Name Chapter 1 Test

Read each question and choose the best answer.

Then fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
Choose the word that belongs in the sentence.
have long narrow leaves and do not have woody
stems.
Trees
Grasses
Flowers
Evergreens
What kind of tree grows cones to make seeds?
spring
summer
deciduous
coniferous
Choose the word that belongs in the sentence.
Tubes that carry water and minerals from the roots to
other parts of the plant are in the .
leaf
stem
thorn
flower
What structures help keep a cactus from losing too much
water?
tubers
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thorns
woody stems
stems with a thick, waxy covering

Assessment Book Chapter 1 Test 1

Name Chapter 1 Test

Which seed part stores food for the seed?

the fruit
the flower
the seed leaf
the seed coat
In the forest, Jan picked burs off her pants and dropped
them. What did she do by dropping burs?
She pollinated a plant.
She did nothing important.
She left food for the forest animals.
She helped to scatter a plants seeds.
Look at the illustration below.

What is the bee doing to the flower?

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pollinating it
eating its fruit
germinating it
scattering its seeds
2 Chapter 1 Test Assessment Book
 Name Chapter 1 Test

Many plants that lived long ago are extinct. How do

scientists know about these plants?
They grow plant fossils.
They found plant fossils.
They grow plants like them in space.
They found living plants that are like them.
Look at the object shown in the illustration below.

How was this object formed?

A plant grew in rock.
A plant was pressed into a rock.
A plant grew in wood. The wood became rock.
A plant was pressed into mud. The mud became rock.
Scientists have learned many interesting things about
plants that lived long ago. What is one difference between
early plants and those of today?
Early plants had more fruit.
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Early plants had more seeds.

Early plants did not have leaves.
Early plants did not have flowers.

Assessment Book Chapter 1 Test 3

Name Chapter 1 Test

When a seed starts to grow into a new plant, what is it

doing?
pollinating
germinating
growing leaves
creating seedlings

Write the answers to the questions on the lines.

How do plants get food? (2 points)

How do plants get water? (2 points)

Write the answer to the question on a separate sheet of

paper.
Jacob knows that the different parts of a plant help the
plant to live and grow. He decides to put two of the same
type of plant in his garden. Both plants get the same
amount of water. Jacob covers one plant with a cardboard
box. Soon the covered plant appears weak and unhealthy.
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Explain why covering the plant with the box prevents it

from growing.
(4 points)

4 Chapter 1 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 2 Test

Read each question and choose the best answer.

Then fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
What do sea jellies, earthworms, and spiders have in
common?
They all have eight legs.
They all have stinging body parts.
They are all animals with backbones.
They are all animals without backbones.
A pelicans bill has a pouch that hangs from it. How does
this adaptation help it survive?
It helps the bird catch fish.
It helps the bird store water.
It helps the bird attack other animals.
It helps the bird balance itself when it walks.
Complete the sentence.
Body parts, such as webbed feet, are inherited, or
learned.
never changed.
passed on from parents to offspring.
not adapted to different environments.
Complete the sentence.
An instinct is a behavior that animals
copy.
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are born to do.

teach each other.
must learn so they can survive.

Assessment Book Chapter 2 Test 5

Name Chapter 2 Test

Which sentence is true?

Chimpanzees cannot learn from other chimpanzees.
Chimpanzees have trouble adapting to new
environments.
Chimpanzees are born already knowing how to use
sticks to capture insects to eat.
Chimpanzees watch other chimpanzees to learn how to
use sticks to capture insects to eat.
Look at the illustration below. Think about the life cycle of
a monarch butterfly.

Egg Larva Pupa Adult

What do we usually call a butterfly when it is a larva?
egg
pupa
chrysalis
caterpillar
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6 Chapter 2 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 2 Test

Which kind of animal usually develops inside its mother?

bird
insect
mammal
amphibian
Chris finds something that looks like a rock. It is hard
and yellow. A dead insect is inside it. What did Chris most
likely find?
a trilobite
a fossil cast
a fossil mold
a piece of amber
Look at the illustration below of a T. rex. Think about the
traits of this dinosaur and the traits of living animals.

What modern-day animal looks like the dinosaur above?

deer
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lizard
spider
elephant

Assessment Book Chapter 2 Test 7

Name Chapter 2 Test

A walking stick looks like a real twig. What type of

adaptation does a walking stick use for protection?
armor
poison
mimicry
camouflage

Write the answers to the questions on the lines.

Amphibians spend part of their lives in water and part on
land. Name two members of this group. (2 points)

What are the four things all animals need to live?

(2 points)

Write the answer to the question on a separate sheet of

paper.
Long ago, the Badlands of South Dakota were hot and wet.
Today the Badlands are dry.
Explain how this change in habitat might harm animals.
(4 points)
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8 Chapter 2 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 3 Test

Read each question and choose the best answer.

Then fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
Plants get energy to make food from which of the
following?
water
climate
sunlight
nutrients
Which word best completes the sentence?
Sunlight, water, soil, and climate are the parts of
an ecosystem.
living
growing
nonliving
interacting
Read the paragraph below about a chaparral community.
Then answer the question.
Each part of a chaparral community affects the other parts.
With a lot of rain, more plants grow in the chaparral.
Many animals eat these plants. With much food, the
number of animals increases. In dry years, fewer plants
grow. With less food, the number of animals decreases.
What happens to the number of animals in years when
there is little rain?
The number increases.
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The number decreases.

The number does not change.
The number decreases and then it increases.
Assessment Book Chapter 3 Test 9
Name Chapter 3 Test

Grasshoppers and bison live in which type of ecosystem?

desert
tundra
grasslands
tropical forest
What is the biggest difference between a desert and a
tropical forest?
how cold each gets
how warm each gets
how much life each has
how much rain each gets
In which ecosystem would you find wolves, caribou, brown
bears, and eagles?
desert
prairie
tundra
tropical forest
Oak, maple, and beech trees drop their leaves in the fall.
In which ecosystem are they found?
tundra
tropical forest
deciduous forest
coniferous forest
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10 Chapter 3 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 3 Test

Choose the best word to complete the sentence.

Lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams are examples of
ecosystems.
dry
wetland
saltwater
freshwater
Read the chart. Use what you learn to answer the question.

Water Ecosystems
Type of Water Examples of Plants
and Animals
Saltwater Corals, sea dragons, cuttlefish,
clams, crabs, algae, otters, seals,
shrimp, whales, starfish
Freshwater Manatees, bass, cormorants,
alligators, red mangrove trees,
grasses, bears
Where Freshwater Fish, crabs
and Saltwater Meet

In which type of water would a whale live?

saltwater
freshwater
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in any kind of water ecosystem

where freshwater and saltwater meet

Assessment Book Chapter 3 Test 11

Name Chapter 3 Test

Write the answers to the questions on the lines.

Why does a tundra have few trees? (2 points)

What are two ways plants in an animals habitat help

meet its needs? (2 points)

Write the answer to the question on a separate sheet of

paper.
Look at the illustration below.

Explain ways the coastal redwood trees depend on the

nonliving parts of this ecosystem. (4 points)
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12 Chapter 3 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 4 Test

Read each question and choose the best answer.

Then fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
What is the main reason prairie dogs live together?
for protection
to move faster
for appearance
to raise their young together
Which word best completes the sentence?
The population of lemmings changes when the amount
of in their environment changes.
habitats
resources
food chains
competition
Which word best completes the sentence?
A is a living thing that breaks down waste
and things that have died.
predator
producer
consumer
decomposer
Small trees trying to get the same resources as taller trees is
an example of which of the following?
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producers
consumers
interaction
competition
Assessment Book Chapter 4 Test 13
Name Chapter 4 Test

Look at the chart below. Think about how each living

thing gets the energy it needs to live.

sunlight cattail crayfish raccoon

Which term describes the food-getting interactions among

the living things in this chart?
food web
producers
food chain
consumers
In which part of the digestive system does most digestion
happen?
mouth
stomach
large intestine
small intestine
When plants burn, they can turn to ash. How does the ash
left by a fire affect other plants?
It has no effect.
It helps plants grow.
It stops plants from growing.
It prevents new plants from growing.
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14 Chapter 4 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 4 Test

Look at the illustration below. It shows a place that was

once dry.

Beavers dam

How did a beavers dam change the environment?

There is more grass.
There are more fish.
There are fewer trees.
There are more flowers.
Choose the term that belongs in the sentence.
keeps a persons heart, lungs, and muscles strong.
Sitting
Exercise
Clean air
Sugary food
What is one way to stop the spread of germs?
Never go outside.
Always wear a jacket.
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Wash your hands often.

Never go outside when it is cold.

Assessment Book Chapter 4 Test 15

Name Chapter 4 Test

Write the answers to the questions on the lines.

People obtain the things they need to live from the
environment. What do people need to survive? (2 points)

Look at the illustration. Explain how yucca moths and

yucca plants help each other. (2 points)

Write the answer to the question on a separate sheet of

paper.
In a food web, prairie dogs eat grass. Ferrets eat the prairie
dogs. Golden eagles eat prairie dogs and mice. Badgers eat
the ferrets. Ranchers brought cattle into the food web and
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removed many prairie dogs. How did the ranchers actions

affect the other animals?
(4 points)

16 Chapter 4 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 5 Test

Read each question and choose the best answer.

Then fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
What makes up two-thirds of your body?

skin
 water
 oxygen
 muscles
Choose the term that belongs in the sentence.
People use the power of moving water to make .
 electricity
 generators
 wind power
 solar power
About how much of Earths surface is covered with water?

10%
 25%
 67%
 75%
What is water that seeps down and collects in underground
spaces called?
 saltwater
 well water
 water vapor
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 groundwater

Assessment Book Chapter 5 Test 31

Name Chapter 5 Test

Why are wetlands an important environmental resource?

They help to flood dry areas.
 They are homes for many animals.
 They decrease the water vapor supply.
 They decrease the groundwater supply.
What process occurs when water changes to a gas?
 melting
 evaporation
 precipitation
 condensation
At what temperature does water freeze solid?

0C
 10C
 32C
 100C
During the water cycle, what generally happens to the
water after evaporation?
 It falls to Earth as precipitation.
 It condenses and forms a cloud.
 It evaporates until it is entirely gone.
 It seeps into Earth as groundwater.
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32 Chapter 5 Test Assessment Book

 Name Chapter 5 Test

Look at the illustration below.

What will happen to the water in the plastic bottle when

it freezes?

It will expand.
 It will contract.
 It will evaporate.
 It will remain the same.
What kind of water is found in the air?
 saltwater
 well water
 water vapor
 groundwater
Choose the words that complete the sentence.
Some of the chemicals that are added to water at a water-
treatment area .

kill germs
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 remove dirt
 harm your teeth
 turn water into water vapor

Assessment Book Chapter 5 Test 33

Name Chapter 5 Test

Write the answer to the question on the lines.

Why must water that people use be clean? Give two
reasons. (2 points)

Write the answer to the question on a separate sheet of

paper.
Look at the illustration below.

Part A Label the three arrows on the picture identifying

precipitation, evaporation, and condensation.
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Part B Describe what occurs during precipitation,

evaporation, and condensation. (4 points)

34 Chapter 5 Test Assessment Book

 Name Unit A Test

Read each question and choose the best answer.

Then fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
Plants need leaves to
shade the plant from the Sun.
make sugar as food for the plant.
take in water for the plant to live.
make carbon dioxide for us to breathe.
What plant part takes water and minerals from the soil,
holds the plant in its place, and stores food?
seeds
leaves
root system
stem system
Look at the illustration below.

What kind of tree does the picture show?

grassy
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coniferous
evergreen
deciduous

Assessment Book Unit A Test 17

Name Unit A Test

A pika is a vertebrate animal that has hair, breathes

air through its lungs, and feeds milk to its young. What
animal group does a pika belong to?
fish
birds
reptiles
mammals
A bear does not have to learn how to hibernate. Knowing
how to hibernate is
an instinct.
an adaptation.
a practiced skill.
a previously learned trait.
How does a mammal usually develop?
as a larva
as a tadpole
inside its mother
inside a chrysalis
If a habitat does not have the right kind of food for a
certain kind of animal, what is most likely to happen?
The animal will change its diet.
The animal will bring its own food.
The animal will move to a new habitat.
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The animal will have its young there but not live there.

18 Unit A Test Assessment Book

 Name Unit A Test

Grasshoppers eat grass. Which ecosystem is best for

grasshoppers?
forest
desert
tundra
prairie
A bass lives among the weeds of lakes and streams. Which
water ecosystem is best for a bass?
pond
saltwater
freshwater
where freshwater and saltwater mix
Look at the illustration below.

How do prairie dogs interact with their group?

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They hunt for food together.

They run away from the group.
They prefer to live away from the group.
They stand watch and warn the group of danger.
Assessment Book Unit A Test 19
Name Unit A Test

Living things that eat plants and animals are called

producers.
carnivores.
omnivores.
herbivores.

Write the answers to the questions on the lines.

List the following plants and animals in the order that
they would be in a food chain: ferret, prairie dog, bobcat,
grass (2 points)

A tree in a forest fell to the ground and started decaying.

Why is it a good idea to leave the tree there and not
remove it? (2 points)

Write your answers to the question on a separate sheet of

paper.
Several of your classmates have the flu. Some stay home.
Some come to school.
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Explain which is the better thing to do and why. Also

name something you can do to stop the spread of germs.
(4 points)

20 Unit A Test Assessment Book