CAST Science Practice Test

Students want to determine what effect the eruption had on global climate. Which question should the students investigate to BEST determine the effect?

• What was the temperature of the laba that flowed onto Earth's surface when Mount Pinatubo erupted?

• Was the amount of rain that fell on Mount Punatubo in the days after the eruption greater or less than average?

• Do aerosol particles of this type cause the amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth's surface to increase or decrease?

Leah records properties of the substances she mixed before and after the trials. Which property or properties show that a chemical reaction occurred?

• State of matter ONLY

• Mass

• Color ONLY

• Both state of matter and color

Use the graphs and the partial food web to predict the changes in the kelp population as the kelp pupulation INCREASES. What will happen to the kelp population?

• Kelp population increases

• Kelp population decreases

• Kelp population remains steady

Which wave characteristics (if any) does the energy of a wave depend on?

• the amplitude ONLY

• the wavelength ONLY

• BOTH the amplitude and wavelength

• NEITHER the amplitude and wavelength

Which best explains why the embyos are similar in appearance, yet the adults look different?

• Pigs and chickens are in the same genus

• All vertebrate embryos have the same DNA

• As the embryos grow, they undergo mutations

• Some developmental processes are shared by vertebrates

Which statement describes the most likely impact of the mutation in the mutated sequence?

• There will be no effect because the rest of the DNA is normal

• The extra nucleotide will be deleted before the protein is formed

• The protein formed will not be the same as that formed from the original DNA

• The mutated DNA will code for the same number of amino acids as the original sequence

Why would the dark colored fish have a better chance of surviving after the new predator is introduced?

• The predator can move faster than this species of small fish

• The predator cannot see them as well as the fish of the light color

• The predator predicts where each fish will be

Choose a claim that best agrees with the data.

• Mass does not affect the gravitational force between two objects

• Mass is the only variable that affects the gravitational force between two objects

• Distance is the only variable that affects the gravitational force between two objects

• Both mass and distance are variables that affect the gravitational force between two objects.

Because this model shows atoms connected by a chemical bond, you are looking at

• atoms

• single elements

• molecules or compounds

What statement is most likely correct?

• There is no coral fossil in Layer D, so it went completely extinct

• The gastropod fossils are above the crinoid fossil so they for sure evolved from crinoids

• The ammonite fossil is above the crinoid fossil, so the crinoid fossil is older