TCAP Science Review

A student sets up the cardboard tube shown. The student holds the tube at an angle. The student drops a ball into each hole, then measures how fast the ball travels when it comes out of the tube. 

Dropping the ball into which hole will cause the ball to travel the fastest?

• Hole 1, because the ball will have the most potential energy

• Hole 2, because the ball will have the most kinetic energy

• Hole 3, because the ball will have the least potential energy

• Hole 4, because the ball will have the least kinetic energy

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

Which three statements correctly describe materials plants need?

• Plants need sunlight to grow.

• Plants need water to grow.

• Plants need soil to photosynthesize.

• Plants need carbon dioxide to photosynthesize.

• Plants need oxygen to photosynthesize.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

The diagram shown is a model of the different layers inside Earth. Which two statements best compare the crust to the rest of the layers?

• The crust surrounds all the other layers and is solid.

• The crust is the innermost layer and is liquid.

• The crust is the thinnest layer and is solid.

• The crust is the outermost layer and is liquid.

• The crust is the thickest layer and is solid.

A beaver is a mammal that builds its home in a stream or river. The beaver’s home is called a lodge. The beaver builds the lodge in the middle of a pond it creates by building dams in the stream. The picture shows a model of a stream ecosystem with two beaver dams and a beaver lodge. Based on the model, what would most likely happen to the ecosystem if the beavers and their dams were removed?

• The trees would have more water to use as the stream water moves more slowly through the ecosystem.

• The stream would be wider and deeper as the stream water moves more slowly through the ecosystem.

• The banks of the stream would have less erosion as the stream water moves more quickly through the ecosystem.

• The water used by plants on the banks of the stream would be reduced as the stream water moves more quickly through the ecosystem.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Which of the following best defines science?

• A collection of unchangeable facts about the natural world

• The study of the natural world through observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanations

• A belief system based on assumptions about the natural world

• A method for proving theories beyond doubt

Tags

DOK Level 1: Recall

A student saw a rainbow outside after school. The next day the student decided to model how rainbows form. The student shines white light through a glass prism and sees how the light splits up into many colors. Which two ways does the student’s model need to be changed to better show how rainbows are formed?

• The prism should be as high in the air as rainbows are.

• The model needs to be outside because rainbows only form outside.

• The prism should have a round shape because raindrops are round.

• The prism should be made of water instead of glass because rain is made of water.

• Sunlight should be used instead of white light because sunlight and white light are made of different things.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

On a forest field trip, a student is assigned a list of observations to make. One observation the student looks for is evidence of mechanical weathering. Which activity would allow the student to check mechanical weathering off the list?

• an acorn falling out of a tree

• an ant placing a soil particle on an anthill

• a puddle getting smaller as the sun shines on it

• a stone becoming smooth in a flowing riverbed

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Many objects produce thermal energy. Students want to sort the objects into two groups: Group 1: Objects that use electricity to produce thermal energy. Group 2: Objects that use stored energy to produce thermal energy. Which question should the students ask to decide which object to put into Group 2?

• How much thermal energy does the object produce?

• How do people use the thermal energy produced by the object?

• Can the object produce thermal energy without being plugged in?

• Can the thermal energy produced by the object be changed into another form of energy?

Students are making paper airplanes. Each airplane will have a different design. The students want to determine which airplane will fly the farthest. To test the airplanes, the students make two rules. Which method best allows students to launch the airplanes with the same force?

• Have different students launch each of the airplanes by throwing them.

• Wait for a strong wind to launch each of the airplanes.

• Blow into a straw attached to each airplane to launch them.

• Stretch a rubber band to the same length to launch each airplane.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Which picture shows the most likely wave image recorded when the student struck bar 2 on the xylophone?

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Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1