Grade 3

Other Mississippi Science sets

• Grade K
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8
• High School: Biology
• High School: Botany
• High School: Chemistry
• High School: Chemistry (Enrichment)
• High School: Earth and Space Science
• High School: Environmental Science
• High School: Foundations of Biology
• High School: Foundations of Science Literacy
• High School: Genetics
• High School: Human Anatomy and Physiology
• High School: Marine and Aquatic Science I
• High School: Marine and Aquatic Science II
• High School: Physical Science
• High School: Physics
• High School: Zoology I (Invertebrate)
• High School: Zoology II (Vertebrate)

Identify traits and describe how traits are passed from parent organism(s) to offspring in plants and animals.L.3.2A.1

Describe and provide examples of plant and animal offspring from a single parent organism (e.g., bamboo, fern, or starfish) as being an exact replica with identical traits as the parent organism.L.3.2A.2

Describe and provide examples of offspring from two parent organisms as containing a combination of inherited traits from both parent organisms.L.3.2A.3

Obtain and communicate data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from both parent organisms and that variations of these traits exist in groups of similar organisms (e.g., flower colors in pea plants or fur color and pattern in animal offspring).L.3.2A.4

Research to justify the concept that traits can be influenced by the environment (e.g., stunted growth in normally tall plants due to insufficient water, changes in an arctic fox's fur color due to light and/or temperature, or flamingo plumage).L.3.2A.5

Obtain data from informational text to explain how changes in habitats (both those that occur naturally and those caused by organisms) can be beneficial or harmful to the organisms that live there.L.3.4A.1

Ask questions to predict how natural or man-made changes in a habitat cause plants and animals to respond in different ways, including hibernating, migrating, responding to light, death, or extinction (e.g., sea turtles, the dodo bird, or nocturnal species).L.3.4A.2

Analyze and interpret data to explain how variations in characteristics among organisms of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing (e.g., plants with larger thorns being less likely to be eaten by predators or animals with better camouflage colorations being more likely to survive and bear offspring).L.3.4A.3

Define and improve a solution to a problem created by environmental changes and any resulting impacts on the types of density and distribution of plant and animal populations living in the environment (e.g., replanting sea oats in coastal areas or developing or preserving wildlife corridors and green belts). Use an engineering design process to define the problem, design, construct, evaluate, and improve the environment.L.3.4A.4

Construct scientific argument using evidence from fossils of plants and animals that lived long ago to infer the characteristics of early environments (e.g., marine fossils on dry land, tropical plant fossils in arctic areas, or fossils of extinct organisms in any environment).L.3.4A.5

Plan and conduct scientific investigations to determine how changes in heat (i.e., an increase or decrease) change matter from one state to another (e.g., melting, freezing, condensing, boiling, or evaporating).P.3.5A.1

Develop and use models to communicate the concept that matter is made of particles too small to be seen that move freely around in space (e.g., inflation and shape of a balloon, wind blowing leaves, or dust suspended in the air).P.3.5A.2

Plan and conduct investigations that particles speed up or slow down with addition or removal of heat.P.3.5A.3

Compare and contrast the effects of different strengths and directions of forces on the motion of an object (e.g., gravity, polarity, attraction, repulsion, or strength).P.3.6A.1

Plan an experiment to investigate the relationship between a force applied to an object (e.g., friction, gravity) and resulting motion of the object.P.3.6A.2

Research and communicate information to explain how magnets are used in everyday life.P.3.6A.3

Define and solve a simple design problem by applying scientific ideas about magnets (e.g., can opener, door latches, paperclip holders, finding studs in walls, magnetized paint). Use an engineering design process to define the problem, design, construct, evaluate, and improve the magnet.P.3.6A.4

Plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations to identify the processes involved in forming the three major types of rock, and investigate common techniques used to identify them.E.3.7A.1

Develop and use models to demonstrate the processes involved in the development of various rock formations, including superposition, and how those formations can fracture and move over time.E.3.7A.2

Ask questions to generate testable hypotheses regarding the formation and location of fossil types, including their presence in some sedimentary rock.E.3.7A.3

Obtain and evaluate scientific information (e.g. using technology) to describe the four major layers of Earth and the varying compositions of each layer.E.3.7B.1

Develop and use models to describe the characteristics of Earth's continental landforms and classify landforms as volcanoes, mountains, valleys, canyons, planes, and islands.E.3.7B.2

Develop and use models of weathering, erosion, and deposition processes which explain the appearance of various Earth features (e.g., the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park in Utah, Plymouth Bluff in Columbus, or Red Bluff in Marion County, Mississippi).E.3.7B.3

Compare and contrast constructive (e.g., deposition, volcano) and destructive (e.g., weathering, erosion, earthquake) processes of the Earth.E.3.7B.4

Develop models to communicate the characteristics of the Earth's major systems, including the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere (e.g., digital models, illustrations, flip books, diagrams, charts, tables).E.3.9A.1

Construct explanations of how different landforms and surface features result from the location and movement of water on Earth's surface (e.g., watersheds, drainage basins, deltas, or rivers).E.3.9A.2

Use graphical representations to communicate the distribution of freshwater and saltwater on Earth (e.g., oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, groundwater, or polar ice caps).E.3.9A.3

Identify some of Earth's resources that are used in everyday life such as water, wind, soil, forests, oil, natural gas, and minerals and classify as renewable or nonrenewable.E.3.10A.1

Obtain and communicate information to exemplify how humans attain, use, and protect renewable and nonrenewable Earth resources.E.3.10A.2

Use maps and historical information to identify natural resources in the state connecting (a) how resources are used for human needs and (b) how the use of those resources impacts the environment.E.3.10A.3

Design a process for cleaning a polluted environment (e.g., simulating an oil spill in the ocean or a flood in a city and creating a solution for containment and/or cleanup). Use an engineering design process to define the problem, design, construct, evaluate, and improve the environment.E.3.10A.4