Communicating in science resources

Students use a diagram of a cutting showing exposed rock layers to answer questions about their formation, age, and geological history.

Task: Complete a diagram of part of the water cycle and answer a question about rain. Assessment focus: Question a) – the water cycle and conventions of diagrams; question b) – evaporation of a solution.

Students interpret a weather map to answer three multiple-choice questions on information it contains.

From a given list students select the correct name for each of four labelled features on a weather map. They then identify a pattern to name a pressure reading number.

Students are provided with a graph showing the average rainfall and temperatures for Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Perth. Students interpret this graph to answer a number of questions.

Students are provided with a map of NZ showing the average annual rainfall in different areas. Students interpret this information to answer three short answer questions, and then construct a bar graph that shows the rainfall for nine North Island locations.

Students are provided with a weather map for the North Island of NZ and interpret this information to answer three short answer questions.

For this task students are provided with three pie graphs on water. Students are required to interpret these to answer four short answer questions.

Task: Match the parts of a water cycle to the parts represented in a model of the water cycle and compare how they are the same and different. Assessment focus: interpreting a model.

Students are provided with a weather map showing the lower North Island of NZ. Students are required to interpret this map to answer three short answer questions.

Task: Answer questions about what happens to water in open and closed containers and compare to the water cycle. Assessment focus: evaporation, the water cycle.

Students construct a line graph from provided data, and then write a summary about the data.

Using diagrams of 6 different common situations, students are asked to identify each situation as evaporation, condensation, or neither.

Task: Students draw to show their ideas about what happens when a puddle dries up. Assessment focus: evaporation.

Task: Draw what happens when sugar is added to a cup of coffee. Assessment focus: dissolving.

Students are provided with nutritional information on three different types of milk. Students use this information to answer a number of questions.

Students demonstrate their knowledge of solid, liquid, and gas particles by drawing the particle arrangement for wax vapour, molten wax, and candle wax.

Students interpret a table on the properties of plastics by answering a series of short questions.

Students are given the formula of two different types of chlorophyll. Students name all the elements present, and how the number of atoms differs between the chlorophylls.

Students are given some information about four gases. They use this information and a key to identify the four gases.

Students interpret the diagrams of mixtures, solutions, and pure substances. Then they draw diagrams to represent other combinations of substances.

Students classify 12 common substances as either a compound, mixture, or element.

Students draw a graph from some information they are given about the heating of meths in a water bath. Students then explain in terms of particles what is happening for the sloping section and the flat section of the graph.

Students use diagrams of substances with labelled atoms to write their chemical formula.

This task assesses student ability to find the text features of a science report about one of our native birds. The task is essentially a literacy task in the context of scientific writing, and can also be accessed from the English Bank.