Living things grow, take in nutrients, breathe, reproduce, eliminate waste, and die.
Each animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
• wings, legs, or fins enable some animals to seek shelter and escape predators;
• the mouth, including teeth, jaws, and tongue, enables some animals to eat and drink;
• eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin of some animals enable the animals to sense their surroundings;
• claws, shells, spines, feathers, fur, scales, and color of body covering enable some animals to protect themselves from predators and other environmental conditions, or enable them to obtain food;
• some animals have parts that are used to produce sounds and smells to help the animal meet its needs;
• the characteristics of some animals change as seasonal conditions change (e.g., fur grows and is shed to help regulate body heat; body fat is a form of stored energy and it changes as the seasons change)
In order to survive in their environment, plants and animals must be adapted to that environment.
• seeds disperse by a plant’s own mechanism and/or in a variety of ways that can include wind, water, and animals;
• leaf, flower, stem, and root adaptations may include variations in size, shape, thickness, color, smell, and texture;
• animal adaptations include coloration for warning or attraction, camouflage, defense mechanisms, movement, hibernation, and migration
Some animals, including humans, move from place to place to meet their needs.
Life cycles of some plants include changes from seed to mature plant.
Each plant has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
• roots help support the plant and take in water and nutrients;
• leaves help plants utilize sunlight to make food for the plant;
• stems, stalks, trunks, and other similar structures provide support for the plant;
• some plants have flowers;
• flowers are reproductive structures of plants that produce fruit which contains seeds;
• seeds contain stored food that aids in germination and the growth of young plants
Food supplies the energy and materials necessary for growth and repair.
Senses can provide essential information (regarding danger, food, mates, etc.) to animals about their environment.
All animals depend on plants. Some animals (predators) eat other animals (prey).
Particular animal characteristics are influenced by changing environmental conditions including: fat storage in winter, coat thickness in winter, camouflage, shedding of fur.
When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.
Heat energy from the Sun powers the water cycle (see Physical Science Key Idea 2).
Humans, as individuals or communities, change environments in ways that can be either helpful or harmful for themselves and other organisms.
Natural cycles and patterns include:
• Earth spinning around once every 24 hours (rotation), resulting in day and night;
• Earth moving in a path around the Sun (revolution), resulting in one Earth year;
• the length of daylight and darkness varying with the seasons;
• weather changing from day to day and through the seasons;
• the appearance of the Moon changing as it moves in a path around Earth to complete a single cycle
Water is recycled by natural processes on Earth.
• evaporation: changing of water (liquid) into water vapor (gas);
• condensation: changing of water vapor (gas) into water (liquid);
• precipitation: rain, sleet, snow, hail;
• runoff: water flowing on Earth’s surface;
• groundwater: water that moves downward into the ground
Objects have properties that can be observed, described, and/or measured: length, width, volume, size, shape, mass or weight, temperature, texture, flexibility, reflectiveness of light.
Temperature can affect the state of matter of a substance.
Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, gas.
• solids have a definite shape and volume;
• liquids do not have a definite shape but have a definite volume;
• gases do not hold their shape or volume
Energy exists in various forms: heat, electric, sound, chemical, mechanical, light.
Erosion and deposition result from the interaction among air, water, and land.
• interaction between air and water breaks down earth materials;
• pieces of earth material may be moved by air, water, wind, and gravity;
• pieces of earth material will settle or deposit on land or in the water in different places;
• soil is composed of brokendown pieces of living and nonliving earth material
Measurements can be made with standard metric units and nonstandard units. (Note: Exceptions to the metric system usage are found in meteorology.)
Heat can be released in many ways, for example, by burning, rubbing (friction), or combining one substance with another.
Humans utilize interactions between matter and energy.
• chemical to electrical, light, and heat: battery and bulb;
• electrical to sound (e.g. doorbell buzzer);
• mechanical to sound (e.g., musical instruments, clapping);
• light to electrical (e.g., solarpowered calculator)
The force of gravity pulls objects toward the center of Earth.
Mechanical energy may cause change in motion through the application of force and through the use of simple machines such as pulleys, levers, and inclined planes.
The material(s) an object is made up of determine some specific properties of the object (sink/float, conductivity, magnetism). Properties can be observed or measured with tools such as hand lenses, metric rulers, thermometers, balances, magnets, circuit testers, and graduated cylinders.
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