Table of Contents Georgia Performance Standards Correlation Chart........... 6 Performance Standards Chapter 1 Astronomy................................. 11 Lesson 1 Our Solar System............................. 12 S4E1.b, d; S4E2.d; S4CS7.b; Lesson 2 Lesson 3 S4CS8.c Stars....................................... 16 S4E1.a, d The Night Sky............................... 19 S4E1.a c; S4CS4.c; S4CS7.b; S4CS8.a, d Lesson 4 Day and Night............................... 23 S4E2.a; S4CS4.a c Lesson 5 Seasons.................................... 27 S4E2.c; S4CS4.a, b Lesson 6 Phases of the Moon........................... 31 S4E2.b; S4CS4.c Chapter 1 Review....................................... 35 Chapter 2 Weather.................................... 39 Lesson 7 Water...................................... 40 S4E3.a, b Lesson 8 Lesson 9 Lesson 10 Lesson 11 Lesson 12 Clouds and Precipitation....................... 45 S4E3.c, e The Water Cycle............................. 49 S4E3.d Measuring Weather........................... 52 S4E4.a; S4CS1.a; S4CS2.c; S4CS5.c; S4CS7.a; S4CS8.a d Weather Maps............................... 56 S4E4.b, c; S4CS4.b, c Predicting the Weather........................ 60 S4E4.c, d; S4CS1.a, b; S4CS4.c; Chapter 2 Review....................................... 64 S4CS5.c Chapter 3 Physical Science............................ 69 Lesson 13 The Behavior of Light......................... 70 S4P1.b Lesson 14 Lesson 15 Lesson 16 Lesson 17 Lesson 18 Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque Materials.... 74 S4P1.a Optical Tools................................ 78 S4P1.c; S4CS8.c Sound...................................... 82 S4P2.a, b; S4CS3.a; S4CS5.c Forces and Motion............................ 86 S4P3.b d Simple Machines............................. 90 S4P3.a Chapter 3 Review....................................... 94 4
Chapter 4 Life Science................................ 99 Lesson 19 Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers....... 100 S4L1.a Lesson 20 Lesson 21 Lesson 22 Lesson 23 Performance Standards S4L1 2 Food Chains and Food Webs.................. 104 S4L1.a, b; S4CS4.b Changes in the Environment................... 108 S4L1.c, d; S4CS4.a, c Adaptations................................ 113 S4L2.a Survival of Species.......................... 117 S4L2.b Chapter 4 Review...................................... 122 Investigations......................................... 125 Investigation 1 How Does Water Change?................. 125 S4E3.a; S4CS1.a, b, d; S4CS3.b; S4CS4.c; S4CS5.a Investigation 2 Gravity and Friction....................... 133 S4P3.a, b, d; S4CS1.a d; S4CS2.a, c; S4CS3.a, d; S4CS5.a, c; S4CS6.a; S4CS7.a; S4CS8.a Glossary............................................. 141 Pretest............................................ 145 Posttest........................................... 161 5
Chapter 1 Lesson 3 The Night Sky Standards: S4E1.a c; S4CS4.c; S4CS7.b; S4CS8.a, d Key Words pattern constellation astronomer Getting the Idea Since ancient times, people have looked at the night sky. They looked for patterns of stars. Some of these patterns are called constellations. Constellations Scientists try to find patterns in nature. A pattern is something that happens in a regular way you can predict, or guess. Regular shapes such as squares and triangles can also form patterns. A constellation is an imagined pattern of stars. Most constellations are described as looking like objects or living things. Egyptians described constellations thousands of years ago. Ancient Chinese people did, too. Almost 2000 years ago, the Romans described and named 48 constellations. Those are the names and star patterns we talk about today. The drawing below shows the constellation called Ursa Major. People thought the pattern of stars looked like a bear. Ursa Major is Latin for big bear. 19
People sometimes use stars and constellations to find directions. For example, take the star Polaris. It is part of the constellation Ursa Minor, or the little bear. Ursa Minor is also called the Little Dipper. In the night sky, Polaris is above the North Pole. People in the northern half of Earth use Polaris to find where north is. Look at the picture below. It shows the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major. If you picture an arrow as shown from the Big Dipper to the Little Dipper, you can find Polaris. Little Dipper Polaris Big Dipper Polaris is also called the North Star. It appears to be above Earth s North Pole. So, if you face Polaris, you are facing north. To your right is east. To your left is west. And behind you is south. The North Star (also called Polaris) is one of the brightest stars we see from Earth. 20 Chapter 1: Astronomy
Lesson 3: The Night Sky Stars and Planets Stars and planets both look like tiny points of light to us on Earth. But how they seem to move is different. The pattern of stars in a constellation stays the same. However, you can see a planet in different places at different times compared to the stars. The sun is the closest star to Earth. Other stars are so far away that they seem to be fixed in place compared to each other. For example, we always see Polaris in the same place in the Little Dipper. The other planets in our solar system are much closer to Earth than the stars are. They move around the sun like Earth does. So to us on Earth, planets appear to move across the pattern of stars in the night sky. You cannot see them move in one night. But you can see the planets move if you watch the sky for weeks or months. Ancient people noticed that planets move from one place to another. People have watched the way Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn move for thousands of years. In fact, the word planet comes from a word that means wanderer. A scientist who studies objects in space, like moving planets, is called an astronomer. Discussion Question How do you think sailors on the ocean long ago used star patterns? What do modern sailors use for this purpose? 21
Lesson Review 1. What is a constellation? A. a pattern of planets B. a pattern of stars C. a star D. a scientist who studies objects in space 2. Which object can you always find above the North Pole? A. Mars B. Polaris C. Saturn D. Venus 3. What did ancient astronomers notice about Mercury and Mars? A. They form constellations. B. They are found just above the North Pole. C. They do not move across the night sky. D. They move across the night sky. 22 Chapter 1: Astronomy