4th Grade Science : Physical Science
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for 4th Grade Science
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Physical Science
If a bike traveled 
To answer this question, we need to recall the formula for speed:
We can plug in the known values from the question to solve:
Example Question #3 : 4th Grade Science
If a bike traveled 
To answer this question, we need to recall the formula for speed:
We can plug in the known values from the question to solve:
Example Question #11 : 4th Grade Science
If a bike traveled 
To answer this question, we need to recall the formula for speed:
We can plug in the known values from the question to solve:
Example Question #1 : Physical Science
If a bike traveled 
To answer this question, we need to recall the formula for speed:
We can plug in the known values from the question to solve:
Example Question #1 : Explain How An Object's Speed Relates To Its Energy
Glen and his friends Liam and London are going sledding at a local park. There are two hills to choose from, "The Bunny Slopes," which are small hills and lots of flat surfaces, and "The Dragon," which is a steep hill and not for beginners. Glen crashes a lot, and his friends are a little nervous. If Glen were to crash into Liam and London when they were sledding, how would the crash be different on "The Bunny Slopes" than "The Dragon"?
A crash on "The Dragon" would have more energy and speed associated with it because it is a steeper hill, so the impact would propel Liam and London forward a long distance.
A crash on "The Bunny Slopes" would have more energy and speed associated with it because it is a steeper hill, so the impact would propel Liam and London forward a long distance.
A crash on "The Dragon" or "The Bunny Slopes" would be the same because Glen would hit Liam and London with the same amount of force and speed.
A crash on "The Dragon" would have less energy and speed associated with it because it is less steep of a hill, so the impact would propel Liam and London forward a short distance.
A crash on "The Dragon" would have more energy and speed associated with it because it is a steeper hill, so the impact would propel Liam and London forward a long distance.
When Glen sleds down both of these hills, he will be traveling at a speed relative to the slope of the hill and gravity's pull. "The Dragon" is a much steeper and longer decline, so Glen will have more time to gain speed, which means more energy behind the collision. If Liam and London are down at the end of the slope and Glen crashes into them, the force will drive both of their sleds forward and slow or stop Glen's sled. The faster Glen is going, the more energy he has behind the impact.
Example Question #2 : Explain How An Object's Speed Relates To Its Energy
Peter sets up his toy train on the railroad tracks he has in a straight line. He has a tool to measure the speed the train is traveling in centimeters/second when he pushes it to go. He set a box at the end of the ramp for the train to crash into. He measures in centimeters how far the train pushes the box and records the data in a table.
What would happen to the distance the box moves if the train increases in speed?
The box would move a longer distance.
The box would move the same distance as a train moving at 70 cm/s.
The box would move a shorter distance.
The box would move the same distance as a train moving at 30 cm/s.
The box would move a longer distance.
Peter’s investigation was testing how the distance a box moved would change as the speed of a toy train increased or decreased. The pattern within the data table shows that the higher the rate of the train, the further the box moved. An inference can be made that the higher something’s speed is, the more energy it has. Higher amounts of energy will result in a more significant change of motion for the object it is acting on. When the speed decreases, the distance the box moves also decreases. There is a direct relationship between speed and energy. So if he were to increase the speed of the train, the box would move a longer distance.
Example Question #1 : Explain How An Object's Speed Relates To Its Energy
Mihika and Craig are racing cars down different sloped ramps. Mihika's car traveled down Slope A and Craig's traveled down Slope B. Mihika's car traveled further than Craig's. Why did her car travel further than Craig's?
Mihika's car traveled further because her ramp was more shallow and allowed her vehicle to pick up less speed.
Mihika's car traveled further because her ramp was more shallow and allowed her vehicle to pick up more speed.
Mihika's car traveled further because her ramp was steeper and allowed her vehicle to pick up more speed.
Mihika's car traveled further because her ramp was steeper and allowed her vehicle to pick up less speed.
Mihika's car traveled further because her ramp was steeper and allowed her vehicle to pick up more speed.
Mihika's car traveled further than Craig's and the children are wondering why this happened. Mihika has a very steep slope to her ramp which allows her toy car to travel faster and further. The more speed that the car can generate the more energy it has, this will allow the car to move further.
Example Question #4 : Explain How An Object's Speed Relates To Its Energy
Mihika and Craig are racing cars down different sloped ramps. Mihika's car traveled down Slope A and Craig's traveled down Slope B. Mihika's car traveled further than Craig's. Craig wants to beat her in the next trial. What can he do to his ramp to make his car travel further?
Craig can raise his ramp to make it steeper.
Craig can lower his ramp to make it more shallow.
Craig can lower his ramp to make it steeper.
Craig can raise his ramp to make it more shallow.
Craig can raise his ramp to make it steeper.
Mihika's car traveled further than Craig's because her ramp was steeper. This allowed her car to gain more speed and gravity to have more of a pull on the vehicle. More energy and speed will enable the car to travel faster and further. If Craig makes his ramp steeper, he will have a chance of beating Mihika in the next trial. In theory, if his ramp is steeper than Mihika's, he should be able to gain more speed and more energy so the car will travel further.
Example Question #5 : Explain How An Object's Speed Relates To Its Energy
Peter sets up his toy train on the railroad tracks he has in a straight line. He has a tool to measure the speed the train is traveling in centimeters/second when he pushes it to go. He set a box at the end of the ramp for the train to crash into. He measures in centimeters how far the train pushes the box and records the data in a table.
What is Peter investigating in this experiment?
How the distance a box moved would change as the speed of a toy train increased or decreased.
There is no way to tell what Peter is testing.
How the speed a box moved would change as the distance of a toy train increased or decreased.
How the speed a box moved would change as the speed of a toy train increased or decreased.
How the distance a box moved would change as the speed of a toy train increased or decreased.
Peter’s investigation was testing how the distance a box moved would change as the speed of a toy train increased or decreased. The pattern within the data table shows that the higher the rate of the train, the further the box moved. An inference can be made that the higher something’s speed is, the more energy it has. Higher amounts of energy will result in a more significant change of motion for the object it is acting on. When the speed decreases, the distance the box moves also decreases. There is a direct relationship between speed and energy. So if he were to increase the speed of the train, the box would move a longer distance.
Example Question #1 : Explain How An Object's Speed Relates To Its Energy
A pencil is on a teacher's desk.
Why does the pencil remain motionless and NOT fall to the ground?
The pencil has no forces acting upon it when it is at rest.
The pencil only has the upward force of the desk exerting on it.
The desk exerts a force equal to the force of gravity but applied in the opposite direction.
The forces applied to the pencil are too strong to allow the pencil to move.
The desk exerts a force equal to the force of gravity but applied in the opposite direction.
An inference can be made that the higher something’s speed is, the more energy it has. Higher amounts of energy will result in a more significant change of motion for the object it is acting on. When the speed decreases, the distance the object moves also decreases. There is a direct relationship between speed and energy. In this case, the pencil has no speed or kinetic energy of its own; the desk is exerting force upwards while gravity is exerting force downwards in equal amounts, so there is no change in motion for the pencil.
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