2019 Moss Science MCAS Practice

Which of the following describes the proper use of a tool?

• A screwdriver is used to bend a thick wire.

• A pair of pliers is used to cut thin sheets of metal.

• A wrench is used to push a nail into a piece of wood.

• A drill press is used to make a hole at a precise angle.

Which of the following processes created the high mountains of the Himalayas?

• glacial erosion

• physical weathering

• the deposition of sediments

• the collision of tectonic plates

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Which of the following provides the best evidence that a chemical change is taking place?

• A liquid forms as a solid object melts.

• A flame burns on the surface of a solid.

• Steam rises from the surface of a liquid.

• A metal object becomes shorter when it is cooled.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

An astronaut drops a hammer on the Moon, and a scientist drops an identical hammer on Earth. Both hammers are dropped from the same height. The hammer dropped on Earth falls to the ground faster than the hammer dropped on the Moon.

Why does the hammer on Earth fall faster than the hammer on the Moon?

• Earth has a stronger magnetic field than the Moon because Earth orbits the Sun.

• Earth has a stronger magnetic field than the Moon because Earth has an iron core.

• Gravitational attraction is stronger on Earth than on the Moon because Earth rotates on its axis.

• Gravitational attraction is stronger on Earth than on the Moon because Earth has a larger mass.

In a house, cracks are forming in the walls, around the corners of several doors, and around the windows. The cracks are forming because the house is constructed on unstable ground.

Which of the following parts of the house should be strengthened to prevent the cracks from getting worse?

• the decking

• the foundation

• the roofing

• the siding

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

Which of the following best describes a mixture?

• a material that is made up of many molecules

• a substance that can be changed into another substance

• a material that contains two or more different substances

• a substance that has been broken down into its smallest parts

A computer touch screen allows users to enter information. Users have complained that the touch screen is too difficult to operate because the system does not indicate when a choice has been selected.

The complaints are which element of the universal systems model?

• feedback

• goal

• inputs

• processes

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

Millions of years ago, a small population of birds lived on the Hawaiian Islands. Over time, this population evolved into more than 54 separate species, each with different colors, beak shapes, and food sources.

Which of the following best explains why the original population of birds evolved into so many different species?

• Many of the birds were killed each time a volcano erupted on the

  Hawaiian Islands.

• The Hawaiian Islands had few predator species to decrease the lifespan of the birds.

• The bird population moved into and adapted to many different environments on the Hawaiian Islands.

• The climate of the Hawaiian Islands rarely changed, which helped the bird population to increase in size.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

A science museum wants to demonstrate some processes of Earth’s tectonic plates. Wooden blocks will be used to represent the tectonic plates.

Which of the following demonstrations would best show how Earth’s tectonic plates interact with the layer directly beneath the plates?

• gluing the blocks onto solid rock

• burying the blocks in a bed of dry sand

• sliding the blocks along the top of warm solid metal

• floating the blocks on a slowly moving pool of thick mud

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, usually receives heavy snowfall during the winter. Snow often falls after a cold air mass passes through the area. This air mass tends to be colder than the lake water.

Which of the following best explains why snow falls over the lake after the air mass passes over it?

• The air mass pushes clouds over the lake, and snow falls from the clouds.

• Snow falls when sinking air from the air mass is warmed by the lake water.

• The air mass cools the surface of the lake, causing condensation to occur and snow to fall.

• Snow falls from clouds that form when rising water vapor from the lake is cooled by the air mass and condenses.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5