Worksheet

Lantern Walk Earth-Map Challenge

Compare maps of mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes, then judge display designs for a snowy town's lantern walk.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-ESS2-2

Play online Play as a game

PrintLetter-size worksheet Answer keyPrintable answers

Assign to classAssign to your classes, or get a join code

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, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare maps to identify spatial patterns in mountains, volcanoes, and recorded earthquakes.
Students use map evidence to evaluate claims and designs for displaying Earth's features.

How to use

Read the map key and locate one shared cell together. Have students compare the maps, then use location evidence to judge the display designs.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-ESS2-2

Read maps to find patterns in Earth's features, such as mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Lantern Walk Earth-Map Challenge

Compare maps and judge designs for a winter town display.

Compare the Three Maps

Read the passage and map key. Use the same row letter and column number to compare places across maps.

A Map Display for the Lantern Walk

Snow lines the streets of Frostbell as volunteers prepare the town's winter lantern walk. Inside a warming hall, visitors will compare maps of Earth's features. The display team has three simplified practice maps of an imagined region. The region is much larger than the town. Each map shows the same area, divided into the same twenty large cells.

The mountain map marks cells containing mountains. The volcano map marks cells containing a volcano. The earthquake map marks cells where an earthquake was recorded during a study period. A mark gives a location, not the height of a mountain, the size of a volcano, or the strength of an earthquake. Several features can occur within one large cell without being at exactly the same spot.

North is at the top of each map. Columns run from 1 in the west to 5 in the east. Rows run from A in the north to D in the south. A row letter and column number name a cell. For example, A4 is in the northern row. The maps leave out roads, buildings, and many other details so visitors can focus on the features.

The team is considering three display designs. Separate keeps these three maps side by side with matching grids, directions, and keys. Layered puts the marks from all three maps onto one shared grid. It keeps the different symbols and shows several symbols in a cell when needed. Totals replaces the maps with three numbers: six mountain cells, five volcano cells, and nine earthquake cells. The team wants visitors to compare locations, notice patterns, and check claims against evidence.

Map Key and Directions
M = mountains V = volcano E = recorded earthquake location
— = no feature marked on that map in that cell
North ↑ West ← East → South ↓
Each entry between the bars is one map cell. Read entries from column 1 to column 5.

Mountain Map
Columns: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Row A: M | M | — | — | —
Row B: — | M | — | — | —
Row C: — | M | — | — | —
Row D: — | M | M | — | —

Volcano Map
Columns: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Row A: — | V | — | — | —
Row B: — | V | — | — | —
Row C: — | V | — | — | V
Row D: — | — | V | — | —

Earthquake Map
Columns: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Row A: E | E | — | — | —
Row B: — | E | E | — | —
Row C: — | E | — | — | E
Row D: — | E | E | — | E

Which description best fits the mountain pattern?

A. A west-to-east band across the northern row
B. A north-to-south band near the western side
C. A cluster along the eastern edge of the map
D. An even spread across the five columns

Compare the mountain and volcano maps.

How many volcano cells also have a mountain mark? cells

Which cell has a volcano mark and an earthquake mark, but no mountain mark?

A. A2
B. B3
C. D3
D. C5

Select the two comparisons supported by the maps.

Earthquake marks appear in more cells than volcano marks.Mountain marks are more common in column 5 than in column 2.Volcanoes and mountains share at least one cell in each row.Earthquake marks appear in fewer rows than mountain marks.

Compare earthquake cells in western columns 1–3 with those in eastern columns 4–5. What does the map show?

A. There are 5 western cells and 4 eastern cells.
B. There are 2 western cells and 7 eastern cells.
C. There are 7 western cells and 2 eastern cells.
D. There are 6 western cells and 3 eastern cells.

Judge the Display Designs

Use the maps and the three designs described in the passage. Check that a design keeps the location evidence accurate.

Which design puts different feature symbols together inside a single shared cell?

A. Layered, because it combines the symbols on one grid
B. Separate, because it places three grids beside one another
C. Totals, because it lists the number of marked cells
D. Separate and Totals, because both combine location symbols

A volunteer suggests adding earthquake symbols to the Layered design by putting E in each mountain cell and nowhere else. Which cell shows a location that this plan would leave out?

A. A2
B. B3
C. B2
D. D3

The team wants to print claims beside its display. Sort the claims by whether the maps support them.

A volcano is marked in a cell without a mountain mark.A volcano is marked in each of the mountain cells.Each volcano cell also has an earthquake mark.The earthquake cells are confined to columns 1–3.

Supported by the maps	Not supported by the maps

A volunteer says the Totals design gives enough information to find where volcanoes and mountains share cells. What is the best response?

A. The counts show that five mountain cells contain volcanoes.
B. The larger count places mountains farther north than volcanoes.
C. The smaller count places volcanoes closer to the eastern edge.
D. The counts compare amounts but leave out the locations of shared cells.

10.

The display must help visitors decide whether most volcano cells also contain mountains. Recommend Separate or Totals. Explain your choice using a count and at least one cell name from the maps.

Check Patterns and Limits

Use the location evidence to choose careful conclusions and accurate display changes.

11.

The team will search more detailed records for additional earthquake locations. Which starting plan best follows the mapped pattern?

A. Start with columns 1–3, while allowing that other locations may appear.
B. Start with column 4, where the map shows a gap in earthquake marks.
C. Start with row A, because it contains more earthquake marks than row D.
D. Start with columns 4–5, because they contain the larger earthquake group.

12.

Select the two changes that would make the display easier to compare without changing the mapped evidence.

Keep matching row and column labels on the three separate maps.Move the C5 volcano mark to C2 to strengthen the main group.Remove the eastern earthquake marks to simplify the main band.Place a clear key beside the symbols on the Layered design.

13.

Which question would require information beyond these maps?

A. Do volcano cells share locations with earthquake cells?
B. Are mountain cells grouped near the western side?
C. On what date will the next earthquake happen?
D. Are earthquake cells found east of the mountain group?

14.

A proposed display label says, “The earthquake and mountain maps have exactly the same pattern.” Explain why the team should revise this claim. Use two cell names as evidence.