Worksheet Grade 4 Science

Tracing Runoff with the Mirebeck Ridge Elevation Table

A grade 4 science worksheet where students read an elevation table for a fictional ridge, decide which creek each point drains to, and subtract to find the drop.

Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Science
Material: Worksheet
Time: 40 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

4-ESS2-2 NGSS

Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth's features.

How this material aligns: Items 1 through 4 and items 9 through 12 read map elevation data to describe the drainage pattern created by the ridge between two creeks.

All materials for 4-ESS2-2 →

4.MD.A.2 Common Core Math

Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit.

How this material aligns: Items 5, 6, and 10 subtract a creek elevation from a point elevation to find how far runoff falls in feet, and item 8 adds a second step by comparing the two drops already computed.

All materials for 4.MD.A.2 →

Download Word file

This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will use elevation data to decide which side of a ridge a point drains toward.
Students will subtract elevations to find how far runoff drops between a hillside point and a creek.
Students will explain why a ridge line divides one watershed from another.

Vocabulary

Watershed: A watershed is all the land where rain that falls will drain to the same stream, river, or lake. Everyone lives in a watershed, no matter how far from the water they live.

Also: elevation, ridge, runoff, drainage

Teacher overview

A long ridge runs down the middle of the fictional town of Mirebeck, with Yewbank Creek on the west side and Pelmar Creek on the east side. Town surveyors labeled eight points on the hillside and recorded the elevation of each one, which is exactly the kind of map data that shows where rain will travel. This worksheet gives students that elevation table and asks them to sort the points by which creek they drain to and to subtract elevations to find how far the water falls on the way down. Item 12 asks about the ridge top itself, where a small shift in where a raindrop lands sends it into a different creek entirely.

Tracing Runoff with the Mirebeck Ridge Elevation Table — Grade 4 Science

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Use this table for every item. It lists eight points on the hillside in the town of Mirebeck. Yewbank Creek runs along the west side at 210 feet. Pelmar Creek runs along the east side at 235 feet.

Point	Side of the ridge	Elevation (feet)
A	West	430
B	West	380
C	Ridge top	505
D	East	460
E	East	300
F	West	260
G	East	245
H	West	225

Which point in the table is the highest?
Which point in the table is the lowest?
Rain falls on Point A. Which creek does that water reach?
Rain falls on Point D. Which creek does that water reach?
Point A is 430 feet high. Yewbank Creek is 210 feet high. How many feet does the water drop?
Point D is 460 feet high. Pelmar Creek is 235 feet high. How many feet does the water drop?
Look at your answers to items 5 and 6. Which drop is larger?
How many feet larger is that drop?
List every point that drains east into Pelmar Creek.
A storm drain sits at Point F, which is 260 feet high. It carries water down to Yewbank Creek at 210 feet. How many feet does the water drop?
A parking lot is planned at Point B on the west side. In a storm, oil from cars washes off it. Which creek is at risk? Tell how you know.
Point C sits right on top of the ridge. Explain why rain that lands there could end up in either creek.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key

Answer: Point C.
Point C is listed at 505 feet, which is higher than every other elevation in the table.
Answer: Point H.
Point H is listed at 225 feet, the smallest elevation in the table.
Answer: Yewbank Creek.
Point A is on the west side of the ridge, and the west side drains to Yewbank Creek.
Answer: Pelmar Creek.
Point D is on the east side of the ridge, and the east side drains to Pelmar Creek.
Answer: 220 feet.
Subtract the creek elevation from the point elevation: 430 - 210 = 220 feet.
Answer: 225 feet.
Subtract the creek elevation from the point elevation: 460 - 235 = 225 feet.
Answer: The drop from Point D.
The Point D drop is 225 feet and the Point A drop is 220 feet, so the Point D drop is larger.
Answer: 5 feet.
Compare the two drops: 225 - 220 = 5 feet.
Answer: Points D, E, and G.
The table marks D, E, and G as east of the ridge, and everything east of the ridge runs down to Pelmar Creek.
Answer: 50 feet.
Subtract the creek elevation from the point elevation: 260 - 210 = 50 feet.
Answer: Yewbank Creek.
Point B sits on the west side, so runoff from that parking lot flows downhill to the west and carries the oil into Yewbank Creek rather than Pelmar Creek.
Answer: The ridge top is the dividing line between the two creeks.
Accept any answer explaining that water runs downhill in whatever direction the ground tilts, so a drop landing a step west of the ridge line goes to Yewbank Creek while a drop landing a step east goes to Pelmar Creek.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a simple drawn cross-section of the ridge with the two creeks marked and the eight points plotted at their heights, so students can see the shape before they read the numbers. Work items 3 and 5 together as a class, and supply a subtraction frame such as ___ - 210 = ___ for the west-side items.

Extension

Have students add two new points of their own to the table, choose a side and an elevation for each, and write the subtraction that shows how far runoff from each new point would fall. Then ask them to explain what would change if the ridge top at Point C were flattened to 300 feet.

ELL supports

Pre-teach ridge, elevation, and runoff using the cross-section sketch and hand gestures for uphill and downhill. Provide a two-column sorting mat labeled Yewbank Creek and Pelmar Creek where students place point cards before writing item 9. Give sentence frames for items 11 and 12: "The water goes to ___ Creek because Point ___ is on the ___ side."