Worksheet

A Courtyard Model at the Bike Shop

Analyze bike-shop courtyard observations and test a new design by modeling interactions among land, water, air, and living things.

Grade 5ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to5-ESS2-1

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Single worksheet
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1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
14 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer, Drawing

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students identify interactions among land, water, air, and living things from observations.
Students use evidence from a model test to explain how changing one part can affect other Earth systems.
Students build and evaluate a model that connects four Earth-system parts.

How to use

Read the courtyard report together, then have students use the observations and model-test results to answer the questions. Provide drawing space for the final model.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

5-ESS2-1

Model how land, water, air and living things interact.

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A Courtyard Model at the Bike Shop

Use observations to model how land, water, air, and living things interact.

Read the courtyard report

Read the report and use its observations to answer the questions.

Rain at Spoke Street Bike Shop

Spoke Street Bike Shop has a small courtyard behind its repair room. A roof downspout empties into a shallow basin made of soil. Low grasses grow in part of the basin. The rest of the courtyard has compacted gravel and a paved path. The shop team wants to understand how these parts work together before changing the courtyard.

After a 20-minute rain, the team watched the courtyard from the same marked spot. Rainwater ran from the roof into the basin. At the start of the observation, water in the basin was 6 centimeters deep. After 30 minutes, it was 3 centimeters deep. After 60 minutes, it was 1 centimeter deep. The soil beside the basin felt damp, while the paved path had no puddles.

A west breeze blew during the observation. The grass stems leaned east, and a loose paper strip near the basin also moved east. At the end of the observation, several earthworms were seen in the damp soil. The team did not measure how much water entered the soil, how much entered the air, or how much water the grasses used.

For a small model test, the team built two trays with the same slope and placed the same amount of water on each tray. Tray A had loose soil and low living plants. Tray B had compacted gravel and no plants. The team used the same pouring time and collected runoff for 10 minutes. Tray A produced 3.2 liters of runoff. Tray B produced 6.8 liters. The trays were much smaller than the real courtyard.

Which part of the report is an example of land?

A. The west breeze
B. The grass stems
C. The damp soil
D. The rainwater

How many centimeters did the basin water level decrease from the start to 60 minutes? centimeters

Select the TWO observations that directly show an interaction between air and a living thing.

The grass stems leaned east while the west breeze blew.Water ran from the roof into the basin.Several earthworms were seen in damp soil.A loose paper strip and the grass both moved east.

Why did the team use the same slope, water amount, and pouring time for both trays?

A. So the tray results could be compared fairly
B. So both trays would contain the same living plants
C. So the gravel would become loose soil
D. So the real courtyard would receive more rain

Sort each statement by whether the report provides evidence for it.

Rainwater moved from the roof toward the soil basin.Grass roots caused much of the basin water to enter the air.A west breeze moved the grass toward the east.Earthworms caused the basin water level to fall.

Supported by the report	Not established by the report

Which model statement best connects land, water, air, and living things using the report's observations?

A. The paved path makes rain fall from the roof, and worms make the breeze.
B. The breeze changes into soil water, and the grass changes into gravel.
C. Rainwater stays on the roof, while the basin stays separate from living things.
D. Roof water enters the basin, worms live in damp soil, and wind bends the grass.

Make a claim about one interaction in the courtyard. Support your claim with two observations from the report. Do not claim that the report measured something it did not measure.

Apply the model to a new design

Use the new situation and the tray results to answer the questions. Think about what the model shows and what it does not show.

The shop plans a covered bicycle parking area beside the courtyard. Designers are comparing two small models. Model A has loose soil and low living plants. Model B has compacted gravel and no plants. Both models have the same slope, receive 10 liters of water, and are measured for 10 minutes. In Model A, 3.2 liters of runoff are collected. In Model B, 6.8 liters are collected. The designers also plan to add a small ribbon above each model to show the direction of moving air.

Which claim is best supported by the two model results?

A. The planted model produced more runoff than the gravel model.
B. The planted-soil model produced less runoff during this test.
C. The gravel model proves that plants use no water.
D. The test shows that air had no connection to either model.

Select the TWO features that changed between Model A and Model B.

The type of surface materialThe amount of water pouredThe presence of living plantsThe length of the collection time

10.

How many liters more runoff did Model B produce than Model A? liters

11.

The designers want to test the effect of living plants by themselves. Which new comparison would be fairest?

A. Use loose soil with plants in one tray and compacted gravel without plants in the other.
B. Use plants and loose soil in one tray, then use gravel and a steeper slope in the other.
C. Use the same loose soil and slope, but change whether one tray has living plants.
D. Use a planted tray after rain and a gravel tray during a dry period.

12.

Sort each proposed model statement by whether the report and model test support it.

Water poured on the tray can become collected runoff.Plants cause much of the water that leaves the soil to enter the air.The planted-soil model produced less runoff than the compacted-gravel model in this test.Moving air carried a measured amount of basin water away.

Supported by the evidence	More evidence is needed

13.

Draw a model for the planned courtyard. Label land, water, air, and living things. Add at least four arrows that show interactions, and label each arrow with a process or observation from the report or model test.

14.

The shop can choose a planted-soil parking edge or a compacted-gravel edge. Make a claim about which design would better connect water and living things in the courtyard. Use at least two numbers or observations from the report or model test, and explain one way air could be included in the model.