To the right is an image of shale rock, a type of sedimentary rock. Shale rock is a mixture of clay minerals and quartz. It is usually gray in color. Fossil fuel deposits are often found in shale rocks. What other materials must have been present during the formation of shale rock containing fossil fuels?

Based on the information in the chart, which animal would most likely NOT live in the Texas Coastal Sand Plains region?

A teacher is doing a demonstration at the front of the classroom. She is heating a test tube with a Bunsen burner. She is holding the test tube with a metal test tube holder, but the handles are covered in plastic. Why are the handles of the test tube holder covered in plastic?

A partial food web of a marine ecosystem is shown here. Which type of organism is represented by the letter X?

What type of landform is created when a glacier moves through a region?

A student places a glass, filled with ice and water, outside on a hot and sunny day. The student returns an hour later and observes that the ice cubes are gone, and the glass has water droplets on the outside. Which two changes has the student observed in the water glass?

To the right is a picture of a small freshwater mussel known as the zebra mussel. Zebra mussels were accidentally introduced into U.S. waterways in the 1980’s and are currently living in many Texas lakes. Zebra mussel populations grow quickly, and they attach to hard surfaces. As a result, they are destroying boats, pipes and water treatment plants. Zebra mussels are also harming plants and animals that live in the lakes. Zebra mussels are harming local plants and animals in all the following ways except —

Sometimes after a rainstorm, a rainbow appears in the sky. Rainbows happen when sunlight enters a raindrop and the light bends and separates into different colors. Then the light bounces around the raindrop and exits. The bending of light is an example of which property of light?

The water cycle is the continuous movement of water on Earth. In the diagram to the right, which process is labeled by the letter X?

Students in a fifth-grade science class are raising salamanders as part of a unit on life cycles. The diagram below shows the stages of a salamander's life cycle. Which other organism has a similar life cycle to the salamander's and why?

Students were asked to weigh out different masses of a blue powdered sports drink and dissolve it in 100 mL of water. Which of the masses listed below would produce the darkest colored blue solution?

Sedimentary rock formation involves all the following processes except —

How could a student balance the left side and the right side of the scale?

The four images below are examples of objects that use energy. Objects often use more than one type of energy. Which type of energy do all four objects have in common?

Jane Goodall is a famous scientist. She has spent her entire career studying chimpanzees. One of her major discoveries was that some groups of chimps have learned how to use tools such as prodding sticks to get termites out of holes and rocks to break open nuts. Which scientific observation listed below did NOT help Jane Goodall and other scientists conclude that using tools was a learned trait in chimps?

Which statement below describes climate and not weather?

Below are drawings of two different types of elephants. One lives in Africa and one lives in Asia. Elephants release a lot of heat from their ears, helping them to keep cool when it is hot outside. They can also flap their ears to help cool themselves off. Based on the information above and the pictures of the elephants, which elephant lives in Africa and why?

Below are four facts about the North American Beaver. Which fact listed above describes an example of how a beaver changes the environment around itself for its benefit?

Students are designing an experiment to determine the height at which an egg will break when dropped on a concrete surface. Their four test groups are shown below. What should the students do to improve the experiment?

The diagram below shows the four planets closest to the Sun. Which planet is labeled with the question mark?

In nature, some animal traits are inherited and some animal traits are learned. Which statement below is correct?

The following processes are part of the water cycle: Runoff, Precipitation, Condensation, Evaporation. Which has an interaction between the solar energy of the Sun and the ocean?

In an incandescent lightbulb, electric current travels through the filament which is a wire running through the lightbulb. The filament is then heated to a temperature that produces the light you see and the heat you feel. Which of the following statements is correct?

A student is playing a game where the objective is to hit a target with a laser beam. In which set-up below would the laser beam hit the target?

A student sitting on a park bench is observing all the different animals around her. Which of the following is an example of an animal interacting with a nonliving part of its environment?

A teacher mixes white sand, salt and iron filings together in a beaker at the front of the room. She asks the students to design an experiment to separate the three materials. Which two physical properties can be used to separate these three materials?

A student constructs the following series circuit during science class. When the switch is closed, which lightbulbs will light up?

Here is a picture of the Santa Elena Canyon, part of the Big Bend National Park in Texas. The walls of the canyon are very high — up to 1,500 feet. It can be seen from over 10 miles away. The canyon is well-known for its hiking trails and its rapids. Based on the picture and your knowledge of canyon formation, how was this canyon formed?

On Earth there are 24 hours in one day. Which event causes the day/night cycle?

Some of the brightest objects in the night sky are planets in our Solar System. Depending on the year, the planets are visible at different times during the night. Also, they appear in different locations in the sky and appear different in size. Compared to Earth, which planet is one planet farther away from the Sun and often visible with the naked eye?

A partial food web is shown below.

The appearance of the Moon over time is called the lunar phase cycle. The lunar phase changes as the Moon orbits the Earth and this pattern repeats approximately every 29 days. Below is a chart showing an example of when different phases can occur in one lunar cycle. Based on the information in this chart, on which day could the next New Moon occur?

A V-shaped valley is usually formed by –

The students below have been given the task of sliding the table to the spot marked by the X. If one student is on each side of the table, which students should be pushing, and which students should be pulling?

Which substance listed below is NOT soluble in water?

In 2005, a major highway was built through the middle of a small North Texas community. The graph below shows the average deer population before and after the highway was built. Which answer choice is NOT a possible reason for the decrease in the deer population?

Below is a diagram showing the life cycle of a tomato plant. Which part of the plant develops into the fruit?

The photograph below shows the shoreline of a beach on a partly cloudy day. Which process of the water cycle involves a direct interaction between the solar energy of the Sun and the water in the ocean?

Which of the following is an inherited behavior of a baby?

A student observes an object through the eyepiece of a microscope. A microscope is a piece of lab equipment that produces an enlarged image of a small object using a series of lenses. The diagram here shows the lenses in a microscope and how the light waves move through the microscope. Which statement about light waves below most accurately describes how a microscope works?

Which list below contains only renewable resources?

The diagram below is a cross section of five different sedimentary rock layers containing fossils. Which type of fossil is found in the oldest sedimentary rock layer?

All the following processes are required for the formation of fossil fuels except —

The "Galápagos finches" are a group of 15 species of passerine birds that live in and around the Galápagos Islands. They are studied by scientists because although they are closely related, their beak shapes are very different. Scientists have discovered that these differences are due to the food they eat. Below are illustrations of four different "Galápagos finch" birds. Looking at the beak shape, which bird can crack and eat large nuts most easily?

Which object below uses only mechanical energy to perform its function?

Which substance listed below will dissolve when placed in a beaker of water?

Below is a diagram of a circuit. Which bulbs will light up if both switch 1 and switch 2 are closed and the wire is cut at the point where the scissors are located?

Below is a diagram showing the processes involved in the formation of a type of sedimentary rock called mudrock. What two processes listed below complete the diagram?

Egyptian plover birds and crocodiles have a symbiotic relationship. Below are four facts about plover birds. Which of the facts above best describe how the bird relies on another animal to survive?

The chart below lists six different traits observed in people. A science teacher asked students to work in groups and assign each trait as either an inherited trait or a learned trait. Using the information above, which statement is correct?

Below is a picture of a fresh water aquarium several students set up and take care of in their science classroom. Which of the organisms listed below is most likely a part of the aquarium ecosystem shown above?

A group of students performed an experiment comparing the length of time it takes for ice cream to melt in different locations around their houses. The students placed the ice cream in plastic bowls and recorded the time of melting using a stopwatch. The students used the table below to record their data and any observations. Based on your knowledge of changes in the state of matter caused by heating, which ice cream will melt the slowest?

Below is a picture of lights some people hang up around the holiday season. These lights can be very frustrating, because if one lightbulb goes out, they all go out. Why does this happen?

Many homeowners put solar panels on the roofs of their houses. Solar panels use energy from the Sun and convert it into energy to power the house. The energy from the Sun is converted into –

The illustration shown here represents the results of an experiment performed by some students. Which physical property determines whether an object floats or sinks in a container of water?

Every morning the Sun rises in the east, moves across the sky and sets in the west. Which event below best describes these observations of the Sun?

Why does a delta form when a river reaches a lake or ocean?

A partial food web of a marine ecosystem is shown here. Which type of organism is represented by the letter X?

Palaeontologists study the fossilized teeth of extinct species, including dinosaurs. The pictures below show the fossilized teeth of two different dinosaur species. What can scientists conclude about the diet of the two different dinosaurs based on the shape of their teeth?

In science class, students are asked to predict and draw what will happen when the teacher pours oil and water together in one beaker. Which drawing is correct?

Which summary of the table is correct?

Which example below most accurately describes reflection of sunlight?

Below is a diagram of a globe showing the rotation of the Earth on its axis. How long does it take for the Earth to complete one rotation?

Based on the experiment described above, what is the question students are testing in this experiment?

Why are water droplets observed on the inside of the plastic wrap?

Which of the following materials conduct electricity?

Which experimental procedure listed below is the best way to separate the three types of beads?

When water from a river reaches a lake or an ocean, the flow of water slows down. Then sediment is dropped near the mouth of the river. Which type of landform is created?

A teacher shows the class the following list. She asks the students to determine whether each activity listed is a pulling force or a pushing force. Which statement below is correct?

Which type of organism transfers the most energy within a food web?

All the following are inherited traits except –

The Arctic ecosystem is a very cold environment, covered in snow and ice, and in complete darkness during the winter months each year. Despite the harsh weather, there are many animals that call the Arctic their home. Which of these animals most likely inhabits the Arctic ecosystem?

A geologist uncovered a sedimentary rock layer containing many primitive fern fossils, like the ones shown in the image below. Which of the following environments most likely existed when this sedimentary rock layer was formed?

Which letter in the water cycle diagram is an example of absorption of solar energy?

Spider monkeys have very long and flexible tails. They use them for moving around, grabbing objects and swinging from trees. Similarly, opossums have long tails, which they use for wrapping around trees and carrying objects. Why is the long tail beneficial to both species of animals?

The balances below show equal size cylinders, all made from different materials. Using the information in the picture, which lists the order of the cylinders lowest mass to highest mass?