MIDYEAR REVIEW

There is an apple tree in a scientist’s backyard. Every year a bird builds a nest and raises its young in the tree. Each year the scientist records how many baby birds are born. The scientist also records the average temperature and rainfall during the summer.

Is this an experiment or an investigation?

• An investigation because there are trials over several years.

• An experiment because it establishes only cause and effect.

• An investigation because it involves only observations of nature.

• An experiment because there are multiple variables each year.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

A student transplants four plants and measures their heights. For the next month, the student gives the plants different amounts of water. After one month, the student measures the height of the plants again.

Which best explains what the student is trying to study?

• How does water affect plant growth?

• What affects the amount of water a plant gets?

• How does sunlight affect plant growth?

• What affects the number of plants that grow?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

A student places a piece of chocolate, a piece of sugar-free butterscotch, and a pebble on the sidewalk and counts how many ants are attracted to each over ten minutes. The student does this for five days, and records the information in the following table.

Why is it important that the student includes a pebble in the test?

• Control groups help determine if results are random.

• Replication shows that results are reliable.

• Multiple trials increase the reliability of the results.

• Repetition ensures consistency of results.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

A class takes a field trip to a local park. The students are split into two teams. Their goal is to study the plants and animals in the same small forest area. Each team wrote down what they found.

Which tool did the students most likely use to make their observations?

• test tubes

• binoculars

• calculators

• rulers

Energy can be transformed from one type to another. Pulling a chain on a light bulb or flipping a light switch starts this transformation. Pedro collected temperature data from the bulb in the image shown on the previous page. He then made the claim that electrical energy can cause heat.

Which statement contains evidence that supports his claim?

• Electrical energy can be changed into other forms of energy.

• The energy that is present can be used for many different things.

• All light bulbs get hot when they are left on for long periods of time.

• The temperature of the light bulb changed six degrees in three minutes.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

A group of scientists collects samples of rainwater every week and tests the acidity. They then use the rainwater collected to water tomato plants that they grow in their lab. They record the height of the plants each week after the plants are watered, and the results are recorded into the table below. The scientists conclude that tap water is the best for tomato plants.

However, they decide to ask another group of scientists to do their experiment over. Why would they want to do this?

• To introduce other scientists as a new variable, since all of the plants grow.

• To show that the experiment can be replicated.

• To make a control group of scientists, to compare the data against.

• To prove that the study can have multiple trials and produce the same results.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-3

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

A student wants to describe her home address using what she has learned in science class. The card shows what she has written so far:

Selena Harris

8 Central Street

Orlando, Florida 32824

United States of America

Earth

The Solar System

__________________

Which is the best choice for the next line?

• The Sun

• The Milky Way Galaxy

• The Universe

• The Spiral Galaxy

Students set up an investigation to model the apparent brightness of four different stars. They used four identical flashlights and a dark piece of poster board. They labeled the flashlights A, B, C, and D. Each flashlight had brand new batteries. The students placed the flashlights at different distances from the poster board. Then, the students turned on the flashlights and observed the circles of light that shone on the poster board. They ranked the circles of light in order from most bright to least bright.

Which list is the best prediction of the order from most bright to least bright?

• A, D, C, B

• B, C, D, A

• A, B, D, C

• C, D, B, A

Which statement correctly identifies a difference between the outer planets and the inner planets?

• Outer planets are very small; inner planets are large.

• Outer planets orbit the sun; inner planets stay stationary.

• Outer planets are circular; inner planets have irregular shapes.

• Outer planets are made up of gas and liquid; inner planets are rocky.

Students used pieces of string to model the orbits of the inner planets. They measured the lengths of the strings and recorded the values in a table.

Which table correctly shows the relationship between the positions of the planets and the relative lengths of their orbits?

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