Ohio Science Test Prep

Which location on the continent of Africa would have once corresponded to Location R on South America before the landmass Pangaea broke apart?

• Location 1

• Location 2

• Location 3

• Location 4

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to identify which location on the current continent of Africa was previously joined to a location identified on the current continent of South America. Students must recall that South America and Africa were joined at the time Pangaea existed and that they fit together much like a jigsaw puzzle. Observing the contours of the coastlines, Location R matches the point on Africa labeled “3”

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

A stream flows from high to lower elevation into a lake.

In which location does the greatest amount of deposition occur?

• location 1

• location 2

• location 3

• location 4

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to identify the area with the most deposition for a stream emptying into a lake. As water is pulled by gravity and flows downhill toward the lake both erosion and deposition are taking place at rates which 10 (2021) depend on a variety of factors. One of those factors is velocity. The steeper the slope the greater the velocity of the water and the more sediment load the stream can carry. Steep areas will generally have more erosion and less deposition. Water flowing over flatter areas will have less velocity, resulting in more deposition. When flowing water enters a lake, it reduces velocity significantly and is unable to carry as much sediment as previously. The greatest amount of deposition for a stream is generally where it empties into a large body of water such as a lake or ocean.

Students constructed a simplified model showing the role convection currents play in transferring energy within the layers of Earth's interior. The diagram shows the students' model.

​ Cork : ​ (a)  

Heat Source: ​ (b)  

Water: ​ (c)  

• Crust
• Core
• Mantle

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to interpret a model of the role of convection currents in energy transfer. The student must examine the model and identify which parts correspond to various parts of Earth’s interior. The heat source represents Earth’s core, which is a source of the uneven heating in Earth’s mantle. The water represents Earth’s mantle, which is able to support convection currents created by uneven heating. The cork represents Earth’s crustal tectonic plates, which move with the underlying convection currents.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

How will the population of insects change over time? (what color dots would most likely survive) Explain why.

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to recognize that individuals with a trait for pesticide resistance are more likely to survive and reproduce in an environment where the population is exposed to pesticides. When insects are exposed to pesticides, those with high levels of resistance are most likely to survive long enough to reproduce. Genetic traits for pesticide resistance are therefore more likely to be passed to future generations. After several generations, the population is likely to have shifted to include a greater percentage of pesticide resistant insects.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

A student continuously pushes a sled and the sled moves to the right across a flat surface at constant speed. Then a gust of wind slows the sled down.

Drag the correct directions of each force acting on the sled.

F friction: ​ ​ (a)  

F gravity: ​ (b)  

F push: ​ (c)  

F wind: ​ ​ (d)  

• Left
• Down
• Right
• Up

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Which feature on Earth's crust is in the same location as most of these volcanoes?

• mantle

• hot spots

• ocean currents

• tectonic plate boundaries

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to recognize that volcanoes are often located at plate boundaries. Students are given a map that shows the location of some volcanoes on Earth. A few of these volcanoes are located over hot spots, but the majority of them are located along crustal plates boundaries. Students could arrive at the correct response in three ways, all of which involve recalling scientific knowledge. • They could simply recall that most volcanoes are located at plate boundaries. • They could look at the given map and notice many volcano locations coincide with plate boundaries they recall from other maps. • They could examine the answer choices and recall that only one of them is a feature of the crust. Hot spots and mantle are in the mantle and ocean currents are found in the ocean.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

In cattle, the absence of horns (N) is dominant to the presence of horns (n).

Place allele labels for the parents and offspring in the Punnett square to show that it is possible for parents without horns to produce offspring with horns.

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to demonstrate how two parents with phenotypes displaying a dominant trait can produce offspring which display the recessive trait. The student must identify that parents who are heterozygous will have both a dominant and a recessive allele but will display the dominant trait. If each parent is hybrid for the trait, it is possible for offspring to receive a recessive allele from each parent. These offspring would display the recessive trait. The student must identify the parents for the cross and then complete a Punnett square showing that theoretically 25% of their offspring would display the recessive trait.

The two satellite images show the changes over time to an area where a river flows into a body of water. The location of a specific change is marked by an arrow.

Select the two constructive geologic processes that caused the change marked by the arrow.

• sedimentation

• delta formation

• tectonic activity

• seafloor spreading

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to recall the geologic processes that form a delta. The student is also required to compare the velocity of water in a river with the body of water it is emptying into. The student uses evidence from satellite images taken at two points in time to determine that a delta has been forming from the sediment dropped by the river as it empties into a large body of water. As a river flows downhill it picks up and transports weathered materials. Faster moving water is able to carry larger amounts of sediment. Because of this, some of the suspended materials are deposited at various locations as the river flows; while others are carried to the mouth of the river. When the river empties into the large body of water there is a sudden decrease in velocity. Many of the remaining suspended materials are deposited at this location. Over time, these deposited materials result in the formation of a delta.

The diagram shows a top view of a boundary between two tectonic plates. A rift valley forms between the plates. The star and triangle mark two points on these plates at a particular time.

Click on a box to show each symbol's future location as the plates continue to move.

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to recall that rift valleys form at divergent plate boundaries. Specific locations on the two adjacent plates, indicated by a triangle and a star, will move away from each other. At divergent plate boundaries plates are separating from one another. Therefore, locations on each plate move away from one another perpendicular to the plate boundary.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

In the diagram shown, the shaded region represents a part of a field around a negatively charged particle. Four positions in this region are numbered.

To which numbered position should a positively charge particle be placed in order to maximize the strength of the electric force action on the particle?

• position 1

• position 2

• position 3

• position 4

Answer explanation

This item requires the student to determine the location where in an electrostatic field the forces will be greatest. When a positively charged particle is placed near a negatively charged particle the particles will experience attractive forces. The smaller the distance between the particles the greater the forces on the particles

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-3

NGSS.MS-PS2-5