Science

Grade 4 Physical Setting

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VITAL NY State Test Prep

RESOURCE	GRADE LEVEL	MEDIA TYPE
Air Is Matter Students investigate air and how it is something that occupies space, has mass, and exerts pressure.	K-2	Lesson Plan
All Planet Sizes This illustration from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory shows the approximate sizes of the planets relative to each other. Note that the planets are not shown at appropriate distances from the Sun.	3-12	Image
A Boat That Floats In this video from Curious George, children build boats out of everyday materials and then predict and observe whether the boats sink or float.	K-2	Video
Buoyancy Basics This illustrated demonstration from the NOVA Web site explains the concepts of buoyancy and density by showing what happens when different kinds of wood blocks are dropped in water.	3-8	Document
Characteristics of the Sun This video segment adapted from NASA describes the basic characteristics of our star, the Sun.	3-12	Video
Cloud Types This interactive resource, adapted from NASA's S'COOL Project Tutorial, explains how you can classify and identify various types of clouds.	3-12	Interactive
Defy Gravity! Balancing Balls on Air In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members use a hair dryer to balance a ball in a stream of air, seemingly defying gravity.	K-8	Video
Density and Buoyancy: Mixing Hot and Cold Water Watch warm water float on top of cold water in this video segment adapted from ZOOM.	K-8	Video
Density and Buoyancy: Pouring Air into Water This video segment adapted from ZOOM offers a clever demonstration of buoyancy by showing how to pour a cup of air into a cup filled with water.	K-8	Video
Density and Buoyancy: Testing Liquids Will a grape float in oil? Will a metal nut sink in corn syrup? Watch as the ZOOM cast tests the buoyancy of a variety of liquids and objects.	K-8	Video
Designing Electric Circuits: Door Alarm In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members design and build door alarms using a variety of materials, including aluminum foil, batteries, and buzzers.	3-8	Video
Designing Electric Circuits: Steadiness Tester In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members discover that metal is a good conductor of electricity as they play the steadiness tester game.	3-5	Video
Earth in Motion: Seasons This interactive activity from the Adler Planetarium explains the "reasons for the seasons." Featured is a game in which Earth must be properly placed in its orbit in order to send Max, the host, to different parts of the world during particular seasons.	3-8	Interactive
Electric Girl Anna loves electricity. Watch her construct a homemade flashlight and show off her new, electrifying hairdo in this video segment from ZOOM.	3-8	Video
Energy Sources This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain illustrates a variety of energy sources used to generate electricity, some of which are in use and some of which are under exploration.	3-12	Video
Erosion and Weathering Erosion and weathering may be caused by a variety of factors including wind and water. This still collage produced for Teachers' Domain features images of rock, soil, and beach erosion.	K-8	Image
Experimenting with a Lemon Battery Can a fresh lemon power a digital clock? In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, the cast shows you how this can be done and, in the process, discover how kids can be a part of an electric circuit.	3-8	Video
Exploring Conductivity: Kid Circuits In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members join hands and become electron conductors to complete an electric circuit.	3-8	Video
Extreme Sounds Join Tarissa and Sabrina as they measure and compare the volume of different sounds across New York City in this video from DragonflyTV.	3-8	Video
Finding the Dew Point In this video from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad learns to keep track of both air temperature and humidity so they can predict when fog will appear.	3-5	Video
Gravity on Earth and in Space This collection of images compares the effects of gravity on Earth and in space.	K-8	Image
How Would You Turn a Bolt in Space? In this fast-paced NASA Brain Bites™ video, an astronaut demonstrates the impact of microgravity on the use of tools in space.	3-8	Video
Natural Wonders Many of the interesting landmarks around the world are formed over time by natural processes familiar to us in our everyday lives. This still collage produced for Teachers' Domain features images of a variety of beautiful natural wonders.	K-5	Image
Observe Clouds This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain features a time-lapse video of clouds forming, changing, and moving across the sky.	K-5	Video
Observe Precipitation In this video segment produced for Teachers' Domain, observe different types of precipitation — rain, hail, and snow.	K-5	Video
Observe Sunrise and Sunset This brief video segment produced for Teachers' Domain features time-lapse video of a sunrise and a sunset.	K-5	Video
Phases of the Moon When we look up at the night sky, why do we see the Moon's appearance changing over time from a full sphere to a crescent to nothing at all? Find the answers in this interactive resource adapted from the National Air and Space Museum.	K-8	Interactive
Rock Cycle Animation This visualization of the rock cycle from McDougal Littell/TERC illustrates common rock-forming processes such as crystallization, erosion, and metamorphism.	3-12	Interactive
Shower Estimation In this adapted ZOOM video segment, cast members calculate how much water they each use during a typical shower. They compare their results to their original predictions.	3-8	Video
Solar Car In this video from DragonflyTV, follow the investigation of Isaac and Anjali as they record, measure, and analyze data about how the Sun's position in the sky affects a solar-powered car's speed.	4-8	Video
Solar Eclipses What is a solar eclipse and why are they only visible in some parts of the world? In this video segment adapted from NASA, astronomer Susan Stolovy uses animations to provide an answer to these questions.	3-8	Video
Sound and Solids: Stereo Hangers This video segment, adapted from ZOOM, explores how sound waves travel differently through solids than through air, in this case, a metal clothes hanger.	K-8	Video
Sound and Solids: Visualizing Vibrations In this video segment, adapted from ZOOM, a tuning fork's vibrations are made visible as ripples in a bowl of water.	K-8	Video
Static Electricity: Snap, Crackle, Jump In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, see static electricity make breakfast cereal jump and hair stand on end.	3-8	Video
Surface Tension: Making Paper Clips Float In this video segment, the ZOOM cast relies on the surface tension of water to make paper clips float.	K-8	Video
Testing for Static Electricity In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members show you how to make your very own electroscope. You can use it to find out if an object is electrically charged.	3-5	Video
Testing Insulators: Ice Cube in a Box Watch the ZOOM cast discover which insulator -- newspaper or aluminum foil -- is better at keeping an ice cube frozen longer.	K-5	Video
Thank Goodness for Gravity In this video adapted from the Lexington, KY Public Library, a young boy learns about Earth’s rotation from a librarian, a pendulum, and Leon Foucault.	3-5	Video
Total Solar Eclipse Animation This brief animation adapted from NOVA illustrates how total solar eclipses form and explains the stages from first contact to totality.	3-12	Video
Understanding Vibration and Pitch This video segment presents a variety of sounds -- from animals to machines to musical instruments -- while introducing the basic concepts of vibration, volume, and pitch.	K-5	Video
Visiting a Recycling Plant In this ZOOM video segment, cast member Francesco follows the paper trail to find out what happens to his recyclables. He visits a material recovery center and learns how paper is recycled and the number of trees that are saved as a result.	K-8	Video
Volume and Shapes If boxes have different shapes but are made from the same number of identical blocks, do they have the same volume? Explore properties of shape and volume in this video from Curious George.	K-5	Video
Water Cycle Animation This animation from NASA visualizes the steps of the water cycle, including precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, and condensation.	K-8	Video
Water Phases Water can exist in three different phases. This still collage produced for Teachers' Domain features examples of water in liquid, solid, and gas states.	K-5	Image
Weather or Not - Climate In this video from WVIZ Cleveland, explore the relationship between the sun and the earth. Learn about the earth's axis tilt, spin, and rotation to discover how they affect climate.	6-8	Video
Why Doesn't the Moon Fall Down? In this animated video segment adapted from NASA, astronomer Doris Daou explains how the forces of speed and gravity keep the Moon in a constant orbit around Earth.	3-8	Video