Science Benchmark

Which level would describe the space labeled W in the diagram below?

• Habitat

• Biome

• Organism

• Population

The organisms in the diagram below are found in many different ecosystems and play an important role. How are these organisms classified?

• carnivores

• herbivores

• decomposers

• producers

Young Eastern Painted turtles eat both small animals and plants. How are these turtles best classified?

• carnivores

• producers

• herbivores

• omnivores

Which animal best completes the food chain shown below?

• rabbit

• tiger

• bear

• fish

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Ticks often feed on the blood of deer, birds, and other organisms. If too many ticks feed on an animal or if the tick infects the animal with a disease, the animal can become weak and die. What is the BEST explanation for why a tick is classified as a parasite?

• The tick spends most of its life living on a host.

• Both the tick and the host benefit from the presence of the tick.

• Ticks are able to move from host to host.

• Ticks consume the host’s blood and can transmit disease to the host.

What is the best explanation for a decrease in a population of wolves in an area? *

• the amount of food decreases

• the amount of space increases

• the amount of food increases

• the amount of competition decreases

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Different types of birds within an environment may feed on different types of organisms. What is a benefit of this type of interaction?

• It allows different birds to build better nests.

• It reduces competition between different birds.

• It causes different birds to reproduce more often.

• It allows different birds to escape from predators.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Juan and Edward are sorting plants into groups. They have two sets of groups labeled: vascular and non-vascular and flowering and non-flowering.

They must place the moss plant, seen here, into one of the groups. Juan wants to sort the moss into non-vascular, but Edward says it is non-flowering.

Who is correct?

• Juan. Moss plants are very tiny and are non-vascular.

• 
  Neither boy. Moss plants are vascular, flowering plants.

• Both boys. Moss are non-vascular and non-flowering plants.

• Edward. Moss plants do not have flowers or seeds. They have spores.

What is a vertebrate?

• no backbone

• has a backbone

• has an exoskeleton

Which organism is a vertebrate?

• spider

• worm

• jellyfish

• dog

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2