4-ESS3-2: Designing for Natural Hazards
Also called NGSS 4-ESS3-2 · Topic: Earth's Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
Clarification statement: Examples of solutions could include designing an earthquake resistant building and improving monitoring of volcanic activity.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 4-ESS3-2 Means in Plain English
Fourth graders come up with several ways to protect people from natural hazards, then compare them. They might design a building that survives shaking, a warning system for a volcano, or a barrier that holds back floodwater, and test which works best.
Students work with four hazards only: earthquakes, floods, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. People cannot stop these events, so solutions reduce the harm. It builds on map patterns (4-ESS2-2) and leads to forecasting hazards in middle school (MS-ESS3-2).
4-ESS3-2 I Can Statements
- I can describe how a natural hazard can harm people.
- I can design more than one way to reduce that harm.
- I can compare solutions using test results and criteria.
4-ESS3-2 Worked Example
A design challenge a class can run on a pan of gelatin that wiggles like ground in an earthquake.
Which tower design stays standing best when the ground shakes?
Set It Up: A baking pan of firm gelatin, mini marshmallows, toothpicks and a timer.
- Set criteria: the tower must be at least 15 centimeters tall and stand through 10 seconds of shaking.Criteria on the board
- Build design A as a plain square tower and design B with diagonal toothpicks as cross braces.Two towers, same height
- Set each tower on the gelatin and shake the pan side to side for 10 seconds.A leans and falls, B sways but stands
- Build design C with braces and a wider base, and test it the same way.C stands and sways less
- Compare all three against the criteria and pick one to improve.Braces plus a wide base win
Towers with diagonal braces and a wider base stayed standing, while the plain square tower collapsed.
Why it works: Triangles hold their shape under sideways pushes and a wide base resists tipping, the same ideas engineers use in earthquake-safe buildings.
Common Mistakes with 4-ESS3-2
Trying to stop the hazard
“We'll build a machine that stops earthquakes.”
Try this: People cannot stop earthquakes or eruptions. Aim to reduce harm instead, with stronger buildings, warnings or safe places to go.
Testing designs unevenly
Shaking one tower harder or longer than the other
Try this: Give every design the same shake: same pan, same direction, same time. Otherwise the test cannot tell you which design is stronger.
Stopping at one idea
Building one tower and calling it done
Try this: Sketch two or three different solutions, test each, and compare them against your criteria before choosing one to improve.
Where 4-ESS3-2 Fits
Practice 4-ESS3-2
Quick Check
- Why can't engineers prevent earthquakes?
- Name one way to lessen harm from a volcano.
- Why do cross braces help a tower in an earthquake?