Grade 4 · Science · Unit 3 of 8
Earth's Systems
Land, air, water and living things work together
What your child practises
Earth's land (lithosphere), air (atmosphere), water (hydrosphere) and living things (biosphere) interact. Children learn how the Sun warms Earth, why sunlight differs by place and season, and why water matters to every living thing.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: 4ES 1.1, 4ES 1.2, 4ES 1.3 · Earth's four spheres, the Sun's warmth and light, and the importance of water
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What is the biosphere?
🌳- only the rocks
- all the living things on Earth and where they live
- only the air
- only the oceans
Show answer
all the living things on Earth and where they live
Hint: Bio means life.
Question 2
Why is the atmosphere important to the biosphere?
🌍- it has no gas
- it has the oxygen living things breathe
- it is made of rocks
- it is all water
Show answer
it has the oxygen living things breathe
Hint: Many living things need oxygen from the air.
Question 3
Snow on Rocky Mountain peaks melts in spring and flows into rivers. Which spheres are part of this?
🏔️- none of them
- only the biosphere
- only the atmosphere
- atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere
Show answer
atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere
Hint: Snow falls from the air, rests on mountains and becomes river water.
Question 4
Why does sunlight warm the poles less than the equator?
🧊- the Sun is smaller there
- the Sun never shines on the Earth's middle
- the poles are closer to the Sun
- the rays hit at a slant and spread over a bigger area
Show answer
the rays hit at a slant and spread over a bigger area
Hint: A slanting ray spreads over a bigger area, so each part gets less warmth.
Question 5
Rain falls from clouds into a lake. Which two spheres are interacting?
🌧️- atmosphere and hydrosphere
- atmosphere and the Sun only
- hydrosphere and the Moon
- lithosphere and biosphere only
Show answer
atmosphere and hydrosphere
Hint: Clouds are in the air. A lake is water.
Question 6
Which part of Earth is it? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: ⛰️ lithosphere · 🌊 hydrosphere · 💨 atmosphere
- 🌊a lake
- 🪨gravel in a riverbed
- 🧊a glacier
- 🏔️a Rocky Mountain peak
- 🫁oxygen
- 🌬️the air we breathe
Show answer
⛰️ lithosphere: gravel in a riverbed, a Rocky Mountain peak · 🌊 hydrosphere: a lake, a glacier · 💨 atmosphere: oxygen, the air we breathe
Hint: The lithosphere is rock and soil. The hydrosphere is water. The atmosphere is the layer of air.