SOL Released Items Grade 8

Sea anemones are poisonous.  However the clown fish has developed an outer layer of mucous which provides protection from the stinging cells of the sea anemone.  The mucus is best described as

• an adaptation
• a relationship
• an energy requirement
• a social hierarchy

On a small island scientists observed and graphed changes in wolf and moose populations.  from 1965 - 1970, which data pattern did scientists observe?

• drop in wolf population and moose population
• increase in wolf population and drop in moose population
• drop in wolf populations and increase in moose population
• increase in wolf population and an increase in moose population

Students performed several trials using the lab setup shown.  The hypothesis was: If friction increases, then the rolling distance of a marble will decrease.  What should be changed to best test this hypothesis?

• height of the ramp
• height and length of the ramp
• roughness of the ramp surface
• height of the ramp and roughness of the ramp surface

A student recorded the temperature of an aquarium each hour for 8 hours.  which of these will best display the data the student collected?

• bar graph
• circle graph
• picture graph
• line graph

Which body of water is often protected naturally from storms by barrier islands and also contain a mixture of fresh and salt water?

• estuary
• ocean
• lake
• pond

A student measured the power of a motor operating at different temperatures. the student recorded a total of 11 measurements, one at each 2 degree interval between 10 degrees C and 30 degrees C. Which change in the procedure would most improve the validity of conclusions based on the investigation.

• increasing the number of variables
• decreasing the range of the IV
• repeating the experiment several times
• producing a graph of numerical observations

Students placed steel wool in beakers of four different liquids in order of the most acidic to neutral.  The students recorded their observations in the table.  Which is the best conclusion based on the table?

• the more acidic the substance, the faster it reacts with steel wool
• the more acidic the substance, the faster the  steel wool turns to a gas
• the less acidic the substance, the faster the steel wool becomes covered with air bubbles
• the less acidic the substance, the faster the steel wool changes color

Which of these has been improved by genetic engineering?

• visibility of insects to predators
• growth of insects in cornfields
• reduced number of pollinating insects
• resistance of corn plants to insects

What is the correct order from simplest level of organization to the most complex?

• system, cell, organ, tissue
• cell, tissue, organ, system
• system, organ, tissue, cell
• tissue, cell, organ, system

Which of these is most likely the result of weasels and foxes depending on the same food source?

• the populations will compete with each other
• one of the populations will become herbivores
• birthrates for both populations will increase
• new species of prey will evolve in the area