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Predict the View at the Lake Spillway worksheet preview

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Predict the View at the Lake Spillway

Use a lake spillway model to predict visibility, trace reflected light, and explain how shutters and a mirror change light paths.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-PS4-2

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 NGSS standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 14 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 4
Subject
Science
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer, Drawing

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students model light traveling from a source, reflecting from an object, and entering an eye.
  • Students use shutter-test evidence to predict how blocking a light path changes visibility.
  • Students explain how a mirror can redirect light before it reaches an object.

How to use

Read the investigation and test records together. Have students trace each predicted light path with a finger, then complete the final model and evidence-based explanations.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-PS4-2

Model how light bounces off objects and enters the eye so that we can see them.

Preview

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Name Date

Predict the View at the Lake Spillway

Use test evidence to predict when a painted mark will be visible.

1. Investigate the Spillway Model

Read the investigation. Use the test records to compare results and predict what will happen.

A Gauge That Visitors Can See

A spillway carries extra water out of a lake. A nearby visitor center has a tabletop model of the spillway and its water-level gauge. A gauge is a board with marks used to check water level. The class tests whether visitors could see a painted zigzag on the model gauge in a dark viewing space. The gauge does not make its own light. No water is used in this investigation.

A black hood covers the model and blocks outside light. A small, cool LED lamp points toward the gauge, away from the observer's eye. Shutter P is between the lamp and the gauge. Shutter Q is between the gauge and the eye opening. Each shutter is opaque: light does not pass through it. Each closed shutter covers its whole opening. The hood and shutter edges keep stray light out. The observer stays at the same eye opening.

The class begins each test with both shutters open and the lamp on. They change the lamp or one shutter as listed below. They keep the gauge, lamp position, lamp brightness, hood, and eye position the same. For each test, they record whether the observer can see the zigzag. In a light-path model, arrows show the direction light travels. Light that bounces off a surface is called reflected light.

Test records
Baseline: Lamp on; P open; Q open. Zigzag visible.
Lamp-off: Lamp off; P open; Q open. Zigzag not visible.
P-closed: Lamp on; P closed; Q open. Zigzag not visible.
Q-closed: Lamp on; P open; Q closed. Zigzag not visible.

1.
Compare Baseline with Lamp-off. Which explanation best fits the results?
  • A. Opening the shutters makes the gauge produce light.
  • B. The observer needs light supplied by the lamp to see the mark.
  • C. The observer sends light toward the mark by looking harder.
  • D. Closing the hood makes the painted mark disappear from the board.
2.
Select the TWO test records that make a fair comparison for finding the effect of closing P. The lamp and Q should stay the same.

Lamp-offP-closedQ-closedBaseline

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