CAST Science Practice 2

The diagrams below shows how Bangalore, a large city in India, changed from 1973 to 2006. A biologist living in Bangalore notices that the trends in this graph could pose challenges to elephants living just outside of the city. She considers a few plans to help the elephants. Her goals are to (1) help the elephants survive the problem illustrated in the graph, and (2) not harm people. QUESTION: Which of the following plans would best reach the climate scientist's goals?

• creating a protected wildlife sanctuary for the elephants
• convincing people to stay in the city instead of moving outward
• gathering a team of veterinarians to take care of the elephants when they need help
• establishing affordable housing in the suburbs of the city for the growing population

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

It takes about five minutes to drive from one side of Trou to the other with no stops at traffic. However, the high volume of cars on the road and frequent stops at traffic signals turn the drive into a 20-minute trip during rush hours. That means that for every driver making the trip across town, a car's engine is running, and burning fuel, four times longer than during the most efficient trip. QUESTION: Which testing process would generate data that the city's engineers could use to reduce fossil fuel emissions in Troy?

• City engineers increase the length of time that stoplights remain red. They do so to discourage drivers and decrease traffic. They count the cars at each intersection to see how much traffic is on the city's streets.
• City engineers survey drivers to see why people are on the roads at busy times. They try to convince drivers to travel at less busy times. Then engineers survey drivers again weeks later to see if they traveled less.
• City engineers identify a number of drivers who routinely make the trip across town every day. The engineers arrange to track the time each trip takes these drivers over several months. Each week, the engineers adjust the length of time that stoplights remain red. They look to see if the drivers' trips ger shorter during any week in particular.
• City engineers identify types of cars that burn the most fuel. They identify the types of cars that burn the least fuel. They find out how many vehicles of each type are registered to drivers in Troy. They send letters to the drivers of cars that burn the most fuel. They ask those drivers to take routes around the outside of town that are longer but do not involve as many stoplights.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

An engineer wants to design a building that will stay standing during tornados in Nebraska. QUESTION: Which of the following is the BEST design process for him to follow?

• He should build models of buildings made of different materials, recreate conditions that are common in tornadoes and observe how the buildings hold up in those conditions and then modify the building designs and run the test again.
• He should build model buildings with different materials, research the history of tornadoes in Nebraska to find out what they are usually like, test the building in similar conditions and observe how they hold up, and then make changes and run the test again.
• He should draw a blueprint of a building, research the history of the tornadoes in Nebraska to determine what tornadoes are typically like in the area, pick a strong material that should be able to withstand those conditions, and then build the building from the blueprint using that material.
• He should build model buildings with different materials, look at weather records to see what areas of the world experience the most tornadoes, create conditions like the tornadoes in those areas, observe how the buildings hold up in those conditions, and then pick the best model to build

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

The graph shows the percentage of energy used for several types of transportation int United States. QUESTION: Predict how energy use would change if a lot more people in the United States used public transportation. Choose the graph that best represents the result.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

The graph represents the difference sources of energy that were used to generate electricity in the United States in 2004. QUESTION: How can energy use change to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere? Choose the diagram that best represents those changes and your reason. (Take note 2 answers)

• 
• Burning fossil fuels is a major source of carbon dioxide.
• 
• 
• The renewable energy produce the most carbon dioxide.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

What questions would you ask to understand the causes in average global temperature better? Select all that apply. (Hint: 3 answers)

• What other processes on Earth release carbon dioxide?
• What else might cause the average global temperature rise?
• Has this type of temperature increase happened before in Earth's history?
• How has the increase human population affected the supply of fresh water?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-5

A forest was cleared to plant crops. The area cleared is indicated on the map. The area was chosen because it is near a river that can be diverted to irrigate the fields. QUESTION: How will the shift from forest to farmland change the environment? Select all that apply. (HINT: 4 answers)

• The pond habitat may change.
• The mountains will erode faster.
• Different animals will move into the area.
• Population of animals from the forest habitat will change.
• More carbon dioxide will be released from increased traffic.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4