Can Science Answer It?

Can Science Answer It?: Grade 4 Science Worksheet

Can science tell us which beach is prettiest? Science studies the natural world by observing and testing, so it cannot answer opinion questions. Students decide whether science can answer questions about manatees, Florida beaches, hurricanes, and pets, using opinion clue words like best, prettiest, and cutest. Then they pick the science question in pairs about sea turtles, orange trees, and the sky.

Key Science Vocabulary

• natural world: living things, rocks, water, weather, space, and how things move
• observe: to notice with your senses or tools
• test: to try something out to find an answer
• opinion: what a person thinks or feels; people can disagree
• science question: a question you can answer by observing, measuring, or testing

What Students Do

• Read a short teach box on what science studies, with opinion clue words
• Part A: four picture rows; circle science or not science
• Part B: three pairs; circle the question science can answer
• Answer key with red reason lines

Standards

Florida SC.4.N.2.1: Explain that science focuses solely on the natural world.

Where It Fits in Grades 3 to 8

Earlier grades ask questions about the world around them. Grade 4 separates science questions from opinions. In middle school, students write testable questions and learn the limits of what science can answer.

Teaching Tip

Have each student write one opinion question and one science question about a Florida animal, then trade with a partner to sort them. Prints clearly in black and white and takes 8 to 10 minutes.