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A Courtyard Model at the Bike Shop

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A Courtyard Model at the Bike Shop

Use observations to model how land, water, air, and living things interact.

Read the courtyard report

Read the report and use its observations to answer the questions.

Rain at Spoke Street Bike Shop

Spoke Street Bike Shop has a small courtyard behind its repair room. A roof downspout empties into a shallow basin made of soil. Low grasses grow in part of the basin. The rest of the courtyard has compacted gravel and a paved path. The shop team wants to understand how these parts work together before changing the courtyard.

After a 20-minute rain, the team watched the courtyard from the same marked spot. Rainwater ran from the roof into the basin. At the start of the observation, water in the basin was 6 centimeters deep. After 30 minutes, it was 3 centimeters deep. After 60 minutes, it was 1 centimeter deep. The soil beside the basin felt damp, while the paved path had no puddles.

A west breeze blew during the observation. The grass stems leaned east, and a loose paper strip near the basin also moved east. At the end of the observation, several earthworms were seen in the damp soil. The team did not measure how much water entered the soil, how much entered the air, or how much water the grasses used.

For a small model test, the team built two trays with the same slope and placed the same amount of water on each tray. Tray A had loose soil and low living plants. Tray B had compacted gravel and no plants. The team used the same pouring time and collected runoff for 10 minutes. Tray A produced 3.2 liters of runoff. Tray B produced 6.8 liters. The trays were much smaller than the real courtyard.

1.
Which part of the report is an example of land?
Question 1 options
2.

How many centimeters did the basin water level decrease from the start to 60 minutes? centimeters

3.
Select the TWO observations that directly show an interaction between air and a living thing.

4.
Why did the team use the same slope, water amount, and pouring time for both trays?
Question 4 options
5.
Sort each statement by whether the report provides evidence for it.
6.
Which model statement best connects land, water, air, and living things using the report's observations?
Question 6 options
7.
Make a claim about one interaction in the courtyard. Support your claim with two observations from the report. Do not claim that the report measured something it did not measure.

Apply the model to a new design

Use the new situation and the tray results to answer the questions. Think about what the model shows and what it does not show.

The shop plans a covered bicycle parking area beside the courtyard. Designers are comparing two small models. Model A has loose soil and low living plants. Model B has compacted gravel and no plants. Both models have the same slope, receive 10 liters of water, and are measured for 10 minutes. In Model A, 3.2 liters of runoff are collected. In Model B, 6.8 liters are collected. The designers also plan to add a small ribbon above each model to show the direction of moving air.
8.
Which claim is best supported by the two model results?
Question 8 options
9.
Select the TWO features that changed between Model A and Model B.

10.

How many liters more runoff did Model B produce than Model A? liters

11.
The designers want to test the effect of living plants by themselves. Which new comparison would be fairest?
Question 11 options
12.
Sort each proposed model statement by whether the report and model test support it.
13.
Draw a model for the planned courtyard. Label land, water, air, and living things. Add at least four arrows that show interactions, and label each arrow with a process or observation from the report or model test.
14.
The shop can choose a planted-soil parking edge or a compacted-gravel edge. Make a claim about which design would better connect water and living things in the courtyard. Use at least two numbers or observations from the report or model test, and explain one way air could be included in the model.