2023 Released Science STAAR

Students drop the same heavy ball onto identical blocks of soft clay from different heights. For each height they measure the depth of the dent the ball makes in the clay. Which question is the student most likely trying to answer with this investigation?

• Does the height of the release affect the force of the impact?

• Does the mass of the ball affect the force of the impact?

• How does the mass of the ball change?

• How does the mass of the ball increase?

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

A student designs an experiment to test the effect (result) of the width of a piece of elastic on the elastic's ability to stretch. The student uses four different pieces of elastic with different widths but the same length when not being stretched. The student then attaches blocks with different masses to the pieces of elastic. The results of the student's experiment are shown in the picture.

What should the student do to improve this experiment?

• Use blocks of equal mass on each of the four pieces of elastic.

• Use blocks with enough mass to cause each of the four pieces of elastic to break.

• Use more than four pieces of elastic and more than four blocks.

• Use four pieces of elastic each with different lengths but the same width.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

A student observes that the craters on the moon are different sizes. The student designs an experiment to study the formation of the craters. The materials for the experiment are marbles and a pan of flour. The student makes a hypothesis that the size of the craters made on the surface of the flour will depend on the height from which the marble is dropped. Some of the steps in the experiment are described in the box. Which of these is most likely Step 3 in the experiment?

• Drop the same marble from different heights into the pan of flour.

• Drop marbles of different masses from the same height into the pan of flour.

• Drop marbles of different sizes from different heights into the pan of four.

• Drop a single marble one time into the pan of four.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

A student designs an experiment to test the force of a spring launcher and four spheres with the same diameter (same size) but with different masses.

What other piece of equipment would be most useful for this experiment?

(a)  

AND how can the hypothesis be tested?​ (b)  

• A graduated cylinder

• A beaker

• A stopwatch

• A meterstick or measuring tape

• launch each sphere and record the height

• launch only one sphere multiple times

• change the spring

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

A student designs an experiment to test the force of a spring launcher and four spheres with the same diameter (same size) but with different masses. Which question is the student most likely trying to answer with this investigation?

• How does the mass of an object affect the height reached by that object?

• How do different surfaces affect the height reached by an object?

• How can you reduce the mass of each object?

• Which surface creates the most friction?

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Students used a spring scale to pull a basket across 3 different surfaces. They recorded the force (N) needed to pull the basket across each surface. Which question were the students most likely trying to answer with this investigation?

• Which surface required the most force to pull the load?

• Does the mass of the load affect the force required to pull the load?

• How can the mass of the load change?

• Which load pulls easiest across the same surface?

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

The picture shows an athlete who is about to hit a baseball.

Which statement is true?

• The force of the bat will cause the baseball to change direction.

• The force of the bat will not change the direction of the baseball.

• The baseball will continue in the same direction after being hit by the bat.

• There will be no force applied to the baseball, because the baseball is moving faster than the bat.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

The diagram shows a view of a ball from above a table. The ball is rolling across the table. A student lightly taps the rolling ball in the direction show.

In which direction does the ball most likely move after the student taps the ball?

• 
• 
• 
• 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Students drop the same heavy ball onto identical blocks of soft clay from different heights. For each height they measure the depth of the dent the ball makes in the clay.

Why is the depth of the dent different in each trial?

• The size of the ball changes.

• The material (type of matter) of the ball changes.

• The mass of the ball changes.

• The force of the ball when it hits the clay changes.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

What other piece of equipment would be most useful for this experiment?

• A graduated cylinder to measure the volume of each sphere before it is launched.

• A beaker to collect the spheres after they are launched.

• A stopwatch to measure how long it takes to load each sphere on the spring.

• A meterstick or measuring tape to measure the height each sphere reaches after the sphere is launched.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2