2022 STAAR Test Category 3

Hikers look at a topographic map of an area named Green Peak. The Green Peak area is made up of only limestone rock. The map is shown. Which location around Green Peak is likely to experience the most erosion over time?

• Location W, because location W has the gentlest slope

• Location X, because location X is near the bottom of a slope

• Location Y, because location Y has the steepest slope

• Location Z, because location Z is the flattest slope

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Farmers can best reduce negative effects on the water quality of

nearby streams and lakes by planting crops that —

• produce less oxygen

• produce less carbon dioxide

• need less fertilizer

• need less solar energy

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

A Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram is shown. A star that has a luminosity of 10-2 and a temperature of 20,000 K is most likely a —

• Main sequence

• White dwarf

• Blue giant

• Red giant

Maps of predicted weather conditions are shown. Which answer choice best describes the weather at location X on Day 1 and Day 2?

• Day 1: warm and rainy

  Day 2: cool with more rain

• Day 1: warm and windy

  Day 2: cloudy and cold

• Day 1: clear and cool

  Day 2: warm and rainy

• Day 1: cold and rainy

  Day 2: clear and sunny

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

A student is building a model of a solar eclipse. Solar eclipses occur

only during a new moon phase. Which motion best demonstrates a

solar eclipse?

• The moon moves between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow of the moon on Earth.

• The sun moves between the moon and Earth, casting a shadow

  of the sun on Earth.

• Earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow

  of Earth on the moon.

• Earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow

  of the moon on the sun.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Which statement best explains why the sun appears brighter to

people on Earth than any other star?

• Sunlight reaches Earth’s atmosphere at an angle that causes the

  sun’s light rays to intensify.

• Unique chemical reactions in the sun’s core produce a

  high-energy wavelength of light.

• The sun burns at a higher temperature than any other star.

• The sun is closer to Earth than any other star.

The model shows Earth in four different positions in its orbit around

the sun. Which statement correctly explains which position of Earth

represents summer in the United States?

• Position 1, because the Western Hemisphere is facing the sun

• Position 2, because the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the

  sun

• Position 3, because Earth is at its closest point to the sun in its

  orbit

• Position 4, because Earth is traveling at its fastest rate in its

  orbit

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Early one morning students observed the moon as it appeared from Earth. Which diagram shows the correct relative positions of the sun, the moon, and Earth when the moon was in the observed phase?

• 
• 
• 
• 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

The photograph shows a satellite view of the desert coast of Egypt and the Red Sea. Researchers predict that in the future, the land area of point X will be reduced by erosion. Which event will cause the most weathering and erosion to the land area at point X?

• Increasing salinity of seawater near the land

• Intense rays from the sun striking the land

• Solids floating in seawater depositing on the land

• Strong storm winds blowing across the land

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Two oceanic plates are shown in the image. Which type of boundary results in the spreading of the oceanic ridge?

• Convergent boundary

• Subduction boundary

• Transform boundary

• Divergent boundary

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3