence, Part 2
Step 3
• Look back at the fossils you examined in the previous activity. Choose one.
• Make observations on how big it was and what physical structures it had,
such as branches or teeth.
• Research what it needed from its environment to survive.
• Identify, and then draw a picture of its aquatic or terrestrial environment.
• Use your picture to describe the environment to another student.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Structure and Function

Think about the structure of your fossil. Did it have legs, fins, or
a stem? Did it move and eat? If so, how? How did the structure
help the animal survive? How did you use that fossil evidence to
draw your environment? What did your environment provide
that the plant or animal needed to live? Use the table below to
explain the relationship between the structure and its function
in the organism’s environment.

503
 Hands-On Activity

Record your analysis in the table.

Structures I observed in my fossil

How the structures probably

functioned

Type of environment the

organism must have lived in

Features I included in my
environment drawing

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Something I could not tell about
the past environment from
my fossil

Fossils come from a time long before people recorded

information about places or things that happen.
• How do people now record events that happened to them in the past?
• Why is it important to keep records of things that happened long ago?
Share your ideas with a classmate.

504
 Language SmArts: As you have discovered in the investigation,
your backyard might once have been at the bottom of a sea. Fossils
in your area can tell you whether that is true. However, fossils cannot
provide information about every aspect of a past environment.
A
 scientist has been asked to describe a past environment based
only on evidence from fossils. Using information from your
investigation, define the problem the scientist is facing.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim to describe your fossil’s environment. Support your claim
with evidence, and explain the reasoning you used in choosing that
evidence.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

505
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored identifying and describing past environments
in Texas based on fossil evidence, check your learning with this question.

Use evidence from the fossil to complete the sentences.

a terrestrial environment. /
This fish fossil is evidence of
an aquatic environment.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:

Fossil evidence of an organism with structures that would allow it to
function in a terrestrial environment would include arms and legs. /
fins and gills.

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

506
DAY 4

Stem Careers
People who study fossils use different aspects of science
and technology. Scientists might focus on determining
the age of rocks. They might specialize in the study of
only fossilized plants or certain groups of animals. They
might study specific structures and how they functioned
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tr) ©Bettmann/Getty Images, (bl) ©Carole Hickman/Carole Hickman

in ancient life forms.

Read about these scientists’ careers involving multiple
aspects of science.

Tilly Edinger
In the 1920s, most paleontologists
studied how extinct animals lived.
Tilly Edinger, however, wanted to
know more about their brains. She
became one of the founders of
paleoneurology. Paleoneurology is
the study of ancient brains. She was
a paleoneurologist.

Birbal Sahni
As a child in India, Birbal Sahni loved playing outdoors.
He developed an interest in plants and stones. When he
went to college, he studied plants. Later, while working on
his degree in England, he also became interested in fossil
plants. The study of ancient plants and their environments
is known as paleobotany. Sahni was a paleobotanist.

Dr. Carole S. Hickman

As a professor and scientist at the
University of California, Berkeley,
Carole Hickman works as both a
paleobiologist and a geologist. A
paleobiologist is a person who
studies ancient life. A geologist is a
person who studies Earth and its
processes.

507
 Language SmArts
Interview a Scientist
Suppose you had an opportunity to
interview Tilly Edinger, Birbal Sahni, or Dr.
Carole Hickman about his or her career. A
good interview requires preparation. How
would you plan ahead for your interview?
The following steps can help you, as an
interviewer, prepare to interview scientists
about their careers.
1. Explore and research their careers to learn more about them.
2. Prepare interview questions for the scientist. When coming up with
questions, think about what you would like to know. For example,
how did the scientist become interested in their field?
Instead of interviewing these scientists directly, conduct research to find
answers to the questions you have prepared. You may use multiple resources,
such as the library, museums, professional organizations, private companies,
online platforms, and mentors to investigate their career in STEM. Use facts
from the scientist’s own life to answer the questions accurately.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©AP Images

• In the first row, identify the scientist you would interview.
• Then, in the left column, list questions you would ask the scientist that
you chose.
• Then, in the right column, show what the scientist’s answers would be,
based on your research.

Question Answer

Which scientist did you choose?

508
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored scientific careers that involve the
study of study fossils, check your learning with this question.

List the resource(s) that you have used for your research. What are other
resources you could have used?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Peter Cripps/Alamy

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

509
DAY 5

Careers in Science
Language SmArts
Museum Director
Museums are places that preserve rare and valuable objects of all
kinds so that people can continue to learn from them. Whether
the objects are art, artifacts, or natural formations, preserving
them requires science and problem-solving.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Kayte Deioma/ZUMA Press Inc/Corbis

510
 Dr. Agustín Arteaga is the director of the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas.
Appointed in 2016, Arteaga has curated a major exhibition of Mexican art
in addition to his duties as director. These duties include raising money for
the museum, speaking at events, and overseeing the addition of new art
to the museum’s collection.
Museum directors often begin their careers with a bachelor’s degree in
business, management, art, or various sciences—such as paleontology or
archaeology. While working on their master’s degree, they may intern at a
museum. After graduating, they usually have to work in entry-level
positions, such as assistant or research associate. They then progress to
museum curator before moving up to director.
What else would you like to know about a museum director? Write two
more interview questions in the space below.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

511
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your exploration in
this lesson, revisit the fossil pictures from the start
of the lesson.
Go back and review your ideas about the Guiding
Question from the start of this lesson. Now use what
you have learned to answer the question.

Imagine you find a rock that

GUIDING QUESTION looks as if it could have been
a shell. It’s not like other
How do fossils inform us about the past rocks around it. Is this a
environment in Texas? clue that could tell you what
the environment was like
long ago?
Use evidence from the exploration in the lesson to

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©immimagery/Adobe Stock

support your answer to the Guiding Question.

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

512
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©buburuzaproductions/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Name
TEKS 4.13.A • DAY 1

Structures and
Functions of Plants
Date

513
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will explore different structures of plants and
explain how they help the plant survive in their different
environments. Before getting started, think about what you
already know about the different structures of animals and how
these structures help the animal to survive.
Birds and fish have structures that help them survive in their
environments. Look at the two animals, think about the structures
that help them to survive.

A fish uses its tail to swim through water by

moving it side-to-side. A streamlined body
helps the fish move quickly.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: tk

The goosander eats fish. It has a serrated
bill with tooth-like structures. It uses them
to grip its prey.

The Goffin’s cockatoo lives on fruits, nuts,

and berries. Its beak is not serrated like the
goosander’s. Instead, it has a large,
curved, and very powerful beak. It uses its
beak to crack open shells.

Eagles, such as this golden eagle, have

very large, hooked beaks. These beaks are
well suited for tearing the flesh off other
small animals.

514
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson
by exploring vocabulary terms related to plant structures
and functions.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) tk, (tr) ©DEA / C.DANI / I.JESKE/De Agostini/Getty Images,

structure adaptation
Things made of parts assembled in a A trait or characteristic that helps an
certain way. organism survive.
(bl) ©Imagebroker/Alamy, (br) ©HMH

stem
The part of a plant that holds it up and has
tubes that carry water, minerals, and
nutrients through the plant.

root
A plant part that is usually underground and
absorbs water and minerals from the soil.

515
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

How do the structures of this plant help the plant

survive in its environment?

There are over 500 species of aloe. Their

thick, waxy leaves are adapted to harsh
climates with little rain. Many aloes also
have sharp spines to protect themselves.
Aloe vera is the most well known of all the
aloe species. This plant originates from the
Arabian Peninsula, and aloe’s parenchyma

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (b) ©Christopher Moswitzer/Shutterstock
tissue is the gel used in everyday products
such as food, dishwashing liquid, herbal
remedies, and cosmetics.

What do you notice about the plant?

What do you wonder about the plant?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

516
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
A structure is a physical part of living things. Many of
these are special adaptations that help the plant survive.
A system is a set of parts that work together to perform a
function. The structures of a plant work together in a
system to perform the functions the plant needs to survive.
Plants have two main systems: roots and shoots. Roots
grow below ground. Shoots, which include leaves, stems,
buds, flowers, and fruit, typically grow above ground. A
plant is a system made of different parts.
Ask a Question about the different parts of a plant.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Natasha Breen/Adobe Stock

Possible Materials
• hand lens • root vegetables such as radishes, carrots, turnips,
• variety of leaves parsnips, green onions, or pulled weeds
• variety of seeds • tweezers

Safety
When outside, stay with your Wear gloves when handling
teacher, and stay away from any part of a plant.
roadways.
Do not eat any part of a
When outside, do not look plant or any other material
directly at the sun. used in a lab.
 hen outside, be aware of
W Wash your hands thoroughly
your environment. Inform your after handling any plant.
teacher of changing weather
Be careful when using
conditions or nearby wildlife.
sharp objects like scissors
When outside, do not touch to cut materials.
any unfamiliar plants.

517
 Hands-On Activity

Observing Plant Structures,

Part 1
Step 1
Make a plan to observe and compare
structures of different plants and explore
how those structures help plants survive.

Step 2
Prepare for your field investigation by
reviewing safe practices with your teacher.

Step 3
Once outside, put on your safety gloves. Use a hand lens to
observe and examine at least three different types of plants.
For each plant, identify the structures you can see. Record
your observations of each structure.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: tk

Step 4
Observe the set of plants together. Record your observations of
how the plant structures are the same and how they are different
between the plants. Record observations that give you
information about how the structures help the plants survive.

518
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the structures of different plants found
outside, check your learning with this question.

A student notices that they do not have any observations of root structures
from their field investigation. Why is this? What would the student need to
do in order to observe root structures?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Natasha Breen/Adobe Stock

Great Job! You have finished Day 2.

519
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
People eat many different plant
structures. For example, the leaves
of spinach plants can be used in
salads. Both the stems and leaves
of green onion plants can be used
to add flavor to dishes. The roots of
carrot plants can be part of a
healthy snack.
In Part 1 of the Observing Plant
Structures Hands-On Activity, you

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Natasha Breen/Adobe Stock
observed the structures of plants in
an outside area near your school. Now in Part 2 you will
observe the structures of some plants that are often used for
food. Think how they help the plant survive.
Ask a Question about the structures of plants and how
they help the plant survive.

Possible Materials Safety

• hand lens Be careful when using
• variety of leaves sharp objects like scissors
to cut materials.
• variety of seeds
Wash your hands
• root vegetables such as radishes,
thoroughly after handling
carrots, turnips, parsnips, green
any plant.
onions, or pulled weeds
• tweezers Do not eat any part of a
plant or any other material
used in a lab.

520
 Observing Plant Structures,
Part 2
Step 1
Make a plan to collect observations of four
different root vegetable plant structures. You will
use your observations as evidence to compare
the structures. Organize your notes so you can
easily compare your observations.

Step 2
Use a hand lens to examine and observe at least three different types of
plant leaves. Record your observations. Describe how they are the same
and how they are different. Record observations that give you information
about how the leaf structures function to help the plants survive.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 3
Use a hand lens to examine and observe at least three different types of
plant stems. Record your observations. Describe how they are the same and
different. Record observations that give you information about how the
stem structures function to help the plants survive.

521
 Hands-On Activity

Step 4
Use a hand lens to examine and observe at least three different types of
plant roots. Record your observations. Describe how they are the same
and different. Record observations that give you information about how
the root structures function to help the plants survive.

Step 5
Examine at least three different types of seeds. Record your
observations. Describe how they are the same and how they are
different. Record observations that give you information about how the
seed structures function to help the plants survive.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Develop Explanations
Think about your observations of the leaves, stems, roots, and seeds.
How were the leaves from different plants similar and different? Use your
observations of the different leaves to explain how the leaf structures help
the plants survive in their environments.

522
 Analyze
Think about your observations of plant roots. Explain how the different
structures of plant roots are adaptations that help plants meet their needs
and survive in different environments.

Think about your observations of plant seeds. How are the seeds
different? Predict how their structure affects how they move, and
how this helps the plant.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how different plant structures help the plant
survive. Support your claim with evidence from the exploration
and explain your reasoning.

523
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the different plant structures, check your
learning with this question.

Circle all the structures that are parts of plants.

A. leaves
B. fingernails
C. roots
D. legs
E. stems
F. flowers
G. seeds

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

524
DAY 4

Functions of Plant Parts

A plant has different structures that perform different functions. When
you look around at different plants, you see they often have similar
structures—roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and more. But as you observed
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©blickwinkel/Hecker/Alamy, (tr) ©Yuji Sakai/DigitalVision/Getty Images,

in the activity, structures do not look exactly the same in all plants. Leaves
and flowers differ in shape, size, and color. Some plants have thorns.
Others do not.
The look and function of structures often differ in ways that ensure the
survival of the plant in its specific environments. These are adaptations.
(bl) ©Photodisc/Getty Images, (br) ©Sergey Lunyov/Getty Images

A taproot can get water from deep underground, which can help a plant
survive a drought. It can also store food. Fibrous roots can quickly absorb
water and nutrients near the soil’s surface. They also help stop soil erosion.

Large, flat leaves capture sunlight. Having large leaves lets the plant absorb
more sunlight and make more food. The needles of evergreens, such as pine
trees, gather sunlight for the plant to make food. The needles’ shape and waxy
coating reduce water loss in dry weather.

525
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l1) ©Kohtaro Matsuzaki/EyeEm/Getty Images, (l2) ©Reinhardt Dallgass/EyeEm/
Woody stems help trees and shrubs stay Some plants, like roses, have thorns with
upright in strong winds. They also help sharp, pointed ends that can prevent animals
trees grow tall in order to get more from eating the plant. Tough, thick bark keeps
sunlight. Other plants like lavender have animals from eating trees and shrubs and can
green stems that hold the plants up and prevent bacteria from entering a plant and
support branches, leaves, and other parts. causing disease. Cacti have modified leaves
Stems also move water and nutrients called spines that protect the plant from
between different plant structures. animals and help it retain water.

Getty Images, (r1) ©Chase Kimmet/EyeEm/Getty Images, (r2) ©Shutterstock, (r3) ©khuntapol/Getty Images
Every plant structure has a function. If a plant structure like the roots or
the stem is damaged, it will not function effectively. Plants cannot survive
when plant structures are not performing their functions effectively.

Use what you have learned about the function of plant structures to match each
cause with its effect on the plant system.

The leaves of a plant

The plant will not survive
have been damaged
because the roots are not able to
by cold temperatures
absorb the water and nutrients
and are unable to
the plant needs to survive.
make food.

The plant will not survive because

Strong winds
the leaves produce the food
have torn a plant
that is needed by all structures
from the soil.
in the plant to survive.

The stems of a plant The plant will not survive because

have been crushed the stems will not be able to
by people walking transport water and nutrients
on them. throughout the plant.

526
 Think about how plant structures are adaptations that function in ways to
help them survive in their environment.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©matthew/Adobe Stock, (tr) ©Oleg Kovtun/Dreamstime,

The spines on desert cacti help reduce water Plants with deep roots are able to reach water
loss through evaporation and protect the far underground, while plants with shallow
cactus from harm from animals. fibrous roots are better at absorbing water at
the Earth’s surface.

Waxy leaves like those on this aloe plant

reduce water evaporation.

Write one or two sentences to explain the plant structures and functions you saw in
(b) ©JJ van Ginkel/Adobe Stock

the photos.

527
Science and Society
The study of plant structures and their functions has many benefits to
science and society. Plants are valuable resources. We use them for
shelter, medicine, food, clothing, and so many more things!
Although each plant is unique, plants have common structures such as
roots, stems, and leaves.
Plants have also developed great adaptations that allow them to thrive in
their environments. Scientists study these adaptations and use what they
learn to advance science and help people in society. For instance, some
plant seeds are surrounded by burrs—structures with small hooks. These
hooks attach to the fur of nearby animals who spread the seeds to other
areas. These hooks inspired the invention of hook and loop fasteners.
Research a discovery scientists made while studying plants, and explain
how the discovery affected science and society.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

528
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored how different plant structures
and their functions are adaptations, check your learning with
this question.

How are thorns on a rose similar to spines on a cactus?

Circle the correct answer.

A. Both absorb nutrients from the soil.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Chase Kimmet/EyeEm/Getty Images, (c) ©Shutterstock,

B. Both protect plants from animals.

C. Both absorb water from soil.
D. Both hold plants upright.
(r) ©khuntapol/Getty Images

Great Job! You have finished Day 4.

529
DAY 5

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Plant are inspiring!
Scientists and engineers
study structures of plants
and then apply what they
learn to the human world.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Leslie Quiroz/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
They can design useful
devices that mimic or copy
the structures and how
they function.
Ask a Question about
designing solutions based
on the structures of plants.

Possible Materials Safety

• craft materials Be careful when using
• poster paper sharp objects like scissors
to cut materials.
• markers
• digital device
• scissors

530
 Engineer It:
Inspirations from Nature, Part 1
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©David Cornelius/Dreamstime, (tr) ©sdbower/Adobe Stock,

Over years, an oak tree can reach more than Oak tree roots are spread out and can reach
60 ft in height and more than 60 ft wide. Oaks far. Roots are entwined with the other trees’
provide large areas of shade and habitat for roots so they can stand up to strong winds.
other organisms. Each spring, the oak tree
bears flowers. And each fall, it drops acorns.
(bl) ©LindaPerez/Shutterstock, (br) ©Thomas Trompeter/Adobe Stock

The oak’s trunk, limbs, and branches are the The oak leaf has a protective outer surface
framework that holds the leaves up to the covered with wax which keeps it from drying
sunlight. The trunk and branches can spiral, out. Just under that is a layer where the leaf
which helps them bend instead of break in absorbs sunlight and creates food.
strong winds.

531
 Hands-On Activity

Step 1
Make a chart that lists the different structures
of an oak tree and their functions.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 2
Now brainstorm and list, in your chart, different problems that each of
these structures can help solve for humans.

Step 3
Make a model of the oak tree structures and label key functions of each
structure. Share your model with your classmates.

532
 Step 4
Think about what you know about oak trees and become an engineer
inspired by nature. Choose and define a problem you could solve with
inspiration from what you know about the structures and functions of an
oak. You will use engineering practices such as brainstorming and
modeling to design a solution to the problem.

Step 5
List the criteria you need to meet. Remember that criteria are the
features of a good solution to your problem. Reflect on the data you
reviewed about a tree and its unique structures and functions.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Step 6
Using the data about the oak tree and the model you made, brainstorm
and propose different solutions to the problem. Your solutions can use
multiple structures of an oak tree.

533
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the live oak tree structures and functions,
check your learning with this question.

Think about a tall building and compare it to a tall tree. What is an example
of a building function that is similar to a tree function?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Corbis, (r) ©Robert Glusic/Getty Images

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

534
DAY 6

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
A burdock burr is a seed that has burrs on
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©shantyboys/iStock/Getty Images, (r) ©stocksnapper/iStockPhoto.com

it. The burr’s function is to stick on passing

animals. The seeds will then sprout and
grow when they fall in a new place.
Hook and loop fasteners were designed to
mimic the structure of a burdock burr on
fur. The function of the hook side is to stick
to the loop side!
In Part 1 of the Engineer It: Inspirations from Nature Hands-On
Activity, you followed an engineering process by defining
problems and brainstorming solutions to these problems. Now in
Part 2 you will continue being an engineer inspired by nature and
construct your model.
Ask a Question about building your model inspired by nature.

Possible Materials Safety

• craft materials Be careful when using
• poster paper sharp objects like scissors
to cut materials.
• markers
Do not use equipment with
• digital device frayed electrical cords or
• scissors loose plugs.
• Do not use electrical equipment
near water, or when clothing or
hands are wet.
• Hold the plug when you plug in or
unplug equipment.

535
Engineer It:
Inspirations from Nature, Part 2
Step 1
Revisit your proposed solutions from Part 1. Pick one idea and develop
and draw a model of your design.

Step 2
Review your model. Propose your solution in writing and use
information from your model and the oak tree data to explain how your
solution will meet the criteria that you determined in Part 1.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 3
Prepare to develop a prototype of your design
based on your model. List the materials you will
use for your prototype. Build your prototype using
your materials.

536
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the structure of an oak tree to design a model
to solve a problem, check your learning with this question. Review the
diagram of an engineering process and reflect on the engineering
practices you are using in your Hands-On Activity.

Why did you have to explore and define a problem before making
and testing solutions?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: tk

Great Job! You have finished Day 6.

537
DAY 7

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Innovative solutions to problems
help the advancement of science.
By solving problems, we also
discover things that help us
understand more about science.
In Part 2 of the Inspirations from
Nature Hands-On Activity, you
built your prototype. Now in Part
3, you will present your design.
Ask a Question about presenting

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©olga_nosova/Adobe Stock

your design.

Possible Materials Safety

• craft materials Be careful when using
• poster paper sharp objects like scissors
to cut materials.
• markers
Do not use equipment with
• digital device frayed electrical cords or
• scissors loose plugs.
• Do not use electrical equipment
near water or when clothing or
hands are wet.
• Hold the plug when you plug in or
unplug equipment.

538
 Engineer It:
Inspirations from Nature, Part 3
Step 1
Think about different kinds of advertisements you have seen on
TV, heard on the radio, and seen in print or on the Internet.

Step 2
Working with a partner or a small group, make an advertisement
to communicate your solution.
• Choose at least two formats: TV, radio, or print or Internet advertisement.
• Describe the problem and why people should use it.
• Tell how your invention is inspired by nature.

Step 3
Present your advertisement to your class.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

Step 4
With your group, discuss how you would communicate your
solution in different settings, like speaking to a group of teachers
in your school.

539
 Hands-On Activity

Structure and Function

Explain how examining the relationship between structure and function in
the plant system helped you design your solution system.

Communicate a Solution
Evaluate the benefits and challenges of the different
communication formats used by your classmates.

What formats did you try? Which one did you prefer?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about engineering design using the structure and function
of plants. Support your claim with evidence from the exploration and
explain your reasoning.

540
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have presented your model inspired from the
structures of plants, check your learning with this question.

Some fruits grow on trees, but not all fruits grow on trees. Compare the
structures of plant systems that grow low to the ground to the structures
of trees.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Anettphoto/Shutterstock

Great job! You have finished Day 7.

541
DAY 8

Science in Careers
Why study plants?
Plants keep humans alive. We eat them, and animals that eat them
provide us with food. Plants also produce the clean air we breathe.
Without plants, our atmosphere would be filled with the gases that
people and animals produce. We could not survive in such a world.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (b) ©NC State University
Some plants are very different from others. This is the corpse flower. It grows
naturally in the rainforests in Sumatra in Indonesia. Because it is so unusual,
botanical gardens around the world have plants people can experience. One
reason it is popular is because it is so large. The corpse flower grows over 10
feet (3 meters) tall. The flower itself can be from 4 to 8 feet tall. It also has a
very distinctive smell. It is named after a corpse, which is a dead body. Unlike
most flowers, which smell sweet and pleasant, this flower smells like rotting
meat. The smell attracts flies and other insects that feed on decomposing
animals. These insects land on the flower and move pollen from one plant to
another as part of the plant’s reproductive cycle.

A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. Some botanists investigate

how to keep plants healthy. Others focus on certain types of plants.
Still others work with plants that are important to a particular business
or industry. Some botanists even work with other scientists to develop
vaccines grown in plants.
542
 Jenny Xiang is a botanist who focuses on
how plants respond to changes in climate.
She breeds plants that can grow in high
p_body temperatures and fight infections caused
by other organisms.

In the 2000s, bacteria causing Pierce’s disease

attacked California’s grapevines. Botanists
Marina Cabral de Oliveira and Marie-Anne Van
Sluys looked for patterns to find how the
bacteria made the plants sick. They found it
disrupted plant functions by blocking the flow
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Rickey Rogers/Reuters, (r) ©Pedro Acevedo

of water in the plant. Their research produced

ways to effectively fight the disease.

Plant field guides can help us identify plants.

Botanists like Pedro Acevedo write field
guides. He works at a museum of natural
history and studies plants in the soapberry
family. Because soapberry berries have a soap-
like compound, people have used these plants
for cleaning throughout history. Learn more
about soapberry plants in a field guide.

Suppose you are a botanist who has been asked to make a presentation
about an unusual plant. You will need to research the structures and
functions of that plant to provide accurate information.

Language SmArts: Research to identify and learn about the

structures of the plant you are presenting and how each of these
structures function to help the plant survive in its environment.
Describe the structures and functions of your plant.

543
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed your explorations in this lesson, go back
and review your ideas about the Guiding Question from the start of this
lesson. Now use what you have learned to answer the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

How do the structures of this plant help the plant survive in

its environment?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Christopher Moswitzer/Shutterstock

Make a claim about the guiding question. Use evidence from the lesson and give
reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim.

Great Job! You have finished Day 8.

544
 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Buena Vista Images/Getty Images

Name
TEKS 4.13.B • DAY 1

Physical Traits
Date

Inherited and Acquired

545
What Do You Already Know?
In this lesson, you will think about the different ways organisms
get their characteristics. Before getting started, revisit what you
already know about the life cycles of organisms.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Tatiana/Adobe Stock

B

A
 Seed: This begins the life cycle of a new dandelion plant.
B
 Germination and Growth: Seeds germinate into seedlings and then grow into
mature plants with flower buds.

C
 Adult: Eventually, the dandelion becomes an adult plant. It develops a flower.
D
 Reproduction: The flower produces seeds. A strong wind can blow the seeds off.
E
 Death: The adult plant may reproduce many times in its life cycle. At the end of
its life cycle, the plant dies.

546
 Vocabulary
Language SmArts: Continue preparing for this lesson
by exploring vocabulary terms related to physical traits.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©MikeLane45/iStock/Getty Images, (tr) ©GlobalIP/iStock/Getty Images,

trait inherited trait

A characteristic of an organism. A characteristic that is passed from parent to offspring.
(bl) ©Liliya Kulianionak/Shutterstock, ©lena_serditova/Adobe Stock

offspring acquired trait

The young of an organism. A change in an individual organism’s
structure or function that occurs
during the lifetime of the organism,
caused by injury, disease, or
environmental factors, and that is not
inherited by future generations.

547
Can You Explain It?

GUIDING QUESTION

Why do these kittens and their mother have similar

and different traits?

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©blackboxguild/Adobe Stock, (r) ©Leonidovich/Shutterstock
See the mother cat with her kittens? Do you see any
similarities and differences in the way they look?

Think about the mother cat and her kittens.

What do you notice about the physical characteristics of the kittens and their mother?

What do you wonder about the physical characteristics of the kittens and their mother?

Great job! You have finished Day 1.

548
DAY 2

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
Take a look at the people around you.
We share many similar traits with
people, but we do not look exactly
the same. Some traits are inherited,
such as eye and hair color and face
shape. Inherited traits are passed on
from both parents to their offspring
and can even skip generations. Other
traits, such as scars, are acquired.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock

Each person has a unique

combination of many traits.
Ask a question about human traits.

Possible Materials Safety

• mirrors Handle mirrors with care to
avoid breaking them.
• pictures of physical traits

549
 Hands-On Activity

Me in the Mirror
Step 1
Observe yourself in the
mirror. In the data table,
write a list of 10 physical
traits that you notice
about yourself.

ME IN THE MIRROR
Physical Trait

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

1

10

550
 Step 2
Construct a Venn diagram. Predict whether each trait on your list is
inherited, acquired, or both. Fill in the diagram accordingly.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:(tl) ©ShutterDivision/Adobe Stock, (tr) ©lissart/iStockPhoto.com, (cl) ©sruilk/Shutterstock,
(cr) ©blackday/Adobe Stock, (bl) ©Cavan Images/Getty Images, (br) ©Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision/Getty Images

Step 3
Compare your Venn diagram with those of your classmates. Discuss any
differences that you notice.

Step 4
Look closely at each inherited trait pictured below.

Dimple Freckles Curled tongue

Attached earlobes Cleft chin Naturally curly hair

551
 Hands-On Activity

Step 5
Use the data table to record your observations in the next step.

My Inherited Traits
Inherited Trait Yes No

Dimple

Freckles

Curled tongue

Attached earlobes

Naturally curly hair

Cleft chin

Step 6
Use a mirror to observe if you do or do not have each trait.
Next to each inherited trait, mark Yes if you do possess the
trait or No if you do not possess the trait.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Step 7
Work with your class to create a classroom chart that displays
class data on inherited traits.

Step 8

Do the Math: Use the data from the classroom chart to construct
a bar graph.

552
 Many things in the environment can affect human traits. The sun can
tan or burn our skin. Injuries can leave marks on our bodies. These are
acquired traits.

Eye color, hair color, and hair texture are And we can groom our hair in ways that change
inherited traits. Many things in the environment our appearance.
can affect human traits too. Sun can tan or burn
our skin. Diet and exercise can affect our weight.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©mack2happy/Getty Images

Review your predictions from the Venn diagram in Step 2, and add any
acquired and inherited traits that you have learned about.

Do you have any traits that can be listed as both inherited and acquired?

Analyze Information
Go back and review your Venn diagram. How can you describe the
difference between an inherited trait and an acquired trait?

553
 Hands-On Activity

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about how humans get their physical traits. Support
your claim with evidence from your investigation. Explain your
reasoning to connect your claim to your evidence.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

554
 Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored your physical traits, check your learning with
this question.
A father and son are often told that they look alike. They both have curly hair,
freckles, a scar on one hand, a cleft chin, and pierced ears. Which of these
traits are inherited? Circle all that apply.
A. cleft chin
B. pierced ears
C. curly hair
D. freckles
E. scars on hands
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

Great job! You have finished Day 2.

555
DAY 3

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
When organisms reprOduce, the young are called offspring.
You may be able to match parent animals and plants with
their offspring by looking at their traits. As you may recall,
inherited traits are features that are passed down from both
parents to their offspring.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Zoonar GmbH/Julija Sapic/Alamy
The environment can also affect traits in animals and plants.
These are called acquired traits.
Ask a question about how the offspring of animals look
similar to their parents.

Possible Materials
• images of animals
• drawing supplies
• drawing paper
556
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits:(tl) ©Ivo Roospold/Alamy, (tr) ©James Laurie/Shutterstock, (cl) ©Tim McCaig/Getty Images,
Parents and Offspring, Part 1

Step 1
Look at the image of a male and
female adult Texas longhorn. Use
what you know about traits to
decide which of the four calves in
the four images below is most likely
the offspring of the longhorn parents.
(cr) ©Thorsten Scholz/EyeEm/Getty Images, (bl) ©TFoxFoto/Shutterstock, (br) ©withGod/Shutterstock

Calf 1 Calf 2

Calf 3 Calf 4

557
 Hands-On Activity

Step 2
Observe and read about the traits in the images.

Step 3

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Alan D. Carey/Photodisc/Getty Images, (tr) ©Fiskness/Dreamstime,
Think about the differences between the physical acquired and
inherited traits shown in the images. Then, for the acquired traits,
investigate the images and captions to identify the cause of the traits.

(cl) ©NGeyer/Shutterstock, (cr) ©Richard/Adobe Stock, (br) ©Kailash Kumar/Adobe Stock

All zebras have stripes. Their black and Longhorn cattle are well known for their
white colors are passed from generation horns. This longhorn has a broken horn.
to generation.

Flamingos kept in captivity are a lighter Sharks can receive scratches when
pink color than flamingos living in the they fight with prey.
wild. The wild flamingos gain their
coloration from eating shrimp and algae,
but these foods are not available to the
captive flamingos.

The beautiful colors of parrots are

also seen in their young.

558
 The pictures show three sets of parents. Each set of parents needs
help finding its offspring! Read about each group of animals to match
the parents with their offspring.
• Moose have thick fur. The males have huge antlers that are almost 2 meters long.
• Nyalas have brown and white fur. They have long legs and can run 40 mph.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Keith Szafranski/Getty Images, (tc) ©Picture by Tambako the Jaguar/Getty Images,

• Elk have thick fur to keep them warm. The males have large antlers.
(tr) ©traveler1116/Getty Images, (bl) ©twildlife/Getty Images, (bc) ©Colleen Gara/Getty Images, (br) ©Snap2Art_RF/Getty Images

Choose one of the parents pictured. What do you think that animal’s
parents looked like? In the space below, draw what you think the parents
of the parents looked like. Label traits that get passed on from generation
to generation.

559
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored animal traits, check your learning with
this question.

A female elk gives birth to an offspring. What would you expect the
offspring to look like? Circle the best answer.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Robert McGouey/All Canada Photos/Getty Images
A. The offspring would look exactly like its mother.
B. The offspring would look exactly like its father.
C. The offspring would look similar to both the mother and the father.
D. The offspring would not look like either the mother or the father.

Great job! You have finished Day 3.

560
DAY 4

Name Date

Hands-On Activity
How do you distinguish between different
types of flowers? How do you know a flower
is a sunflower and not a rose? Just like
animals, plants look like their parents
because of their inherited traits, such as
color or shape.
Plants need air, light, water, and nutrients
to live and grow. Sometimes a plant gets
too much or too little of something it needs.
This can affect the plant’s growth and how
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Trout55/iStockPhoto.com

it looks. In other words, the plant can

acquire traits.
In Part 1 of the Parents and Offspring
Hands-On Activity, you explored inherited
and acquired traits in animals. Now, in Part 2, you will
explore the inherited and acquired traits of plants.
Ask a question about how plant offspring look similar to
their parents.

Possible Materials
• envelope with cutout traits
• images of purple and red parent flowers
• ruler
• drawing supplies
• drawing paper

561
 Hands-On Activity

Parents and Offspring, Part 2

Step 1
Observe these two parent flowers.
What traits can you identify?

Step 2
Use a sheet of drawing paper to
draw a picture of a flower offspring
of these parent flowers. Pick a trait

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©HMH

from each envelope: petal color,
leaf color, leaf shape, and stem
height. Use the traits to draw your
flower. Label each trait with the
parent it came from.

Step 3
Display the drawing of your flower for the rest of the class to see.
As a class, discuss the differences and similarities of the flowers
in the drawings.

562
 Environmental factors can affect inherited traits. For example,
if a plant that requires more sunlight is planted in the shade, it may
not grow as tall. Below, investigate examples of different situations that
plants may encounter.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Nigel Cattlin/Science Source, (tr) ©Graham Jordan/Science Source,

This plant was affected by the amount of water This plant was affected by the
(cl) ©Seiki Ebisuno/EyeEm/Getty Images, (cr) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (bl) ©Mariusz Blach/Getty Images

it got. Too much water can cause plant leaves amount of sunlight it got. Too much
to turn yellow and fall off. Too little water can sunlight may burn a plant’s leaves.
cause plants to wilt.

Sometimes nutrients in the soil affect The middle stem of this plant was cut
the color of flowers. This plant can grow in between the leaves. This causes new
different-colored flowers depending on plant growth. It is now growing back
the different nutrients in the soil! bushier than it was before.

People or animals can change the

physical features of plants when they
cut or eat parts of the plants. Cutting
grass keeps it short and full.
563
 Hands-On Activity

Using what you have learned, decide whether each factor is the
cause of a physical change in a plant’s trait or is the resulting
acquired trait (the effect). Write Cause or Effect in the column below.

Factor Cause or Effect

Too little light
Burnt leaves

Dropped leaves

Too much light

Nutrients in soil

Cutting leaves or branches

Changing flower color

Stability and Change

Explain how factors and conditions in the environment can affect
plants. Think specifically about how the environment can cause
plants to change or stay the same.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

564
 Analyze Information
What is the difference between inherited and acquired traits in
organisms? Give at least one example of each type of trait for both animals
and plants.

Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

Make a claim about inherited and acquired traits in organisms. Support
your claim with evidence from the exploration, and explain your
reasoning.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

565
Exit Ticket
Now that you have explored the traits of plants, check your learning with
this question. Circle the correct answers.

Because inherited traits are passed from parent | environment to offspring,

offspring often look like their parents.
An example of an observable trait the offspring share with their parents is the color
of their scars | petals.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©susafri/Getty Images

Great job! You have finished Day 4.

566
DAY 5

Language SmArts
Pick an organism, either a plant or animal, or ask your teacher to assign
one to you. Research the physical traits of the organism. In your research,
identify which of the organism’s physical traits are inherited and which are
acquired.
Now, write a creative story about the organism. Describe the physical
traits of your organism that were inherited. In the story, describe an
adventure or event where the organism is affected by the environment
and acquires at least one new physical trait.
Finally, illustrate your story.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

567
Exit Ticket
Now that you have learned about inherited and acquired physical traits,
check your learning with this question.
Based on the information that you have read in this lesson, describe a problem
or situation that can affect organisms.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©pchoti/Adobe Stock

Great job! You have finished Day 5.

568
DAY 6

People in Science
Dr. Rick Kittles
Dr. Rick Kittles is an American biologist. A biologist
is a scientist who studies living things. In his work,
Dr. Kittles focuses on certain traits that can be
traced from parents to grandparents and all the
way back to earlier generations of African
Americans. His research on how things get passed
from generation to generation helped him learn
more about certain diseases that may run in a
specific family. Ultimately, this information can
then be used to help people prevent certain
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Dr. Rick Kittles/African Ancestry

health complications or treat them early on.

Just as plants and animals inherit traits from
their parents, so do humans. Children inherit
traits from their biological parents. Their parents
inherited traits from their parents (the children’s
grandparents). Grandparents inherited traits from
their parents, and so on!
What questions would you ask a biologist who studies inherited traits,
such as Dr. Rick Kittles? Enter your questions in the space below.

569
Can You Explain It?
Now that you have completed
your exploration in this lesson,
revisit the photo from the start
of the lesson.
Go back and review your
ideas about the Guiding
Question from the start of
this lesson. Now, use what

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©blackboxguild/Adobe Stock, (r) ©Leonidovich/Shutterstock
you have learned to answer
the question.

GUIDING QUESTION

Why do these kittens and their mother have similar

and different traits?

Make a claim about the Guiding Question. Use evidence from the lesson, and give
reasoning to connect the evidence to your claim. Before writing, think about what you
learned about inherited and acquired traits.

Great job! You have finished Day 6.

570
 Interactive Glossary
As you learn about each item, add notes, drawings, or sentences in the extra
space. This will help you remember what the terms mean. Here’s an example:

fungi (fuhn•jee) A group of organisms

that get nutrients by decomposing
other organisms
hongos Un grupo de organismos
que obtienen sus nutrientes al
Mushrooms are a
descomponer otros organismos. type of fungi.

Glossary Pronunciation Key

With every Glossary term, there is also a phonetic respelling. A phonetic
respelling writes the word the way it sounds, which can help you pronounce
new or unfamiliar words. Use this key to help you understand the respellings

Sound As in Phonetic Respelling Sound As in Phonetic Respelling

a bat (bat) oh over (oh•ver)

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Utopia_88/istock/Getty Images

ah lock (lahk) oo pool (pool)

air rare (rair) ow out (owt)
ar argue (ar•gyoo) oy foil (foyl)
aw law (law) s cell (sel)
ay face (fays) sit (sit)
ch chapel (chap•uhl) sh sheep (sheep)
e test (test) th that (that)
metric (meh•trik) thin (thin)
ee eat (eet) u pull (pul)
feet (feet) uh medal (med•uhl)
ski (skee) talent (tal•uhnt)
er paper (pay•per) pencil (pen•suhl)
fern (fern) onion (uhn•yuhn)
eye idea (eye•dee•uh) playful (play•fuhl)
i bit (bit) dull (duhl)
ing going (goh•ing) y yes (yes)
k card (kard) ripe (ryp)
kite (kyt) z bags (bagz)
ngk bank (bangk) zh treasure (trezh•er)

G1
A
acquired trait (uh kwie uhrd
trayt) A change in an individual
organism’s structure or function
that occurs during the lifetime
of the organism, caused by

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©lena_serditova/Adobe Stock, (tc) ©DEA / C.DANI / I.JESKE/De Agostini/Getty Images (bc) ©Image Source/Getty Images,
injury, disease, or environmental
factors, and that is not inherited
by future generations.
carácter adquirido Un cambio
en la estructura o función en la
estructura de un organismo, que
ocurre durante su vida debido
a lesiones, enfermedades o
factores ambientales, y que no
se hereda a las generaciones
futuras.

adaptation (ad•ap•tay•
shuhn) A trait or characteristic
that helps an organism survive.
adaptación Rasgo o
característica que ayuda a un
organismo a sobrevivir.

aquatic (uh•kwah•tik)
Something that exists in or on
water.
acuático Que existe en o sobre
el agua. (b) ©Aleksandar Vrzalski/E+/Getty Images

atmosphere (at•muh•sfir)
The mixture of gases that
surround a planet.
atmósfera Mezcla de gases
que rodea el planeta.

G2
 C
circuit (ser•kuht) The closed
path or loop that an electric
charge flows through.
circuito La trayectoria cerrada
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tc) ©David H. Carriere/Photodisc/Getty Images, (c) ©David H. Carriere/Photodisc/Getty Images,

o el bucle cerrado a través del

cual la carga eléctrica fluye.

climate (kly•mit) The pattern

of weather an area experiences
over a long period of time.
clima Patrón de tiempo que
experimenta una región durante
largos periodos.

climate zone (kly•mit zohn)

An area of Earth that has similar
average temperatures and
precipitation throughout.
zona climática área en la
que predominan temperaturas
y precipitaciones promedio
similares.

collision (kuh•li•shuhn) The

(bc) ©Ian Andrews/Alamy, (b) ©Scimat Scimat/Getty Images

result of two objects bumping

into each other.
colisión Resultado del choque
entre dos objetos.

condensation
(kahn•den•say•shuhn) The
process by which a gas changes
into a liquid.
condensación Proceso por
el cual un gas se convierte en
líquido.

G3
 conductor (kuhn duk ter) A
material that transfers energy
easily.
conductor Un material a través
del cual se transfiere energía.

conservation (kahn ser vay

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images, (bc) ©Mashabuba/E+/Getty Images, (b) ©feng67/Adobe Stock
shuhn) The preserving and
protecting of an ecosystem or a
resource.
conservación Preservación y
protección de un ecosistema o
recurso.

consumer (kuhn•so•mer) A
living thing that cannot make
its own food and must eat other
living things.
consumidor Ser vivo que
no puede producir su propio
alimento y por eso debe
alimentarse de otros seres vivos.

D
decomposer
(dee•kuhm•poh•zer) A living
thing that gets energy by
breaking down dead organisms
and animal wastes into simpler
substances.
descomponedor Ser vivo
que obtiene su energía al
romper, separar o desbaratar
organismos muertos y
desperdicios animales en
sustancias más simples.

G4
 density (den sih tee) The
amount of matter in an object
compared to the space it takes
up.
densidad Cantidad de materia
en un objeto en comparación
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (tc) ©zeesstof/Moment Open/Getty Images, (c) ©Corbis, (bc) ©PhotoLink/Photodisc/Getty Images,

con el espacio que ocupa.

deposition (dep uh zish uhn)

The dropping or settling of
eroded materials.
sedimentación Caída o
asentamiento de materiales
erosionados.

E
electrical energy
(ee•lek•trih•kuhl en•er•jee)
Energy caused by the movement
of electric charges.
energía eléctrica Energía
causada por el movimiento de
cargas eléctricas.

energy transfer (en•er•jee

trans•fer) The movement of
energy from place to place or
from one object to another.
(b) ©Georgette Douwma/Photodisc/Getty Images

transferencia de energía
Movimiento de energía de un
lugar a otro o de un objeto a
otro.

environment (en•vy•ruhn•
muhnt) All the living and
nonliving things that surround
and affect an organism.
ambiente Todos los seres vivos
y no vivos que rodean y afectan a
un organismo.

G5
 equator (ee kwayt uhr) An
imaginary line around Earth,
equally distant from the North
and South Poles.
ecuador Línea imaginaria
alrededor de la Tierra, a igual
distancia del polo Norte y el
polo Sur.

erosion (uh·roh·zhuhn) The

process of moving sediment
from one place to another.
erosion Proceso de mover el
sedimento de un lugar a otro.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Léonard Rodriguez/Alamy, (b) ©Delphotostock/Fotolia, (bc) ©keller/Fotolia
evaporation
(ee•vap•uh•ray•shuhn)
The process by which a liquid
changes into a gas.
evaporación Proceso por el
cual un líquido se transforma
en gas.

F
first quarter moon (FUHRST
MOON) The phase of the moon
when the moon looks like
the right half of a circle when
seen from Earth’s Northern
Hemisphere, occurs after a
new moon and before a full
moon.

G6
 food web (food web) A group
of food chains that overlap.
red alimentaria Grupo de
cadenas alimentarias que se
superponen.

friction (frik•shuhn) A force

that acts between two touching
objects and that opposes
motion.
fricción Fuerza que actúa entre
dos objetos en contacto y que se
opone al movimiento.

full moon (ful moon) The

phase of the moon when the
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tc) ©lordn/Adobe Stock, (bc) ©Delphotostock/Fotolia

moon looks like a full circle when

seen from Earth.
luna llena

G
gravity (grav•ih•tee) A force
that attracts all objects in the
universe toward one another;
near Earth’s surface, a force that
pulls things toward the center of
Earth.
gravedad Fuerza que atrae dos
objetos el uno hacia elotro.

G7
 I
inherited trait A characteristic
that is passed from parent to
offspring.
herencia Proceso por el cual
una característica se pasa de los
progenitores a sus crías.

insulator (in suh lay ter)

A material that reduces or
prevents the transfer of
energy.
aislante Un material que
reduce o evita la transferencia
de energía.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©GlobalIP/iStock/Getty Images, (b) ©HMH
Fairbanks
(65°N, 148°W)
North Pole
90°N

Minneapolis
(45°N, 93°W)
latitude (lat ih tood) A measure
of how far north or south a place
60°N

Honolulu
(21°N, 158°W)

is from the equator.

30°N

equ

latitud Medida que indica

ator
0°

qué tan al norte o al sur está un

30°S

60°S

punto de la tierra respecto del

ecuador.

law of conservation of matter

(law uhv kahn•ser•vay•shuhn
uhv mat•er) A law that states
that matter cannot be made or
destroyed but can change into a
new form.
ley de conservación de la
materia Ley que establece
que la materia no se crea
ni se destruye, sino que se
transforma en algo nuevo.

G8
 light (lyt) Energy that lets you
see.
luz Una forma de energía
electromagnética radiante que
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Wongsakorn Napaeng/Shutterstock, (tc) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (c) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (bc) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

es visible para el ojo humano.

M
magnet (mag nit) An object
that attracts iron and a few
other—but not all—metals.
imán Objeto que atrae el hierro
y algunos otros metales (pero no
todos).

magnetism
(mag•nuh•tiz•uhm) The
physical property of being
magnetic.
magnetism Propiedad física de
ser magnético.

mass (mas) The amount of

matter in an object.
masa La cantidad de material
que tiene un objeto.
(b) ©cobaltstock/Adobe Stock

mixture (miks cher) A

combination of two or more
different substances in which the
substances keep their identities.
mezcla Combinación de dos
o más sustancias diferentes
en la que estas mantienen sus
identidades.

G9
 moon phase (moon fayz) One
of the shapes the moon seems
to have as it orbits Earth.
fase lunar Una de las formas
que parece tener la luna cuando
orbita alrededor de la tierra.

N
natural resource
(nach•uhr•uhl ree•sohrs)

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Delphotostock/Fotolia, (tc) ©Jerry Horbert/Shutterstock, (b) ©Vadiar/Shutterstock
Anything from nature that
people can use.
recurso natural Todo lo que
provenga de la naturaleza y que
las personas puedan usar.

new moon (noo moon) The

phase of the moon when the
moon cannot be seen from
Earth.
luna nueva la fase de la Luna
durante la cual el lado de la
Luna que da a la Tierra no está
iluminada por el Sol.

nonrenewable resource
(nahn•rih•noo•uh•buhl
ree•sohrs) A resource that,
once used, cannot be replaced
in a reasonable amount of
time.
recurso no renovable Recurso
que, después de haber
sido utilizado, no podrá ser
reemplazado en un tiempo
razonable.

G10
 O
offspring (awf spring) The
young of an organism.
descendencia Las crías de un
organism.

orbit (ohr bit) The path of one

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Liliya Kulianionak/Shutterstock, (tc) ©Delphotostock/Fotolia, (b) ©Toa55/iStock/Getty Images

object in space around another

object.
órbita La trayectoria de un
objeto alrededor de otro en el
espacio.

P
photosynthesis
(foh•toh•sin•thih•sis) The
process that plants use to make
food.
fotosíntesis Proceso en el cual
las plantas generan azúcar.

pollution (puh loo shuhn)

Any waste product or
contamination that harms or
dirties an ecosystem and harms
organisms.
contaminación Todo
desperdicio que daña o ensucia
un ecosistema y hace daño a sus
organismos.

G11
 precipitation (prih•sip•ih•
tay•shuhn) Water that falls from
the air to Earth’s surface.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tc) ©Peter Austin/iStockPhoto.com, (bc) ©Davee Hughes/Getty Images, (c) ©fstop123/iStockphoto/Getty Images, (b) ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
precipitación Agua que cae
del aire a la superficie de la
Tierra.

producer (pruh•doo•ser) A
living thing, such as a plant, that
can make its own food.
productor Ser vivo, como
las plantas, que es capaz de
producir su propio alimento.

R
recycle (ree•sy•kuhl) To use
the materials in old things to
make new things.
reciclar Utilizar los materiales
de cosas viejas para crear cosas
nuevas.

renewable resource
(rih•noo•uh•buhl ree•sohrs)
A resource that can be replaced
within a reasonable amount of
time.
recurso renovable Recurso
que puede ser reemplazado en
un tiempo razonable.
root (root) A plant part that
is usually underground and
absorbs water and minerals
from the soil.
raíz Parte de la planta que
usualmente es subterránea y
que absorbe agua y minerales
del suelo.

G12
 runoff (ruhn awf) Precipitation
that flows over the land and into
streams and rivers.
escurrimiento Precipitación
que fluye sobre la tierra y llega a
los arroyos y a los ríos.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Osaze/Adobe Stock, (tc) ©Wollertz/Fotolia, (bc) ©jordi2r/Adobe Stock, (b) ©Sam Dudgeon/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

S
season (see zuhn) A time of
year that has a certain kind of
weather.
estación Una de las partes
en que se divide el año que se
caracteriza por condiciones
climáticas recurrentes y que
está determinada tanto por
la inclinación de la Tierra con
relación al Sol como por la
posición que ocupa en su órbita
alrededor del Sol.
sediment (sed uh ment) Very
small pieces of rock, sand, and
silt.
sediment Fragmentos muy
pequeños de roca, arena y limo
arrastrados por el agua.

solution (suh•loo•shuhn)
A mixture that has the same
composition throughout
because all its parts are mixed
evenly.
solución Mezcla que mantiene
la misma composición a
través de ella porque todas
sus partes se han mezclado
uniformemente.

G13
 sound (sownd) A kind
of energy you hear when
something vibrates.
sonido El movimiento de
energía que atraviesa, en forma
de vibraciones, un medio como
el agua, el aire o un cuerpo
sólido.

states of matter (stayts uhv

mat•er) The physical forms
(such as solid, liquid, and gas)
that matter can exist in.

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Mark Coons/Dreamstime, (tc) ©GIPhotoStock X/Alamy, (bc) ©Imagebroker/Alamy
estados de la materia Estados
físicos (por ejemplo el estado
sólido, líquido y gaseoso) en los
que existe la materia.

stem (stem) The part of a plant

that holds it up and has tubes
that carry water, minerals, and
nutrients through the plant.
tallo Parte de la planta que la
sostiene y que tiene conductos
que llevan agua, minerales y
nutrientes a través de toda la
planta.

structure (struhk cher) Things

made of parts assembled in a
certain way.
estructura Cosas hechas de
partes que están ensambladas
de cierta manera.

G14
 T
temperature (tem•per•
uh•chur) How hot or cold
something is.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©aphperspective/Alamy, (tc) ©wrangel/iStock/Getty Images, (bc) ©Delphotostock/Fotolia, (b) ©MikeLane45/iStock/Getty Images

temperatura Una medida de

qué tan caliente (o frío) está
un cuerpo o una sustancia;
específicamente, una medida de
la energía cinética promedio de
las partículas en un objeto.
terrestrial (tuh•res•tree•uhl)
Something that exists in or on
land.
terrestre Que existe en o sobre
la tierra.

thermal energy (ther•muhl

en•er•jee) The energy of a
system related to the system’s
temperature and mass.
energía térmica Energía
cinética total de las partículas de
una sustancia.

third quarter moon (thuhrd

moon) The phase of the moon
when the moon looks like the left
half of a circle when seen from
Earth’s Northern Hemisphere,
occurs after a full moon and
before a new moon.

trait (trayt) A characteristic of

an organism.
rasgo Característica física de
un organism.

G15
W
water cycle (waw•ter sy•kuhl)
The process in which water
continuously moves from Earth’s
surface into the atmosphere and
back again.
ciclo del agua Proceso

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Bobbushphoto/iStock/Getty Images, (tc) ©Elena Shi/Adobe Stock, (b) ©Mark Brodkin Photography/Getty Images
en el que el agua se mueve
continuamente desde la
superficie terrestre hasta la
atmósfera y de regreso.

wave (wayv) The up-and-down

movement of surface water.
It can also be a disturbance
that carries energy through
space.
onda Ola Movimiento hacia
arriba y hacia abajo de la
superficie del agua. onda
Alteración que lleva energía por
el espacio.

weather (weth•er) What is

happening in the atmosphere at
a certain place and time.
tiempo Lo que ocurre en la
atmósfera en un cierto lugar y
momento.

weathering (weth er ing)

The breaking down of rocks
on Earth’s surface into smaller
pieces.
meteorización
Descomposición de las piedras
de la superficie terrestre en
piezas más pequeñas.

G16