3rd Grade Science practice questions and exam guide

Animals like ants live in groups to:

1. Fight each other
2. Help each other survive
3. Sleep
4. Get tired

Answer: B — Help each other survive

Group behavior aids survival. (A),(C),(D) wrong.

Gravity pulls objects:

1. Sideways
2. Up
3. Toward Earth's center
4. Away from Earth

Answer: C — Toward Earth's center

Earth's gravity pulls down (center). (A),(B),(D) wrong.

A levee is built to:

1. Block sound
2. Catch fish
3. Cool water
4. Prevent flooding

Answer: D — Prevent flooding

Levees control floods. (A),(C),(B) wrong.

When forces are balanced, an object:

1. Speeds up
2. Explodes
3. Falls
4. Stays still or moves at constant speed

Answer: D — Stays still or moves at constant speed

Balanced forces → no change in motion. (A),(C),(B) wrong.

Plants in poor soil might be:

1. Bigger
2. Faster
3. Smaller or sicker
4. Smarter

Answer: C — Smaller or sicker

Environment affects plant health. (A),(B),(D) wrong.

To stay safe in a tornado, you should:

1. Stand by windows
2. Run outside
3. Go to a basement or interior room
4. Climb a tree

Answer: C — Go to a basement or interior room

Stay low, inside, away from windows. (A),(B),(D) dangerous.

A butterfly's life cycle is:

1. Egg → larva → pupa → adult
2. Egg → adult
3. Larva → egg
4. Pupa → larva

Answer: A — Egg → larva → pupa → adult

Complete metamorphosis. (B),(C),(D) wrong.

A magnet attracts:

1. Iron and a few other metals
2. All metals
3. Plastic
4. Wood

Answer: A — Iron and a few other metals

Magnets attract iron, nickel, cobalt. (B) too broad; (C),(D) non-magnetic.

An 'adaptation' helps an animal:

1. Survive in its environment
2. Stay still
3. Get bigger
4. Change planets

Answer: A — Survive in its environment

Adaptations = survival traits. (B),(C),(D) wrong.

A 'habitat' is:

1. Where an animal lives
2. A predator
3. A food
4. A season

Answer: A — Where an animal lives

Habitat = home environment. (B),(C),(D) wrong.

Two puppies from the same parents may look:

1. Identical
2. Like cats
3. Different but similar
4. Like adults

Answer: C — Different but similar

Variation within a litter. (A) only twins; (B),(D) wrong.

Weather is:

1. Long-term patterns
2. Short-term conditions (today, this week)
3. The Sun only
4. Wind only

Answer: B — Short-term conditions (today, this week)

Weather = right now/short-term. (A) is climate; (C),(D) too narrow.

How do people prepare for hurricanes?

Board windows, stockpile food/water, follow evacuation orders, listen to the news.

All living things ___ at the end of their life cycle.

Die. Death is part of the cycle, but new life begins from offspring/seeds.

How do wolves hunt better in a pack?

Many wolves can take down bigger prey than one wolf alone could.

What is a magnet?

An object that pulls (attracts) certain metals like iron and steel.

How does a fish's gills help it survive in water?

Gills let fish take in oxygen from the water (like our lungs take oxygen from air).

How can people reduce wildfires?

Clear dead brush, maintain firebreaks, avoid fires in dry weather, follow burn bans.