CYCLE 2 SCIENCE

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Middle Level Science (Grades 5–8)

Subtest 1 Sample Items

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Question 1

1. A wildlife biologist is conducting research to determine the cause of a rapid decline in a local population of raccoons. Which of the following statements concerning the decline of the raccoon population provides a testable hypothesis that would be the most practical to evaluate experimentally?

1. Random changes in genetic fitness have reduced the birth rate of the raccoon population.
2. Changes in diet have led to the outbreak of an unknown infectious disease in the raccoons.
3. Stress from changing climate conditions has reduced the health of the raccoon population.
4. Rabies has become widespread in the raccoon population and has increased mortality rates.

Answer to question 1

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Question 2

2. Which of the following scientific breakthroughs provided the foundation for modern wireless communications between cell phones?

1. research on sound transmission carried out by Alexander Graham Bell
2. invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison
3. investigations of electromagnetic waves conducted by Heinrich Hertz
4. discovery of the quantization of light by Max Planck

Answer to question 2

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Question 3

3. In a year-long study, scientists enclose a section of rain forest in a temporary greenhouse structure and raise the carbon dioxide levels 20 percent. They regulate the greenhouse to approximate conditions in a nearby section of rain forest that will be used as a control. The scientists find that the enclosed rain forest produced 5 percent more biomass per square foot than the control rain forest. Based on the results, the scientists conclude that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide will significantly increase worldwide agricultural productivity. Which of the following is the most significant problem with this conclusion?

1. Variables that affect plant growth in other regions were not accounted for.
2. The study did not investigate all of the different components of the carbon cycle.
3. Tropical plants use carbon dioxide differently than most crop plants.
4. The nutritional needs of rain forest plants were not evaluated during the study.

Answer to question 3

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Question 4

4. Which of the following tools would be most effective for measuring several milliliters of a liquid substance?

1. volumetric flask
2. beaker
3. graduated cylinder
4. pipette

Answer to question 4

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Question 5

5. Radioactive isotope labeling using elements such as carbon and nitrogen has contributed most significantly to biology by facilitating the:

1. creation of diffraction images for deducing the chemical structure of nucleotides.
2. use of spectral analysis to determine the chemical composition of biomolecules.
3. analysis of the movement of molecules during biochemical processes.
4. ability to physically separate large macromolecules such as proteins from the cell cytoplasm.

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Question 6

6. A teacher is putting together an investigation that explores the force required to move a toy car. In the investigation, the teacher wants the students to be able to compare the amount of force it takes to pull the toy car across surfaces with different amounts of friction. To perform this investigation, the teacher would normally have the students use a spring scale. However, the spring scale is missing and the teacher's class is about to start. Which of the following objects would be the best substitute for a spring scale in the proposed investigation?

1. elastic ball
2. lead weight
3. rubber band
4. nylon rope

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Question 7

7. A science teacher is reorganizing the room used for chemical storage. In order to appropriately store specific chemicals in a safe manner, the teacher should use a:

1. container of mineral oil to store alkali metals.
2. fume hood for long term storage of volatile compounds.
3. tinted glass jar to store radioactive elements.
4. lockable metal cabinet for long term storage of strong acids.

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Question 8

8. Which of the following provides the best example of a negative feedback system?

1. Melting of sea ice caused by a warming atmosphere increases absorption of solar energy by the newly exposed dark ocean.
2. Sweating and the evaporation of sweat from a person's skin reduces body temperature.
3. Injured tissue releases chemicals that activate platelets and these activated platelets activate more platelets to produce clotting.
4. A public address system microphone picks up noise from its own speakers, producing feedback.

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Question 9

9. In using the scientific approach to analyze and investigate socioeconomic issues, such as hunger in developing countries, it is most challenging to determine which of the following components of the investigation?

1. the goals
2. the essential problem
3. the variables
4. the affected populations

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Question 10

10. In the past 20 years, research in a variety of fields has led to the development of advanced medical technologies for treating chronic and rare diseases. Which of the following questions presents the most serious ethical and economic issue associated with society's support for the development of these advanced medical technologies?

1. How many people will benefit from these new technologies and at what cost to everyone else's health care?
2. Who is funding the research and will the use of these new technologies have unintended consequences?
3. Should animals be used for testing of these new technologies when there are some risks involved and uncertain benefits?
4. Is it appropriate to allow scientists and medical professionals to profit from the development of these technologies?

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Question 11

11. Two scientists present two different hypotheses to explain the same phenomenon. Both hypotheses are reasonable, testable, and explain the existing data. Given that both hypotheses are scientifically valid, the hypothesis that will be favored by the scientific community typically is the one that:

1. aligns with existing theories in other fields.
2. requires the fewest new assumptions.
3. supports previous research in the field.
4. requires the least expensive testing to verify.

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Question 12

12. As cancer deaths increased in frequency, scientists began to investigate them more thoroughly and found that many cancers have hereditary components. Explorations into the specific genes that could be linked to cancer were initially slow. As technology developed, researchers were able to look at an increasingly wide range of genes until they were able to begin comparing whole genomes. As a result of these efforts, ever greater numbers of genes and mutations are being linked to different forms of cancer. Which of the following technologies played a key role in these research advances?

1. X-ray crystallography
2. restriction enzyme digest
3. embryonic stem cell lines
4. polymerase chain reaction

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Question 13

13. In 1928, Bell Labs wanted to investigate the possibility of using long wave electromagnetic radiation (wavelengths of 10–to20 m) for transatlantic communication. Physicist Karl Jansky built a directional antenna to look for potential sources of interference in this band. He found that interferences were caused by a variety of sources, including an unknown source that rose and fell once a day with a period of 23 hours 56 minutes. To which of the following inventions and subsequent discovery did Jansky's directional antenna lead?

1. invention of the radio telescope and discovery of cosmic background radiation
2. invention of the satellite and discovery of planetary orbits
3. invention of the cell phone and discovery of digital communications principles
4. invention of the laser and discovery of quantum mechanics

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Question 14

14. Funding for scientific research may come from a variety of different sources, including government grants, non-profit organizations, and private companies. Which of the following situations is an ethical concern associated with the increase of scientific funds provided by private companies?

1. scientific studies occur at relatively accelerated rates
2. multiple businesses are interested in pursuing the same field of study
3. certain fields of study have less monetary support than others
4. commercial interests influence the conclusions of scientific studies

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Question 15

15. Which of the following strategies would be most effective in promoting students' understanding and retention of new earth science vocabulary words associated with a unit of study that focuses on earth systems?

1. using weekly quizzes to assess students' knowledge of the newly introduced vocabulary words
2. having students look up definitions of the new vocabulary words in both a textbook glossary and a standard dictionary
3. providing multiple opportunities for students to use the new vocabulary words in discussions and in their writing
4. encouraging students to enter the new vocabulary words in a personal dictionary of words they find interesting or useful

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Question 16

16. A student is reading a general science text and encounters a section that does not make sense to the student. Which of the following strategies would be most appropriate for the student to use in this situation to improve and repair reading comprehension?

1. using contextual analysis to deduce the meaning of any unfamiliar words encountered in the section
2. making connections between concepts previously read or learned and those presented in the section
3. identifying the topic sentences throughout the section and analyzing each of the sentences syntactically
4. increasing reading rate and fluency by skipping over the parts of the section that are most confusing

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Question 17

17. A General Science teacher wants to improve students' ability to comprehend print and digital academic texts at the discourse level by helping them recognize a text's organizational structure (e.g., comparison/contrast, chronological, cause/effect). Which of the following instructional strategies would likely be most effective in achieving this goal?

1. ensuring that the texts selected for a given lesson include an example of each type of organizational text structure
2. teaching the students the transition markers, or signal words and phrases, commonly associated with each text structure
3. providing students with guided practice using various note-taking strategies, such as outlining and creating two-column notes
4. modeling for students key morphological strategies, such as applying knowledge of common roots and affixes and structural analysis skills

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Question 18

18. A General Science teacher regularly reads aloud short, complex informational texts that are related to the current unit of study but are written above students' instructional reading levels. During reading, the teacher pauses frequently to use think-aloud and discussion to highlight new vocabulary, deconstruct syntactically complex sentences, and develop students' conceptual understanding of the text's content. The teacher's approach to read-alouds promotes students' content-area reading development primarily by:

1. enhancing their ability to select and use comprehension strategies.
2. building their academic language and background knowledge.
3. helping them distinguish between oral and written language conventions.
4. motivating them to use effective study and research strategies.

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Question 19

19. A General Science teacher would like to promote students' ability to read informational texts closely (e.g., identifying a text's essential vocabulary and main ideas; tracing an author's argument, claims, and evidence). The teacher could best support students' close reading by providing them with explicit modeling and guided practice in which of the following comprehension strategies?

1. annotating a text during reading
2. predicting a text's outcomes before reading
3. using visualization and mental imagery during reading
4. identifying a text's organizational structure before reading

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Question 20

20. The diagram below shows a geologic cross section.

The only complete and undisturbed layer is the layer of sand at the top. A fault cuts across the other layers diagonally from the lower right to the upper left. Deposits to the left of the fault have been pushed up relative to the deposits on the right of the fault. To the left of the fault, the layers under the sand are limestone and below that shale. To the right of the fault, the layers under the sand are shale, and below that limestone, and below that shale. A basalt dike is tilted to the right about thirty degrees and cuts through all of the layers except the sand and the limestone to the left of the fault. The basalt dike also cuts across the fault.

According to the diagram, which of the following statements about the sequence of geologic events must be true?

1. The top layer of shale eroded before the faulting.
2. The limestone was intruded into the shale deposition.
3. The faulting occurred before the limestone was deposited.
4. The basalt dike formed after the faulting occurred.

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Question 21

21. Soils in regions of the tropics with high year-round rainfall tend to have which of the following characteristics?

1. high organic matter content related to consistent warmth
2. low levels of soluble nutrients as a consequence of leaching
3. deep soils produced by centuries of stable climate conditions
4. anaerobic conditions resulting from a seasonally high water table

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Question 22

22. A geologist encounters an outcrop of sandstone that contains well-rounded sand grains of uniform size and composition. Given these characteristics, in which of the following depositional environments would the sand grains most likely have been originally deposited before they became sedimentary rock?

1. flood plain
2. surf zone
3. river delta
4. dune field

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Question 23

23. The geologic cross section shown in the diagram represents sedimentary deposition on top of ancient granitic basement rocks.

from the left to the right the section is larger on the left and the layers become thinner as they approach the right. The layers are labeled from top to bottom. starting at the top there is sandstone, shale, limestone, sandstone, shale, limestone, sandstone, and finally granite basement.

The types of sedimentary rocks in the sequence and the order of the sequence suggest that these rocks were first deposited as sediments:

1. in a coastal region where sea level rose and fell over time.
2. in the semiarid continental interior near a seasonal lake.
3. along a major river valley in the foothills of a mountain range.
4. along the margin of a continental glacier that was melting.

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Question 24

24. The development of the East African Rift Valley is primarily a result of which of the following geologic processes?

1. crustal uplift and fracturing at the interface of two colliding tectonic plates
2. subduction of an oceanic plate at its boundary with a continental margin
3. breaking apart of a continental plate along a zone of crustal extension
4. erosion of sediments in a structural basin of the continental interior

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Question 25

25. The diagram below shows a model for the circulation of air in Earth's atmosphere.

The diagram indicates that at mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, surface winds move southward toward the equator where they rise and then flow northward. At the North Pole, surface winds move southward toward the mid latitudes. At mid latitudes in the southern hemisphere, surface winds move northward toward the equator where they rise and then flow southward. At the South Pole, surface winds move northward toward mid latitudes.

In the model above, the rotation of Earth is ignored and Earth's surface is considered to be smooth with no land or sea interactions. Which of the following best describes the primary mechanism causing the circulation of air in this model?

1. Warm air at the top of the atmosphere flows toward cooler air at Earth's surface.
2. Warm air at the equator rises while cool air from the poles sinks and moves toward the equator.
3. Warm air in the lower atmosphere prevents cold air at higher altitudes from sinking and vice versa.
4. Warm air at the equator spreads along the surface of Earth and rises to displace cold air at the poles.

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Question 26

26. Warming of Earth's surface on a sunny summer morning plays a major role in the formation of cumulus clouds and, when conditions are right, thunderstorms. Which of the following physical processes is central in this transfer of energy from the surface into the atmosphere?

1. convection
2. conduction
3. radiation
4. evaporation

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Question 27

27. Which of the following processes is a major mechanism helping drive the movement of tectonic plates?

1. the gravitational force exerted by the sun and moon on Earth's crust
2. variations in the intensity and polarity of Earth's magnetic field
3. the flow of heat between warmer and colder parts of Earth's interior
4. changes in Earth's orbital velocity as it travels around the sun

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Question 28

28. Occasionally snow falls into air that is above freezing. Although initially some of the snow melts, under the right atmospheric conditions substantial snow can continue to fall with temperatures several degrees above freezing. Which of the following best describes the conditions that make it possible for snow to fall when it is above freezing?

1. The rapid fall of heavy snow into a saturated air mass reduces melting of the falling snow.
2. Evaporation of some of the precipitation into a dry air mass cools the air and precipitation.
3. A high rate of condensation near the surface removes heat energy from the surrounding air.
4. Expansion of a saturated parcel of air as it spreads out across Earth's surface cools the air.

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Question 29

29. At approximately 30° north and south latitude the surface conditions are typically arid or semiarid. Which of the following atmospheric phenomena is primarily responsible for the climate conditions at this latitude?

1. Diverging winds aloft produce surface low pressure.
2. Converging surface winds produce strong updrafts.
3. Near-surface air is heated by tropical ocean currents.
4. Sinking air produces high pressure at the surface.

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Question 30

30. Scientists have determined that many galaxies in the universe, including the Milky Way, are rotating around a central region containing a:

1. supernova.
2. globular cluster.
3. black hole.
4. neutron star.

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Question 31

31. An astronomer observes a distant star and analyzes slight blue and red Doppler shifts in the light emitted by the star. This information has been extensively used by astronomers to determine:

1. the presence of an extrasolar planet orbiting the star.
2. the composition of the star's core.
3. the existence of gravity waves emitted by the star.
4. the size of the star's photosphere.

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Question 32

32. The surface temperature of Venus is greater than the highest temperatures that are reached on Mercury, although it is almost twice as far from the sun. Which of the following physical characteristics of Venus is the primary cause of the planet's high surface temperature?

1. the occurrence of massive volcanic eruptions
2. the extremely slow rate at which it rotates on its axis
3. the absence of liquid water on the surface
4. the presence of high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

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Question 33

33. Which of the following describes the primary reason why the seasonal change in daylight is greater at higher latitudes than it is at lower latitudes?

1. the elliptical shape of Earth's orbit
2. the tilt of Earth's rotational axis
3. the variation in Earth's orbital speed
4. the orientation of Earth's orbital plane

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Question 34

34. All of the planets within the solar system, with the exception of Venus and Mars, have a magnetic field. Which of the following planetary characteristics generates a planet's magnetic field?

1. movement of a liquid conductive core
2. presence of plate tectonic activity
3. conduction of heat evenly over the surface
4. activity of a hydrological cycle

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Question 35

35. As seen from the viewpoint of an observer in Earth's northern hemisphere, which of the following is a characteristic of the movement of stars across the celestial sphere?

1. All stars appear to rise on the eastern horizon and set in the west.
2. Stars that are close to the pole never appear to rise or set completely.
3. All stars appear to flicker more frequently the further that they travel.
4. Stars that enter the southern portion of the sky become red-shifted.

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Question 36

36. Which of the following is an example of a nonpoint source of water pollution?

1. Chemicals from a train car leak into a stream after a derailment.
2. Effluent from a treatment plant is discharged upstream from a town.
3. Antifreeze salt from roads washes into a lake after the snow melts.
4. Bacteria from a faulty septic tank leach into an aquifer.

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Question 37

37. When monitoring an active volcano that is at risk of a major eruption, geologists evaluate seismic data of local earthquake swarms by creating a network of seismometers surrounding the volcano. The evaluation of the local seismic data is most often used by geologists to monitor which of the following variables involved in a volcanic eruption?

1. the movement of magma beneath a volcano
2. the changing composition of gases building up under a volcano
3. the rate of melting of volcanic rock beneath a volcano
4. the explosiveness of a particular magma body under a volcano

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Question 38

38. In many regions of the world, alpine glaciers have been dramatically reduced in size over the last 100 years. Scientists have determined that a significant factor in this process has been an increase in the:

1. intensity of ultraviolet light at high latitudes.
2. concentration of ozone in the stratosphere.
3. variability of precipitation during winter months.
4. deposition of soot from the atmosphere.

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Question 39

39. The cross section below shows a confined aquifer and an unconfined aquifer located in unconsolidated sediments. There are four drinking water wells located in the geologic deposits. The wells take in water from the bottom 5 feet of the well casings, where the well casing is screened to allow the uptake of water. Hazardous waste is spilled on the surface over a 20-foot area indicated in the cross section.

cross section showing several layers of sediment deposits, an unconfined aquifer, a confined aquifer, several wells labeled a, b, c, and d and a location of a hazardous waste spill. The unconfined aquifer starts high on the left and slopes down moving right. Well A is the furthest left and its highest point is nine hundred and seventy five feet above mean sea level drilled down through the fine sand into the coarse sand and gravel just past the water table surface in the unconfined aquifer down to above seven hundred and seventy five feet above mean sea level. Moving right is well b that starts above the land surface at about nine hundred and fifty feet and it drilled down through the fine sand into the coarse sand passing the water table surface continuing down past the clay aquitard in the coarse sand and gravel in the confined aquifer down to about five hundred feet above mean sea level. To the right and downhill from Well B and the hazardous waste spill is Well C. The top of Well C is about eight hundred and seventy five feet above mean sea level and it drills down and passes through the fine sand and then the water table surface and then the unconfined aquifer of coarse sand and gravel and then the clay aquitard and then reaches into the confined aquifer of coarse sand and gravel at about four hundred and twenty five feet above mean sea level. moving quite a ways right we have well d that starts at about eight hundred and seventy five feet above mean sea level passing through the land suface into the fine sand through the coarse sand and gravel and ending at about six hundred and twenty five feet above mean sea level. The location of the hazardous waste is in between well b and well c on the land surface.

Given the characteristics of the two aquifers and the location of the wells and hazardous waste spill, which of the following wells is most likely to be contaminated by the spill?

1. Well A
2. Well B
3. Well C
4. Well D

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Question 40

40. Valleys and coastal regions surrounded by large mountains occasionally experience atmospheric conditions that increase the concentration of locally produced air pollutants to dangerous levels. Which of the following is typically the underlying mechanism for concentrating air pollution in these geographic settings?

1. Hot air at the surface becomes saturated as it cools down overnight, creating fog.
2. Air temperature drops sharply with increasing elevation, increasing atmospheric instability.
3. Cold air at the surface becomes trapped beneath a layer of warm air, limiting convection.
4. High pressure at the surface is overlain by low pressure aloft, producing downdrafts.

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