Topic 16 Earth's four spheres — what needs James (21)

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 1 · bank item PP-1 · tests EAR5-021

EasyMCQType 1 — which sphere a named thing belongs to (a canyon wall, clay, a river, the wind, a salmon, people, a frozen waterfall, a rabbit, hot water from the ground, deep-sea worms, a pile of dirt, coral, rock dust, breathed-out air)

Red rock walls rise on both sides of a canyon in Texas. Which sphere do the rock walls belong to? — (a) the geosphere ✓ · (b) the hydrosphere · (c) the atmosphere · (d) the biosphere.

Why it is this type: The geosphere is all of Earth's rock and soil. / The canyon walls are rock. / So the rock walls belong to the geosphere.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 2 · bank item PP-2 · tests EAR5-021

EasyMCQType 2 — what sand is made of; what frost is

A boy in Delaware fills a bucket with sand in a sandbox. What is the sand made of? — (a) tiny drops of water · (b) tiny pieces of rock ✓ · (c) tiny bits of dead leaves · (d) tiny pieces of ice.

Why it is this type: The sand on a beach, and in a sandbox, is tiny pieces of rock. / So the sand in the bucket is made of tiny pieces of rock.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 3 · bank item PP-3 · tests EAR5-021

EasyMCQType 3 — which of four things in one scene belongs to the named sphere

A baseball field in Missouri has grass on top, clay under the grass, and a breeze blowing over it after rain. Which of these is part of the geosphere? — (a) the grass on the field · (b) the rain on the grass · (c) the clay under the grass ✓ · (d) the breeze over the field.

Why it is this type: The geosphere is all of Earth's rock and soil. / Clay is soil; the grass is a living thing, the rain is water and the breeze is air. / So the clay under the grass is part of the geosphere.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 4 · bank item PP-8 · tests EAR5-022

EasyMCQType 4 — how far down the geosphere reaches; where some of Earth's water is besides the oceans, lakes, rivers and ice; where the atmosphere begins

Besides the oceans, the lakes, the rivers and the ice, where is some of Earth's water? — (a) inside the rock, as part of the rock itself · (b) under the ground, between the grains of soil and rock ✓ · (c) nowhere else: the oceans, the lakes, the rivers and the ice hold all of it · (d) only in pipes and tanks that people build.

Why it is this type: Some of Earth's water is under the ground. / Rain soaks down and fills the tiny gaps between the grains of soil and rock. / So some of Earth's water is under the ground, in the gaps between the grains. (v2: the distractor "only in the clouds" went — the course itself says a cloud's drops are Earth's water.)

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 5 · bank item PP-22 · tests EAR5-021

MediumMCQType 5 — which part of mud (soil mixed with water) belongs to the geosphere

Mud, which is soil mixed with water, covers a path in Arkansas after rain. Which part of the mud belongs to the geosphere? — (a) the soil ✓ · (b) the water · (c) both the soil and the water · (d) neither the soil nor the water.

Why it is this type: The geosphere is all of Earth's rock and soil. / The soil in the mud is tiny pieces of rock, and the water in the mud is Earth's water. / So only the soil belongs to the geosphere.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 6 · bank item PP-24 · tests EAR5-022

MediumMCQType 6 — where poured water goes when it disappears into dry soil; what the thin pale layer round Earth is; what happens to the air as a balloon rises

A girl in Kansas pours a cup of water onto the dry soil in a flowerpot, and the water disappears into the soil. Where is the water now? — (a) inside each grain of soil, as part of it · (b) in the air above the flowerpot · (c) gone, because it turned into soil · (d) in the tiny gaps between the grains of soil ✓.

Why it is this type: Water soaks down through soil and fills the tiny gaps between the grains. / The cup of water soaked into the flowerpot's soil. / So the water is now in the tiny gaps between the grains of soil.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 7 · bank item PP-33 · tests EAR5-025

MediumMCQType 7 — which sphere the bottom band / the reeds / the cloud drops in a drawn cross-section belong to

Here is a drawing of a pond in three bands. Which sphere does the bottom band belong to? — (a) the geosphere ✓ · (b) the hydrosphere · (c) the atmosphere · (d) the biosphere. Blind text: three bands, top pale, middle blue with a gray fish shape, bottom tan with pebble shapes; three green reed shapes stand from the bottom band up through the middle band; labels top, middle, bottom at the right edge.

Why it is this type: The bottom band is tan with pebble shapes in it: the mud and pebbles of the pond bed. / Mud is soil and pebbles are rock. / So the bottom band belongs to the geosphere. ⟂ PP-34 (the reeds, same drawing): draw one per test.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 8 · bank item PP-36 · tests EAR5-026

MediumMCQType 8 — which sphere acts on which in a fresh event

Rain water runs across a freshly plowed field in Missouri and cuts little channels into the soil. Which sphere acts on which? — (a) The hydrosphere acts on the geosphere. ✓ · (b) The geosphere acts on the hydrosphere. · (c) The hydrosphere acts on the biosphere. · (d) The atmosphere acts on the geosphere.

Why it is this type: Which sphere is doing the acting? The rain water, which belongs to the hydrosphere. / Which sphere is being changed? The soil of the field, which belongs to the geosphere. / So the hydrosphere acts on the geosphere.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 9 · bank item PP-42 · tests EAR5-026

MediumMCQType 9 — which spheres are at work when a beaver's dam makes a pond

A beaver cuts down trees beside a stream in Maine and builds a dam, and a pond spreads out behind the dam. Which spheres are at work when the pond forms? — (a) the biosphere only · (b) the hydrosphere only · (c) the biosphere and the hydrosphere ✓ · (d) the hydrosphere and the geosphere.

Why it is this type: Which sphere is doing the acting? The beaver and its dam of trees: the biosphere. / Which sphere is being changed? The stream's water, which spreads into a pond: the hydrosphere. / So the biosphere and the hydrosphere are both at work. (The "only" options are the register's trap.)

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 10 · bank item PP-19 · tests EAR5-022

EasyMCQType 10 — which sphere a definition names

All of Earth's water, in the oceans, the lakes, the rivers, the ice, and under the ground, is one of Earth's four spheres. Which sphere is it? — (a) the geosphere · (b) the hydrosphere ✓ · (c) the atmosphere · (d) the biosphere.

Why it is this type: All of Earth's water, in the oceans, the lakes, the rivers, the ice, and under the ground, is called the hydrosphere. / So this sphere is the hydrosphere. ⟂ PP-18, PP-20, PP-21: the four definitions in a row would hand over the set; draw one per test.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 11 · bank item PP-43 · tests EAR5-025

MediumMCQType 11 — which sphere icicles / Greenland's ice sheet belong to (ice must first be read as frozen water)

Icicles hang from the roof of a cabin in Wisconsin on a cold morning. Which sphere do the icicles belong to? — (a) the geosphere · (b) the hydrosphere ✓ · (c) the atmosphere · (d) the biosphere.

Why it is this type: To name a thing's sphere, ask what the thing is. / An icicle is ice, and ice is frozen water. / So the icicles belong to the hydrosphere.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 12 · bank item PP-46 · tests EAR5-026

HardMCQType 12 — which sphere acts on which, where the acting thing must first be read as frozen water, tiny pieces of rock or a living thing

A glacier in Montana slides slowly down its valley and grinds the rock of the valley floor smooth. Which sphere acts on which? — (a) The geosphere acts on the hydrosphere. · (b) The hydrosphere acts on the geosphere. ✓ · (c) The geosphere acts on the atmosphere. · (d) The atmosphere acts on the geosphere.

Why it is this type: Which sphere is doing the acting? The glacier is, and a glacier is ice, which is frozen water: the hydrosphere. / Which sphere is being changed? The rock of the valley floor is, and rock belongs to the geosphere. / So the hydrosphere acts on the geosphere. Hard because: the glacier must first be read as frozen water, then the direction said. (v2: the article's own glacier section was cut, so this is now a fresh event against the lesson; Lesson 2 (The hydrosphere: Earth's water) recalls what a glacier is.)

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 13 · bank item PP-50 · tests EAR5-026

HardMCQType 13 — which sphere acts on which at ONE named moment of an event with two changes

A huge rockslide in Utah crashes into a mountain lake. The lake's water splashes up over the shore, and the mud at the bottom of the lake is buried. Which sphere acts on which when the water splashes up? — (a) The hydrosphere acts on the geosphere. · (b) The geosphere acts on the biosphere. · (c) The geosphere acts on the hydrosphere. ✓ · (d) The hydrosphere acts on the biosphere.

Why it is this type: Which sphere is doing the acting when the water splashes up? The falling rock is, and rock belongs to the geosphere. / Which sphere is being changed? The lake's water is, and water belongs to the hydrosphere. / So the geosphere acts on the hydrosphere. Hard because: two changes happen in one event; the stem names the one to judge, and the child must hold to it.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 14 · bank item PP-51 · tests EAR5-026

Hardmulti-selectType 14 — the TWO spheres changed by river water over a garden

A river in Louisiana spills over its banks. The water drops a layer of mud over a garden's soil and drowns the rows of young bean plants. Select the TWO spheres that are being changed by the water. — the geosphere ✓ · the hydrosphere · the atmosphere · the biosphere ✓.

Why it is this type: Which spheres are being changed? / The soil gets a new layer of mud: the geosphere. / The bean plants drown: the biosphere. / The river water itself is doing the acting, so the hydrosphere is not one of the changed spheres. Hard because: the answer is a set of two, found by asking the second question twice.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 16 · Earth's four spheres · Type 15 · bank item PP-45 · tests EAR5-026

MediumMCQType 15 — the sphere being changed, the acting thing named in the stem

Every spring in Georgia, pine trees let go of clouds of yellow pollen, and the air over the town turns hazy and yellow. Which sphere is being changed by the pine trees? — (a) the geosphere · (b) the hydrosphere · (c) the atmosphere ✓ · (d) the biosphere.

Why it is this type: Which sphere is being changed? The air over the town, filled with pollen. / The layer of air around Earth is the atmosphere. / So the sphere being changed is the atmosphere.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar