Scoring guide · Weeks 1–6 · 25–30 min · 32 points
Science Unit 1 Test: Properties of Matter
Directions for the grown-up
You may read every question, choice, table and passage aloud to your child. This test checks science thinking, not reading. Do not explain science words or hint at answers. No materials are needed. Let your child point at the tables while you read them.
Part 1: Observable Properties (8 points)
- Which object is hard but bends?Answer: plastic ruler · 2 points
- Which two objects have all the same properties in the table?Answer: the washcloth and the paper napkin · 2 points
- Name two properties that are different for the key and the washcloth.Answer: Any two: the key is hard and the washcloth is soft; the key does not bend and the washcloth bends; the key does not soak up water and the washcloth does. · 2 points
- Lena builds a car with 12 blocks. She takes it apart and builds a house with the same 12 blocks. How many blocks are in the house? What changed?Answer: 12 blocks. The shape (what the blocks make) changed. The pieces stayed the same. · 2 points
Scoring: Items 1 and 2: 2 points each for the right answer; on item 2 give 1 point if only one object is right. Item 3: 1 point for each correct difference. Item 4: 1 point for 12, 1 point for saying the shape or object changed.
Part 2: Heating & Cooling (8 points)
Standards: 2-PS1-4
- Butter sits in a warm pan and turns into a liquid. What caused the change?Answer: heating · 2 points
- Melted crayon wax is put in the fridge. What will happen to it?Answer: It cools and gets hard (solid) again. · 2 points
- Write R if the change can be undone (reversible). Write I if it cannot be undone (irreversible). ___ chocolate melts in your hand ___ a log burns in a campfire ___ pancake batter cooks in a pan ___ a sheet of foil is crumpledAnswer: R, I, I, R · 2 points
- Maya says, "If I put a baked cookie in the fridge, it will turn back into cookie dough." Is she right? Tell why.Answer: No. Baking made something new. Cooling cannot undo that change. · 2 points
Scoring: Items 1 and 2: 2 points each; on item 2 give 1 point for "it gets cold" without saying it gets hard. Item 3: 2 points for all four right, 1 point for two or three right. Item 4: 1 point for "no", 1 point for a reason (the cookie is something new, or the change cannot be undone).
Part 3: Material Testing (8 points)
Standards: 2-PS1-2
- Which material is best for wiping up a spill? Use a number from the table to tell why.Answer: The cotton rag. It left only 1 spoon of water, the fewest, so it soaked up the most. · 4 points
- Leo wants a lunch bag that keeps his sandwich dry. Which material should he pick? Why? Then name one thing Leo kept the same to make his test fair.Answer: Plastic wrap, because it soaked up no water (all 5 spoons were left). Kept the same: any one of the square size, the 5 spoons of water, or the 10 seconds. · 4 points
Scoring: Item 1: 2 points for cotton rag, 2 points for using the number 1 (or "the least water left"). Item 2: 1 point for plastic wrap, 1 point for a reason, 2 points for one thing kept the same.
Part 4: CER Response (8 points)
Standards: 2-PS1-4
- Can heating and cooling change matter? Claim: My answer is ____. Evidence: The table shows ____. Reasoning: This is because ____.Answer: Answers vary. Look for: Claim: yes, heating and cooling can change some matter. Evidence: the ice melted in the sun and froze again in the freezer; the butter got soft and then hard; the rock did not change. Reasoning: heat can melt a solid into a liquid and cold can turn it back into a solid, so these changes can be undone; not every material changes at the same heat. · 8 points
Scoring: Claim: 2 points for a clear answer to the question, 1 for a partly correct answer. Evidence: 3 points for two or more facts or numbers from the table, 2 for one, 1 for evidence that is true but not from the table. Reasoning: 3 points for a science idea that links the evidence to the claim, 2 for a link with a small gap, 1 for a restated claim. Spelling does not count. If your child says it well but cannot write it, write down their words and score them.
| Level | Points |
|---|---|
| D · Developing | 0–15 |
| A · Approaching | 16–22 |
| P · Proficient | 23–28 |
| E · Exemplary | 29–32 |