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Patterns That Carry a Message is a free printable Grade 4 science worksheet on comparing solutions that use patterns to transfer information, aligned to Common Core standard 4-PS4-3. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 10 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Patterns That Carry a Message

4-PS4-3

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Which is more reliable over a long distance at night?
  • A.A pattern of bright flashes
  • B.A whispered pattern
  • C.A pattern of small taps
2.Why is a pattern better than a single signal for sending words?
  • A.Different patterns can stand for different things
  • B.Patterns are prettier
  • C.Single signals are illegal
3.Two designs send the same message. How would you compare them?
  • A.Measure which is heavier
  • B.Ask which looks better
  • C.Count how often the message arrives correctly
4.Why do some codes repeat each message twice?
  • A.To fill time
  • B.So a missed part can be caught the second time
  • C.To use more battery
5.A message arrives with one flash missing. What can happen?
  • A.Nothing changes
  • B.The message gets shorter
  • C.The pattern is misread, so the information is wrong
6.Why must both people know the code before it is used?
  • A.To be polite
  • B.To save the battery
  • C.Otherwise the pattern carries no meaning to the receiver
7.Which of these transfers information by a pattern?
  • A.A drum left silent
  • B.A drum beaten at random
  • C.A drum beaten in a rhythm that means 'come here'
8.Long and short flashes stand for letters. What makes that a code?
  • A.The brightness
  • B.The colour of the torch
  • C.An agreed pattern that stands for information

LessonPrint · 4-PS4-3 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Patterns That Carry a Message

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A pattern of bright flashes
  2. 2.Different patterns can stand for different things
  3. 3.Count how often the message arrives correctly
  4. 4.So a missed part can be caught the second time
  5. 5.The pattern is misread, so the information is wrong
  6. 6.Otherwise the pattern carries no meaning to the receiver
  7. 7.A drum beaten in a rhythm that means 'come here'
  8. 8.An agreed pattern that stands for information

More practice for 4-PS4-3

Compare designs that use patterns to send information.

Teaching this next? Patterns That Carry a Message is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 4-PS4-3 of the Next Generation Science Standards.