FL 8th Grade Statewide Science Assessment

Alligators are found throughout Florida. Some of the characteristics of  alligators are listed below. 

 ● They are usually found in slow-flowing rivers. 

 ● Females live in a small area. 

 ● They eat fish, snails, birds, frogs, and mammals. 

 ● Males live in areas of more than five square kilometers.  ● They reduce their level of activity during winter. 

 ● Females make large nests and protect their young. 

Which limiting factor in an ecosystem would have the greatest impact on the alligator populations in Florida? 

• A reduction of shelter and nesting sites 

• diseases that affect a certain frog species 

• competition among male alligators for a mate 

• increase in the rate of water flowing in a river

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

A space probe lands on a planet that has half the pull of gravity as Earth. What effect does this have on the space probe’s weight and mass?

• Its weight is reduced to half its weight on Earth, and its mass remains the same as on Earth.

• Its weight remains the same as on Earth, and its mass is reduced to half its mass on Earth.

• Both its weight and mass are half of what they are on Earth.

• Both its weight and mass remain the same as on Earth.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Mandy applies the brakes on her bicycle and stops quickly to avoid hitting a basketball that bounces into the street. Which of the following best explains what happens to the bicycle’s kinetic energy?

• It increases because the tires make a screeching noise.

• It is destroyed because Mandy stops the bicycle quickly.

• It remains the same because Mandy is the source of energy.

• It is transformed to heat because the tires are slowed by friction.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

Brittany is investigating plant growth. She completes the following activities in class. 

Which statement best describes why activity 1 is an experiment and activity 2 is an investigation? 

• Only activity 1 has a control and variables. 

• Only activity 1 requires the adding of fertilizer. 

• Activity 1 requires more trials than activity 2 does. 

• Activity 1 takes more time to set up than activity 2 does.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

A student claims that studying rock layers on the side of a mountain would show that Earth has changed over geologic time. Which type of evidence from the rock layers best supports this claim? 

• Some rock layers are solid, and other rock layers have holes that store water. 

• Rock layers that are composed of sand and silt are found in different locations. 

• Rock layers that are thick and smooth are deeper than rock layers that are thin and rough. 

• Some rock layers contain fossils of plants, and other rock layers contain fossils of marine animals.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Wanda lists some heat transfers that can occur in an ocean, as shown  below. 

1. Warm water moves upward, and cold water moves downward. 2. Energy from the Sun heats the ocean’s surface. 

3. Warm air transfers heat to the ocean as it blows across the   ocean’s surface. 

4. A stream of hot water from an opening on the ocean floor heats   the water that touches the stream. 

Which description from Wanda’s list best represents radiation? 

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Joanna and Mason hang a small box from a string and place two identical electric fans near the box. When they turn on both fans to the same setting, Joanna and Mason observe that the box begins to swing toward the right, as shown in the illustration below. 

Joanna claims that she can balance the forces on the box without turning off the fans. Which of the following would most likely produce the change in motion necessary to support Joanna’s claim? 

• Change the angle of Fan 2 so that it is blowing air onto the bottom of the box. 

• Move Fan 2 so that both fans are blowing air onto the left side of the box. 

• Change the setting of Fan 2 so that it is blowing less air than Fan 1 is.

• Move Fan 2 so that it is the same distance from the box as Fan 1 is. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

The Andromeda Galaxy was previously called the Great Andromeda Nebula because astronomers thought this patch of light was composed of glowing gases. In the 1900s, scientists determined the nebula was actually a spiral galaxy. Which of the following describes the relationship between this galaxy and other astronomical bodies? 

• This galaxy is the largest star and is found in the universe.

• This galaxy is surrounded by thousands of stars in the universe.

• This galaxy includes a universe that is composed of millions of stars. 

• This galaxy is one of billions of galaxies in the universe and contains billions of stars. 

The diagram shows two hypotheses for the same process that occurs beneath Earth’s surface. Which of the following processes is represented by these hypotheses?

• convection current movement in Earth’s mantle

• plate movements in Earth’s outer core

• layer separation in Earth’s inner core

• rock formation in Earth’s lithosphere

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

Scientists who investigate microscopic fossils are known as micropaleontologists. Which of the following would these scientists most likely study? 

• the rocks that identify the location of ancient continents

• the evidence of changes in the climate of ancient Earth

• the different elevations of the surface of ancient Earth

• the rocks that contain evidence of ancient organisms

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2