SCIENCE CRCT Study Guide
Animals
Plants
Mountains
The mountains extend
across the northern
part of Georgia.
Here there are mountains, valleys
and ravines along with many
waterfalls. The elevation gets much
higher than the rest of Georgia
which causes changes in the plants.
Deer, black bears, wild turkeys,
raccoons, bats, and foxes roam
the mountains. Trout can be
found in mountain streams
while bass and bluegill fish live
in the lakes.
Cherokee Rose - the
state flower, azaleas the state wild flower,
and many varieties of
apple trees.
Piedmont
The Georgia Piedmont
is located between the
coastal plain and the
mountains in the
northern half of
Georgia.
The piedmont is an area of rolling
hills. Piedmont means "foot of the
mountain." The piedmont has
forests, lakes and rivers. Red clay
gives the ground its color.
Opossums, squirrels, Canada
geese, ducks, woodpeckers,
cardinals, blue jays and owls
Pine trees, oak trees,
and hickory trees are
mostly seen in this
area.
Coastal
Plains
Location
Southern half of
Georgia
Georgia's coastal plain is a low flat
region of sandy, well drained, gently
rolling hills and poorly drained
flatlands
Armadillos, deer, wild boar,
and rattlesnakes.
The Atlantic Ocean is
located on the
southeastern border
of Georgia.
An ocean is the largest body of water
in the world. It is made of saltwater.
The Atlantic Ocean near Georgia is
warmer than most oceans in the
world.
The Atlantic Ocean off the
coast of Georgia is home to
shrimp, tarpon, redfish,
flounder, and sea trout. Sea
turtles make their homes there
also.
The swamp is located
in southeastern
Georgia
A swamp is an area of land covered
in still or slow-moving water, with
plants growing in and around it. Only
a few kinds of trees can grow in such
waterlogged areas. These trees such
as cypress trees have roots that stick
out of the water to take in air.
Alligators, marsh rabbits,
otters, frogs, black bears,
raccoons, dragonfly, ibis, and
mosquitoes all live in the
swamp.
Marsh/Swamp
Description
Atlantic Ocean
HABITATS Standard: S3L1
Adaptations:
adaptation: a body part or a behavior that helps a
living thing survive in its environment
camouflage: the coloring, markings, or other
physical features of an animal that help it
blend with its surroundings
carnivorous plant: a plant that gets some of its
nutrients by trapping and digesting insects and
other small animals
hibernate: to go into a deep sleep during cold
months when food is hard to find
migrate: to move to warmer regions during cold
months when foods become scarce
mimicry: an adaptation that allows an animal to
protect itself by looking like another kind of
living thing that is poisonous or otherwise
harmful
prey: an animal that is hunted for food by another
animal
talons: curved claws that help a bird grab and hold
prey
Adaptation Examples:
Birds have wings to help
them get food.
Birds also have different
kinds of beaks to gather
food.
Animals have body parts to
help them swim such as
webbed feet.
Fish have gills to help
breathe underwater.
Trees with big leaves
collect lots of sun.
Bark protects the inside of
the tree.
Plants with long stems
help to live in water.
Peanuts and cotton are
grown for crops in the
coastal plain of Georgia.
Live Oak trees grow
there too.
The Gray's Reef
National Marine
Sanctuary is a living
coral reef with sea stars
and sand dollars.
Seaweed, sea grass,
and algae also grow in
the ocean.
Cypress trees, as seen
at the top of the page,
cattails and water lilies
all grow in the swamp.
Students should
know the general
area of each
region of
Georgia.
Pollution: Standard S3L2
POLLUTION is the addition of pollutants to the environment. Pollution can change a living thing’s
habitat.
3 Types of Pollution: land, water, air
CONSERVATION is making a resource last longer.
Example: car pooling, turning water off while you brush your teeth
To RECYCLE is to collect a resource so it can be made into new products.
Example: plastic bottles, soda cans, we also recycle paper in our classroom
Pollution mixes with rain to form ACID RAIN.
AIR POLLUTION
Water Pollution
Land Pollution
Littering
Acid Rain
Rocks: Standard S3E1
Igneous Rocks: form when magma cools and hardens. Example, basalt, pumice, granite
Sedimentary Rocks: are formed in layers from broken pieces of matter (sediments) that are squeezed and
pressed together (compacted) over a long period of time. Example, limestone, shale, sandstone
Metamorphic Rocks: are formed from heat and pressure. Example: marble, quartzite, and slate
Minerals
MOH’S Scale of Hardness
Earth’s surface!
All rocks are made up
of minerals.
WEATHERING happens when large
pieces of rock are broken into smaller
pieces. Example: the wind blows
pieces of sand against large rocks, and
over time the sand wears away the
rock
A mineral is a solid
object that has never
been alive.
You can tell one
mineral from another by
measuring it’s hardness
on a MOH’s Scale and
also by its color.
A diamond is the
hardest stone of MOH’s
scale with a hardness of
10.
Talc is the softest
mineral with a hardness
of 1.
Water and Wind can change the
Properties of Minerals:
Luster – how a mineral shines or
reflects or light (glassy, dull or
metallic)
Streak – color when ground to a
powder
Cleavage – the way a mineral splits
Hardness – how hard a mineral is
Color – what color the mineral is,
EROSION is when rock or soil is moved
from one place to another. Example:
water that flows along a river or
stream picks up small particles of soil
and silt. The moving water carries
away the soil and silt. Soon the soil
and silt are dropped where the river
flows into the ocean. There a delta is
formed.
Soil: Standard S3E1
5 Types of Soil:
Our Soil is in Layers:
1. Humus: has bits of dead and decaying plants and
animal matter in it. It is rich in vitamins and
minerals.
2. Sand: (large particles; water drains quickly)
made up of tiny bits of rock, finer grains that you can
see with your eyes, and it does not hold water well.
This is not good soil to plant a garden in!
3. Silt: made up of very tiny bits of rock, too small
to see with your eyes. If you stir dirt into water you
can see tiny particles of silt coloring the water.
4. Clay: (small particles; water drains slowly) this
holds water very well! It is made up of teeny, tiny
bits of rock that you can feel but not see. Clay is
great for making pottery with.
5. Loam: this is the best soil to plant a garden in. It
is a mixture of sand, silt, clay and humus. The humus
gives the loam a lot of vitamins and minerals from
the dead and decaying plant and animal matter.
Top Layer: Has lots of humus in it. This is where
the plants and animals die and decay making
the soil rich.
Middle Layer: This layer does not have much
humus but it does have more rocks, pebbles,
and sand.
Bottom Layer: Large solid rock called bedrock
FOSSILS: Standard S3E2
A PALEONTOLOGIST is a scientist who studies fossils.
A FOSSIL is what is left of a plant or animal that lived long ago, and most are found in sedimentary rock. They
are formed when dirt (sediment) covers the dead plant or animal. The plant or animal’s soft parts rot or decay,
the dirt hardens and the bone becomes rock.
3
Types
of
Fossils
IMPRINT:
CAST:
MOLD:
Trace Fossils or Imprint Fossils: Trace fossils are tracks or trails left in the muddy ground.
Mold Fossils: A mold fossil looks like the shape of a living thing carved into a rock.
Cast Fossils:
Fossils If the empty space of a mold fossil becomes filled with mud, then over time, that
space is filled up and it becomes a cast fossil.
When a plant or animal is extinct that means that they no longer exist. A trilobite and all
dinosaurs are extinct.
Petrified plants or wood is formed when they become hardened with minerals and over time
become rocks.
Fossils are also found in amber which is tree sap. The types of fossils in amber are insects.
Heat: Standard S3P1
1. Thermal energy is the energy of moving particles in matter.
2. Heat is the flow from warmer objects to cooler objects.
3. If you put a cold spoon in a hot bowl of soup, the thermal energy will move from the
bowl to the spoon.
3
Sources
of Heat
Friction: when two objects rub together (example: Hands rubbing, bicycle brakes)
Chemical Reaction: when chemicals mix together and the result is heat (ex: hand
warmers, digestion)
Burning: a fire is made when fuels, such as wood or coal, are burned (ex: camp fire)
Conductor
Insulator
A conductor of
heat is something
through which
heat moves
easily.
An insulator is
something that
heat cannot
move through
easily.
EXAMPLES:
An oven mitt acts
as an insulator
A metal pan is a
because it
good conductor
protects your
because it cooks
hand from the
food quickly.
heat of the hot
pan you are
touching.
Conduction is the movement of heat from
one solid object to another.
Convection is the movement of heat
within liquids and gases.
Molecules move faster in warm water than
in cold water.
Molecules move slower in cold water than in
hot water.
To measure temperature, we use a
thermometer.
Temperature is measured with two units:
Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Temperature is the measure of how hot or
cold something is.
Magnets: Standard S3P2
A MAGNET is any object that pulls certain metals toward it.
Attracted to Magnets
Not Attracted to Magnets
can lid, brad, paper clip, nail, washer
cork, balloon, plastic spoon, wooden block,
button
*Be able to identify pictures of magnets and their representations.
Magnetic Field
Repel
Attract
The MAGNETIC FIELD is the
area around the magnet where its
force is the strongest.
The like poles of a magnet REPEL
The opposite poles of a magnet
ATTRACT