Worksheet

Sports Fields Around the World

Compare temperature and precipitation information for three world regions to help sports teams understand their local climates.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-ESS2-2

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Single worksheet
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1 NGSS standard
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13 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare long-term temperature and precipitation information for three world regions.
Students use evidence to describe regional climates and make reasonable predictions.

How to use

Read the field report together and review the graph's scale. Have students use both sources to answer, then discuss why climate cannot predict one day's weather.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-ESS2-2

Use information to describe climates in different regions of the world.

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Name Date

Sports Fields Around the World

Use climate information to compare three regions.

Read the Field Report

Read the report and graph. Use both sources to answer the questions.

One Sport, Different Places

A school sports club is learning about outdoor fields in different parts of the world. Before exchanging ideas with other teams, the club studies climate information. Climate describes the usual weather in a place over many years. One rainy afternoon or one chilly morning does not describe a place's whole climate.

The club's report summarizes records collected over 30 years at three study locations. One location is in the Sahara in North Africa. Its average yearly temperature is about 25°C. Another is in the Amazon lowlands in South America, where the average is about 26°C. The third is in northern Finland in Europe, where the average is about 1°C. These are yearly averages, not temperatures for every day.

Records from the northern Finland location also show cold, snowy winters and milder summers. The Amazon location has warm weather throughout the year. The graph shows average yearly precipitation for each location. Precipitation includes rain and snow. Snow is melted before its water amount is measured. Amounts are rounded and shown in centimeters, or cm.

These records describe the study locations. Other places within each large region can have different conditions. The club will use the records to compare climates, not to promise the weather on a particular game day.

Which information would best help the club describe a location's climate?

A. The temperature during one afternoon game
B. Average weather from many years of records
C. The amount of rain during yesterday's practice
D. The wind speed during one morning warm-up

Which list puts the study locations in order from least to most average yearly precipitation?

A. Northern Finland, Sahara, Amazon lowlands
B. Amazon lowlands, northern Finland, Sahara
C. Sahara, northern Finland, Amazon lowlands
D. Sahara, Amazon lowlands, northern Finland

How many study locations have an average yearly temperature above 20°C? locations

Which description best fits the Amazon study location when compared with the other two locations?

A. It has the highest average temperature and the most precipitation.
B. It has the highest average temperature and the least precipitation.
C. It has the lowest average temperature and the most precipitation.
D. It has the lowest average temperature and the least precipitation.

Compare the Evidence

Keep using the report and graph. Decide what the information supports.

Which pair shows that two locations can have nearly the same average yearly temperature but very different precipitation amounts?

A. Amazon and northern Finland: 26°C and 1°C
B. Sahara and northern Finland: 25°C and 1°C
C. All three locations: 25°C, 26°C, and 1°C
D. Sahara and Amazon: 25°C and 26°C

Sort each statement by whether the report and graph support it.

Northern Finland is colder on average than the Sahara location.Every day at the Amazon location is exactly 26°C.Every place in the Sahara receives exactly the same precipitation.The Amazon location averages more precipitation than the Sahara location.

Supported by the information	Not supported by the information

The club claims that the Sahara study location has a drier climate than the northern Finland location. Select the TWO observations that give precipitation evidence for this claim.

The Sahara location averages 10 cm of precipitation a year.The Sahara location has an average yearly temperature of 25°C.The northern Finland location averages 60 cm of precipitation a year.The northern Finland location has milder summers than winters.

Which prediction for next year is most reasonable based on the long-term records?

A. The Sahara will receive exactly 10 cm of precipitation.
B. The Sahara will probably receive less precipitation than the Amazon.
C. The Amazon will receive less precipitation because it was wet before.
D. The two locations will receive equal precipitation next year.

A player says, "Rain fell on our Sahara field today. That proves this location has a wet climate." What is the best response?

A. One rainy day can happen in a place with low yearly precipitation.
B. One rainy day means the yearly average must now be very high.
C. Rain cannot fall at a place with low yearly precipitation.
D. Rainfall matters only when a place also has cold weather.

Help the Teams Plan

Apply the climate information to outdoor sports. Use evidence rather than guesses.

10.

The club wants to compare how rainy July usually is at the three locations. What additional information would help most?

A. The number of players at each field this July
B. The temperature at each field on one July morning
C. The average July rainfall at each location over many years
D. The total yearly precipitation at each location for one year

11.

Which advice about winter practice is best supported by the report?

A. The Amazon team should expect snow because it gets the most precipitation.
B. The Finland team should expect warm days because its summers are milder.
C. Both teams should expect the same conditions because both get precipitation.
D. The Finland team should prepare for colder conditions than the Amazon team.

12.

A fourth team reports an average yearly temperature of 24°C and average yearly precipitation of 12 cm. Which study location has the most similar climate, using BOTH measurements?

A. Amazon, because its average temperature is close
B. Sahara, because both of its averages are close
C. Northern Finland, because its precipitation is closest
D. All three, because each receives some precipitation

13.

The Sahara and Amazon teams grow the same kind of grass in the same kind of soil. Which team is more likely to need extra water for its field because of its climate? Make a claim. Use precipitation numbers from BOTH locations as evidence.