4th Grade Performance Task
Contributed by: New York State Education Department (NYSED)
NYS Alternative Assessment in Science Project (1996)
Student #1
Directions:
Look at the electrical tester in front of
you and make sure that it looks like the electrical tester
shown in the diagram above.
Touch the free ends of the wire clips together
to see if your bulb will light up. If it doesn't, please raise
your hand to let the teacher know right away.
Touch circle A on the mystery card with one
wire clip. AT THE SAME TIME, touch circle B with the
other wire clip.
If the bulb lights, put a check in the YES column in
the chart on page two.
If the bulb does not light, put a check in the NO column
in the chart.
Do the same for all of the other pairs of
circles on the mystery card. Be sure to record all
of your results in the table.
On the basis of your findings, draw a diagram
which shows a possible way the circles on your card could
be connected with wires. Use lines to show where the electricity
travels.
Suppose your data table for a mystery card
looked like the one below. Use the data in table #2 to draw
a diagram showing the possible ways the circles could be connected.
Could the following circuit diagram be in
card #2?
Circle your answer below.
Explain how your used the data table to answer
questions #6 and #7.
