Leap 2025 Science Test

A student uses a blender to make a milk shake. He plugs the blender into a wall outlet. He adds ice cream and milk and turns the blender on. While the student is running the blender, the phone rings. He does not hear the ring over the noise of the blender. After he turns the blender off, he pours his drink into a glass. He observes that the base of the blender is warm. Which statement describes a way that energy is transferred in the blender?

• The blender’s kinetic energy changes directly into light energy.

• The blender’s electrical energy changes directly into sound energy.

• The blender’s heat energy changes into both mechanical and sound energy.

• The blender’s mechanical energy changes into both heat and sound energy.

Students are practicing softball on a windy day. The pitcher throws the softball toward the batter. The students notice that the softball moves faster after it is hit by the bat than when it is thrown by the pitcher. Which statement best explains what happens to the energy of the softball when it is hit by the bat?

• There is a transfer of energy from the bat to the softball, increasing the energy of the softball’s movement.

• When the bat hits the ball, energy transfers from the softball to the bat.

• There is a transfer of energy from the softball to the bat, increasing the energy of the bat’s movement.

• The softball is still moving, so there is no transfer of energy to or from the softball.

Nine-banded armadillos are usually active at night. They have very small eyes and cannot see objects that are far away. They use their noses to find food that is as deep as 20 centimeters underground. Armadillos also use their noses to loosen soil and use their claws to dig in the soil. They use their good hearing to listen for predators.

Part A Which claim is supported by the information about armadillos?

• Armadillos use their sense of touch to hide from predators.

• Armadillos use their sense of smell to find food.

• Armadillos use their sense of hearing to find food that is far away.

• Armadillos use their sense of sight to see predators that are nearby.

Nine-banded armadillos are usually active at night. They have very small eyes and cannot see objects that are far away. They use their noses to find food that is as deep as 20 centimeters underground. Armadillos also use their noses to loosen soil and use their claws to dig in the soil. They use their good hearing to listen for predators.

Part B An armadillo is looking for food at night and finds a new object in its environment. Which statement describes how the armadillo will most likely use its senses to take in information about the new object to determine if the new object is food?

• The armadillo will use its ears and compare the sound the object makes to known sounds.

• The armadillo will use its nose and compare the smell of the object with known smells.

• The armadillo will use its eyes and compare the look of the object with the look of known objects.

• The armadillo will use its claws and compare the feel of the object with the feel of known objects.

Based on the students’ data, which statement describes the material that will help prevent the greatest amount of erosion?

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• Add netting, because it kept the greatest amount of soil in the bottle.

• Add sand, because some of it moved into the bowl along with the soil.

• Add rocks, because only a few were needed in order to keep a lot of soil in the bottle.

• Add no material, because having only soil caused the greatest amount of soil to move into the bowl.

Which model shows the path of light that allows a bear to see its food during the day?

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Which sentence best explains what causes a bear’s eyes to appear to glow at night, as shown in Figure 2?

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• Light is transmitted from objects to the bear’s eyes.

• Light is produced by the bear’s eyes at night.

• Extra light is stored in the bear’s eyes during the daytime.

• Extra light captured by the bear’s eyes is reflected back out of the eyes.

Part A

Which statements explain why bears and deer need different information to help them survive?

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• Deer need to find food at night.

• Bears need to find food that they cannot see.

• Deer need to know if there are predators nearby.

• Deer need to travel long distances to find enough food.

• Bears need to see prey such as fish so that they can catch them.

Part B

Which statement supports the answer to Part A?

• Bears have paws that can identify textures, but deer do not.

• Deer have tongues that detect sweetness, but bears do not.

• Deer have eyes that see almost all around them, but bears have eyes that see mostly in front of them.

• Bears have small ears that can turn in different directions, but deer must turn their heads to hear sounds.

Use the information in Map 1 and Table 2 to answer the question.

Camel fossils are not found in the top layers of soil near Louisiana’s rivers, but they are found in areas away from rivers. Which statement best explains why camel fossils are not found near rivers in Louisiana?

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• The soil around the rivers does not have any fossils in it.

• The soil around the rivers was brought there from other places.

• The soil around the rivers is not old enough to have camel fossils.

• The soil around the rivers has been washed away, and the fossils are missing.