Science

Science — Grade 4

American Curriculum · Ages 9-10

Fourth grade science centers on energy and how it moves. Students study energy in motion, energy transfer through collisions, sound, light, heat and electric currents, and how energy can be converted from one form to another.

Earth science covers weathering and erosion, patterns in rock layers, and natural resources and hazards. Life science examines internal and external structures that support survival, and how animals receive information through their senses and process it in the brain.

Key topics covered

• Energy — Energy of motion, energy transfer, and conversion between forms.
• Waves — Wave properties, how sound and light travel, and patterns in waves.
• Electricity & Circuits — Electric currents, simple circuits, conductors and insulators.
• Earth's Changing Surface — Weathering, erosion, rock layers and evidence of change over time.
• Natural Resources & Hazards — Where resources come from and how communities reduce hazard impacts.
• Structures & Senses — Internal and external structures for survival, and how senses inform behavior.