Iowa / ITBS Science — Grade 3

📋 Test Overview

Test

Iowa / ITBS-style Science practice

Grade level

Grade 3

Length

68 questions (56 practice + 12 challenge) + 4 explain prompts — more practice than Testing Mom's 50

Topics

Life cycles · inherited vs. acquired traits · adaptations · ecosystems & food chains · matter · forces, motion & magnets · water cycle, weather & Earth materials · conservation

How it's upgraded

Concepts reviewed first; diagrams for magnets and food chains; Fred explains the science behind every answer

Standards

NGSS 3-LS, 3-PS2, 3-ESS · Iowa Science

Before you start: Scientists observe carefully, ask questions, and explain WHY. Review these big ideas, then practice.

📌 FlyingMinds rule: Don't just pick the answer — know the reason behind it.

🔮 WARM-UP · NOT SCORED

🦉 Fred asks: Name one thing a living thing needs to survive, and why.

Starter: A living thing needs __________ because __________ .

🎯 Practice score: 0 / 56

🟢 Part A — Living things & life cycles

All living things grow and change. Plants and animals have life cycles.

3-LS1 · Life cycleLIFE CYCLE

1. What is the very FIRST stage of a plant's life cycle?

flower adult plant seed fruit

3-LS1 · Life cycleLIFE CYCLE

2. A butterfly's life cycle is: egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → ?

butterfly tadpole seed frog

3-LS1 · Life cycleLIFE CYCLE

3. A young frog that lives in water and has a tail is called a —

chrysalis tadpole seedling cub

3-LS1 · PlantsPLANTS

4. Which plant part takes in water from the soil?

flower leaf seed roots

3-LS1 · PlantsPLANTS

5. Plants make their own food using sunlight. What is this process called?

photosynthesis digestion hibernation evaporation

3-LS1 · PlantsPLANTS

6. Which do plants NEED to grow?

only candy darkness and ice sunlight, water, and air plastic and metal

3-LS1 · PlantsPLANTS

7. What is the job of a flower on many plants?

to hold the plant up to soak up water to make shade to make seeds for new plants

3-LS1 · Life cycleLIFE CYCLE

8. Which of these grows from a seed?

a rock an oak tree a cloud a magnet

🔵 Part B — Inherited vs. acquired traits

An inherited trait is passed from parents. An acquired (learned) trait is gained during life.

3-LS3 · TraitsTRAITS

9. “Mia can play three songs on the piano.” What kind of trait is this?

inherited acquired (learned) a body part a habitat

3-LS3 · TraitsTRAITS

10. Which is an INHERITED trait?

knowing how to ride a bike speaking English the color of your eyes a scar from a fall

3-LS3 · TraitsTRAITS

11. A dog learns to sit when told. This trait is —

inherited passed from parents a body part acquired (learned)

3-LS3 · TraitsTRAITS

12. Which trait did a kitten INHERIT from its parents?

how to open a door its fur color a favorite toy a name

3-LS3 · TraitsTRAITS

13. Why do baby animals often look like their parents?

they inherit traits from their parents they copy them on purpose they eat the same food the weather makes them match

3-LS3 · TraitsTRAITS

14. Which is an example of a LEARNED behavior?

a fish having fins a child reading a book a bird having feathers a flower being red

🟡 Part C — Adaptations & survival

An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps a living thing survive in its environment.

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

15. Which animal has a special adaptation for DIGGING underground?

a dolphin a mole with wide, clawed paws a butterfly a goldfish

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

16. A polar bear has thick fur and fat. This helps it survive in —

the hot desert deep oceans only outer space very cold places

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

17. Why does a cactus have a thick stem?

to fly away to store water in the dry desert to attract bees to swim

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

18. A chameleon can change color to match its surroundings. This helps it —

hide from predators (camouflage) fly faster breathe underwater glow at night

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

19. Ducks have webbed feet. This adaptation helps them —

dig tunnels climb trees fly higher swim

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

20. Some animals sleep through the cold winter. This behavior is called —

migration photosynthesis hibernation evaporation

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

21. Birds flying south for winter to find food is called —

migration hibernation camouflage germination

3-LS4 · AdaptationADAPTATION

22. A woodpecker's strong, pointed beak helps it —

run very fast peck holes in trees to find insects breathe underwater see in the dark

🟣 Part D — Ecosystems, habitats & food chains

A habitat is where a living thing lives. A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to another.

3-LS4 · EcosystemECOSYSTEM

23. Which describes a DESERT ecosystem?

frozen all year, with polar bears very rainy, with tall trees hot and dry, with cacti and lizards underwater, with whales

3-LS4 · EcosystemECOSYSTEM

24. Which describes a TROPICAL RAINFOREST?

dry and sandy, with cacti frozen, with snow all year warm and rainy, with tall trees and many animals an empty parking lot

3-LS2 · Food chainFOOD CHAIN

25. In this food chain, what does the mouse eat?

the grasshopper the owl the grass directly the sun

3-LS2 · Food chainFOOD CHAIN

26. In a food chain, plants are called —

consumers predators decomposers only producers (they make their own food)

3-LS2 · Food chainFOOD CHAIN

27. An animal that hunts and eats other animals is a —

producer prey only predator plant

3-LS2 · Food chainFOOD CHAIN

28. Where does the energy in almost every food chain begin?

the soil the Sun the moon the wind

3-LS4 · HabitatHABITAT

29. A fish's habitat is —

a desert a tree top water the clouds

3-LS2 · DecomposerFOOD CHAIN

30. Worms and mushrooms that break down dead plants are called —

producers decomposers predators prey

⚪ Part E — Matter

Matter is anything that takes up space. It can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas.

MatterMATTER

31. Which is a SOLID?

a rock milk steam air

MatterMATTER

32. Which is a LIQUID?

ice a brick a balloon's rubber water

MatterMATTER

33. What happens to water when it FREEZES?

it becomes a gas it disappears it becomes a solid (ice) it turns into a rock

MatterMATTER

34. When you heat ice, it MELTS into —

a gas right away a solid cube sand liquid water

MatterMATTER

35. Steam and the air around us are examples of —

gases solids liquids fossils

MatterMATTER

36. Which change happens when a puddle dries up in the sun?

the water freezes the water evaporates into a gas the water turns to sand the water becomes a rock

🟢 Part F — Forces, motion & magnets

A force is a push or a pull. Magnets can attract (pull together) or repel (push apart).

3-PS2 · ForcesFORCES

37. Kicking a soccer ball so it flies forward uses a —

push pull shadow taste

3-PS2 · ForcesFORCES

38. When you open a door by pulling the handle toward you, you use a —

push magnet shadow pull

3-PS2 · ForcesFORCES

39. When you drop a ball, gravity makes it move —

up into the sky sideways forever down toward the ground in a circle

3-PS2 · ForcesFORCES

40. Rubbing your hands together makes them warm because of —

gravity magnetism friction evaporation

3-PS2 · MagnetsMAGNETS

41. Will these two magnets attract or repel?

repel (push apart) attract (pull together) nothing happens they melt

3-PS2 · MagnetsMAGNETS

42. Will these two magnets attract or repel?

repel (push apart) nothing happens attract (pull together) they disappear

3-PS2 · MagnetsMAGNETS

43. Which material will a magnet attract?

a plastic spoon a wooden block a glass cup an iron nail

3-PS2 · MotionMOTION

44. A ball will keep rolling until a force, like friction, makes it —

speed up forever slow down and stop turn into a gas grow larger

🟡 Part G — Earth & sky

Weather, the water cycle, the Sun, and Earth's materials shape our world.

Earth · SunEARTH/SKY

45. In the evening after the Sun goes down, the air usually gets —

hotter cooler brighter louder

Earth · Day/NightEARTH/SKY

46. It is daytime on the side of Earth that is —

turned away from the Sun turned toward the Sun covered by the Moon closest to the stars

Earth · Water cycleWATER CYCLE

47. In the water cycle, the Sun heats water and it rises as vapor. This step is —

condensation precipitation evaporation erosion

Earth · Water cycleWATER CYCLE

48. Water vapor cools high in the sky and forms clouds. This step is —

condensation evaporation precipitation melting

Earth · Water cycleWATER CYCLE

49. Rain, snow, and hail falling from clouds are called —

evaporation condensation precipitation reflection

Earth · MaterialsEARTH/SKY

50. A scientist digging deep into layers of rock is most likely looking for —

rainbows living dinosaurs fossils of plants and animals from long ago thunderclouds

Earth · MaterialsEARTH/SKY

51. Which natural resource do we use to grow plants for food?

soil plastic glass electricity

Earth · SeasonsEARTH/SKY

52. In which season are days usually the shortest and coldest?

summer spring fall harvest winter

🔵 Part H — Caring for Earth

Natural resources are limited, so we conserve (save) them.

ConservationCONSERVE

53. Which is the BEST way to conserve electricity at home?

leave the TV on when no one is watching open the refrigerator door for a long time turn off the lights when you leave a room keep every light on all night

ConservationCONSERVE

54. Recycling paper, cans, and bottles helps because it —

saves resources and reduces waste makes more trash uses up more trees pollutes rivers

ConservationCONSERVE

55. Which is a RENEWABLE resource (one that can be replaced)?

coal oil natural gas sunlight

ConservationCONSERVE

56. Turning off lights when you leave a room saves —

water only fossils energy sound

🏆 Challenge score: 0 / 12

🏆 Challenge round. Think like a scientist — observe, compare, and explain.

ChallengeREASONING

57. A scientist sees that finches with thick beaks survive better where seeds are hard. This is an example of —

a learned hobby the water cycle an adaptation helping survival a simple machine

ChallengeREASONING

58. If all the grass died in the food chain grass → rabbit → fox, what would MOST likely happen?

the foxes would make grass nothing would change the Sun would stop shining the rabbits would have less food and could starve

ChallengeREASONING

59. Why might a frog be found near a pond rather than in a dry desert?

it dislikes plants its habitat needs water to live and lay eggs ponds are colder than deserts always frogs cannot move

ChallengeREASONING

60. You leave a bowl of water by a sunny window and it slowly empties. What happened?

the water evaporated into the air the water froze the bowl drank it the water became a solid

ChallengeREASONING

61. Two magnets snap together when brought close. Their facing poles must be —

opposite (N and S) the same (N and N) both broken not magnets

ChallengeREASONING

62. Which would you use to fairly compare how fast two toy cars roll?

guess which looks faster weigh the cars only ask a friend's opinion measure the time each takes on the same ramp

ChallengeREASONING

63. A bear eats a lot in fall, then sleeps all winter. The eating helps it —

grow wings store energy (fat) for hibernation learn to read change its eye color

ChallengeREASONING

64. Why do many trees lose their leaves in winter?

to attract bees to grow taller overnight to save water and energy in the cold season to become animals

ChallengeREASONING

65. Inherited or acquired? A parrot that learned to say 'hello.'

inherited a body part acquired (learned) a fossil

ChallengeREASONING

66. Which list is in the correct order for a plant's life cycle?

seed → seedling → adult plant → flower → seed flower → seed → adult → seedling adult → seed → flower → seedling seedling → seed → flower → adult

ChallengeREASONING

67. A ramp lets you move a heavy box up to a truck more easily. A ramp is a kind of —

food chain simple machine fossil gas

ChallengeREASONING

68. Best reason to recycle a plastic bottle instead of trashing it?

it makes the bin heavier plastic grows back fast it disappears instantly it can be made into something new, saving resources

✍️ Write it. Explain your thinking. Fred checks length, key words, and mechanics.

✍️ EXPLAIN #1 · SCORED

🦉 Fred asks: Choose an animal. Name one adaptation it has and explain how it helps the animal survive.

Sentence starter: A __________ has __________, which helps it survive because __________ .

✍️ EXPLAIN #2 · SCORED

🦉 Fred asks: Explain the difference between an inherited trait and an acquired trait. Give an example of each.

Sentence starter: __________ is inherited because __________, but __________ is acquired because __________ .

✍️ EXPLAIN #3 · SCORED

🦉 Fred asks: Describe the water cycle in your own words. Use the words evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Sentence starter: First the Sun __________, then the vapor __________, and finally __________ .

✍️ EXPLAIN #4 · CHALLENGE · SCORED

🦉 Fred's challenge: Explain how energy moves through a food chain, starting with the Sun.

Sentence starter: Energy begins at the __________, then __________, and then __________ .

Science — Grade 3

🌱 Living things & life cycles

🧬 Inherited vs. acquired traits

🦎 Adaptations

🌍 Ecosystems & food chains

🧊 Matter

🧲 Forces & magnets

☀️ Earth & sky

🟢 Part A — Living things & life cycles

🔵 Part B — Inherited vs. acquired traits

🟡 Part C — Adaptations & survival

🟣 Part D — Ecosystems, habitats & food chains

⚪ Part E — Matter

🟢 Part F — Forces, motion & magnets

🟡 Part G — Earth & sky

🔵 Part H — Caring for Earth

Science — Grade 3

🌱 Living things & life cycles

🧬 Inherited vs. acquired traits

🦎 Adaptations

🌍 Ecosystems & food chains

🧊 Matter

🧲 Forces & magnets

☀️ Earth & sky

🟢 Part A — Living things & life cycles

🔵 Part B — Inherited vs. acquired traits

🟡 Part C — Adaptations & survival

🟣 Part D — Ecosystems, habitats & food chains

⚪ Part E — Matter

🟢 Part F — Forces, motion & magnets

🟡 Part G — Earth & sky

🔵 Part H — Caring for Earth

🎉 You finished Science — Grade 3!

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