How people change the environment, and ways to reduce the harm

Grade 6 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

2. 1.

   Bo sorts four activities. Which one adds carbon dioxide to the air (NOAA)?

   • Building a rain garden
   • Burning gasoline in a car
   • Riding a bike to school
   • Planting a tree in a park
3. 2.

   Esme sorts four cases. Which one is an invasive species problem (USGS)?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   • Rain runs off a new parking lot
   • Native trees grow back after a storm
   • A factory adds a smokestack scrubber
   • Zebra mussels from another continent clog lake pipes
4. 3.

   Jun sorts four cases. Which one is overfishing (NOAA)?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   • A lake gets more fish each year
   • Boats are cleaned between lakes
   • Fish are taken faster than the stock can grow back
   • A river bank is paved over

5. Read this first

   Where rain goes (Data: USGS)

   Ground	Runs off	Soaks in
   Forest or meadow	10%	50%
   Mostly paved (75–100%)	55%	15%

6. 4.

   Using the USGS table, how much less rain soaks in on mostly paved ground than in a meadow, by Luz's math?

   • 35 percentage points less
   • 45 percentage points less
   • 65 percentage points less
   • 5 percentage points less

7. Use the table

   U.S. changes, 1970 to 2025 (Data: EPA)

   Measure	Change
   Six main air pollutants	down 78%
   Population	up 67%
   Miles driven	up 197%
   Energy use	up 46%

8. 5.

   Using the EPA table, the population grew 67% while the six main air pollutants fell 78%. What does that show, by Milo's reading?

   • Pollution fell even as the population grew
   • More people must mean more pollution
   • Pollution rose as the population grew
   • The population fell as pollution fell
9. 6.

   Boats from a lake with zebra mussels visit a clean lake, and nobody checks them. What will most likely happen, by Pia's reading (USGS)?

   • Zebra mussels may start living in the clean lake
   • Nothing, since mussels cannot ride on boats
   • The lake's fish will turn into mussels
   • The mussels will turn into a native kind
10. 7.

    Before the 1700s, 280 or less; 1960, 317; 1990, 354; 2024, 425. Note: Mauna Loa yearly means, rounded. People keep burning more coal, oil and gas. What will most likely happen to the carbon dioxide in the air, by Ren's reading (NOAA)?

    • It will keep rising
    • It will drop back to 280 ppm
    • It will turn into oxygen
    • It will stay at the 1960 level
12. 8.

    Which fix best cuts the carbon dioxide from a family's short car trips, by Tala's reading?

    • Drive the long way around
    • Plant flowers in the driveway
    • Walk or bike for short trips
    • Leave the car running while parked
13. 9.

    Which fix best cuts the sulfur pollution from a coal power plant, by Zee's reading (EPA)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • Burn the coal faster
    • Add a scrubber to clean the smoke
    • Build the smokestack shorter
    • Add a scrubber, which needs no money or water
14. 10.

    Which fix best cuts the trash a school sends to a landfill, by Ari's reading (EPA)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • Recycle paper and compost food scraps
    • Recycle, which needs no bins, trucks or workers
    • Buy more single-use cups
    • Throw recycling in the trash