Science STAAR Released Test

A bright-red male cardinal comes to a school bird feeder every morning. Like other cardinals, this bird makes a sharp chirping sound as it hops around the bird feeder.

Which of these is a learned behavior of this bird?

• Having red feathers

• Eating seeds during the day

• Coming to the bird feeder each morning

• Making a chirping sound

One type of fuel was used for thousands of years before other fuels were commonly used. Which fuel is an alternative resource that was most likely the first fuel used by humans?

• Coal

• Natural gas

• Petroleum

• Wood

This valley was most likely formed by —

• A a rapid series of earthquakes

• B volcanic activity

• C a flood with rapidly moving water

• D the movement of a glacier

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Which organisms have a life cycle that is most like that of abalones?

• F Humans

• G Frogs

• H Birds

• J Snakes

The Grand Canyon is more than 400 km long and in some places almost 2 km deep. Which model best represents the main process that formed the Grand Canyon?

• 
• 
• 
• 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

• A Student 1 only

• B Students 2 and 4 only

• C Student 2 only

• D Students 1 and 3 only

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

A family takes a group picture in a park where bluebonnets are blooming. The family notices that some of the blooms are white and others are blue. The color of the blooms is most likely determined by —

• F air temperature

• G the age of the plant

• H the types of consumers that eat the plant

• inheritance from parent plants

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

A beaker with 115 mL of solution has a temperature of 21°C. The solution contains 5 g of salt and 115 mL of water. Students added two ice cubes to the solution and stirred the solution with a stirring rod.

Which properties of the solution changed as the ice cubes melted?

• A The color and physical state of the solution

• B The temperature, mass, and volume of the solution

• C The volume, temperature, and mass of the salt in the solution

• D The physical state and temperature of the solution

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

A family was vacationing in the mountains in a cabin that had no electrical power. They needed boiling water in order to prepare dried soup mix.

With no electrical energy available, which method would most likely provide enough thermal energy to quickly heat the water to boiling?

• Using a microwave oven to heat water in a glass jar for 3 minutes

• Shaking the water in a closed, insulated plastic bottle for 3 minutes

• Shining a battery-powered flashlight on a metal container of water for 10 minutes

• Placing a metal pot of water over glowing charcoal in an outdoor grill for 10 minutes

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-3

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Aquatic plants have adaptations that help them live in water. For example, the structures needed for making food are located on the tops of floating plant leaves.This adaptation helps the plants —

• absorb sunlight

• stay anchored

• avoid predators

• capture fish

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6