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Stopping Plant Hitchhikers at the Channel Launch worksheet preview

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Stopping Plant Hitchhikers at the Channel Launch

Compare boat-check programs and predict how a community can reduce the spread of invasive aquatic plants into a river and lake.

Grade 5ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to5-ESS3-1

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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 5
Subject
Science
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students use investigation results to predict which boat-check program could reduce plant-fragment transport.
  • Students explain how removing attached plant pieces can help protect native plants and aquatic habitats.
  • Students evaluate a community plan using evidence, time limits, and limits of a model.

How to use

Read the report and review how stacked marks represent boats on each line plot. Have students compare the programs, choose a workable launch plan, and explain how the community should check its predictions.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

5-ESS3-1

Find out how communities use science ideas to protect Earth's resources and environment.

Preview

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Name Date

Stopping Plant Hitchhikers at the Channel Launch

Use evidence to predict how a community plan could protect a river and lake.

Investigate a River-to-Lake Problem

Read the report. Use the science information and investigation details to answer the questions.

The Alder Channel Launch Report

Alder Channel carries river water into Bellhaven Lake. A public boat launch stands beside the channel, upstream from the lake. People bring boats from several waterways. Launch workers sometimes find wet plant pieces caught on boats and trailers. The town wants to reduce the chance that unwanted plants will reach the channel and lake.

An aquatic scientist explained that pieces of some invasive water plants can survive a trip on damp equipment. If a piece reaches suitable water, it may grow into a new plant. Dense growth of some invasive plants can crowd native plants and change habitats used by fish and other animals. A piece entering the channel could also be carried toward the lake by moving water.

The scientist recommended checking equipment before it enters a new waterway. Removed pieces should go into a collection container, not onto the launch pavement, where rain might wash them into the channel. Workers also follow local cleaning and drying rules. A visual check can miss small pieces, so it does not replace those other steps.

Before choosing a checking program, the recreation club held a training investigation. Adults used plastic model boats on a table, away from the water. Six short yarn loops represented attached plant pieces. No live plants were used. Before each trial, an adult tucked fresh loops into the same six marked places on the same model.

Sixteen volunteers who had not used the model were assigned to two groups of eight. In the self-check program, each volunteer read a picture card and had three minutes to remove loops. In the guided-check program, each volunteer had five minutes and help from a trained guide. Both programs used the same card, hand brush, and collection tray. Each volunteer completed one trial.

After each trial, an adult counted the loops still attached. The two line plots show those counts. Fewer attached loops meant more had been removed. The programs differed in both help and time. Yarn loops are easier to see than some real plant pieces, and real boats have more hiding places. The town will need observations at the launch before judging how well a program works there.

1.
Why could checking incoming boats at this launch help protect both the channel and the lake?
  • A. The checks could make river water flow away from the lake.
  • B. The checks could help attached pieces grow before boats enter.
  • C. The checks could intercept pieces before water carries them toward the lake.
  • D. The checks could move native lake plants onto incoming trailers.
2.
Select the two features that differed between the checking programs.

The time allowed for checkingThe starting number of yarn loopsThe tool available for removing loopsThe help provided by a trained guideThe places where loops were attached

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