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Quest: 8th Grade Science Assessment

Back to the SSA page.

Here are some science questions from the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Standards to help you test your knowledge of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.

The questions are chosen randomly, so this quest will be different each time you reload the page.

* Click here to see only the most recently added questions.



The large cracks in this rock are called expansion cracks. As the overlying rock erodes away, the rock expands, causing the cracks. The cracks are an example of:

  1. Erosion

    No. Erosion means that the pieces of rocks are being carried away. The overlying rocks have been eroded, but the cracks are not carrying the pieces to a new location.
  2. Weathering

    Yes! As the rocks expand unevenly, tension builds up. When there is enough stress, the rocks break. That breaking of large rocks into smaller pieces is called weathering.

  3. Both erosion and weathering

    No. The rocks are being broken (weathering), but the pieces are staying in place, so there is not erosion.
  4. Neither erosion nor weathering

    No. The cracks show that the rocks are breaking, which is weathering..



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.4.E.6.1 Identify the three categories of rocks: igneous, (formed from molten rock); sedimentary (pieces of other rocks and fossilized organisms); and metamorphic (formed from heat and pressure).
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Homemade Fossil Dig text page
Foliated and Unfoliated Rocks text page, learnalong
Identifying Igneous Rocks text page, learnalong
Intrusive and Extrusive Igneous Rocks text page, learnalong
Light and Dark Minerals text page, learnalong
Review Rocks-2 practice
Review Rocks-3 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice

SC.7.E.6.2 Identify the patterns within the rock cycle and relate them to surface events (weathering and erosion) and sub-surface events (plate tectonics and mountain building).
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
The Rock Cycle video, learnalong
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Continuous Change video, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Erosion-1 practice
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 practice
Review Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 practice

Utah


UT.4.III.2.b Distinguish between weathering (i.e., wearing down and breaking of rock surfaces) and erosion (i.e., the movement of materials).
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked
Review Erosion-1 practice
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 practice
Review Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 practice

UT.5.II.1.a Identify the objects, processes, or forces that weather and erode Earth’s surface (e.g., ice, plants, animals, abrasion, gravity, water, wind)
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Continuous Change video, checked
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked
Review Erosion-1 practice
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 practice
Review Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 practice

UT.8.III.2.b Describe the role of energy in the processes that change rock materials over time.
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Continuous Change video, checked
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked

NGSS


4-ESS2-1 Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Continuous Change video, checked
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked
Review Erosion-1 practice
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 practice
Review Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 practice

This is Halite, also known as table salt. It was formed when ancient seas dried up, leaving layers of salt behind. What kind of rock is it?.

  1. Igneous

    No. Igneous rocks formed from magma or lava. The Halite was not melted, and is not an igneous rock.
  2. Sedimentary

    Yes! Sedimentary rocks are deposited by wind, water, ice, or gravity, and they often contain fossils. Halite was deposited in large layers by water, which means that it is a sedimentary rock. Halite is also a mineral, and is one of the few rocks/minerals that we eat.
  3. Metamorphic

    No. Metamorphic rocks have been changed by heat and pressure from a different kind of rock. It is not metamorphic.
  4. Halite is not a rock.

    No. Halite is a naturally occurring solid that forms large layers in the Earth. Halite is a rock.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.4.E.6.1 Identify the three categories of rocks: igneous, (formed from molten rock); sedimentary (pieces of other rocks and fossilized organisms); and metamorphic (formed from heat and pressure).
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Homemade Fossil Dig text page
Foliated and Unfoliated Rocks text page, learnalong
Identifying Igneous Rocks text page, learnalong
Intrusive and Extrusive Igneous Rocks text page, learnalong
Light and Dark Minerals text page, learnalong
Review Rocks-2 practice
Review Rocks-3 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice

SC.7.E.6.2 Identify the patterns within the rock cycle and relate them to surface events (weathering and erosion) and sub-surface events (plate tectonics and mountain building).
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
The Rock Cycle video, learnalong
Change: Fast and Slow video
Erosion video, checked
Continuous Change video, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Weathering and Erosion video, learnalong, checked
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Erosion-1 practice
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 practice
Review Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 practice

Utah


UT.4.III.1.a Describe the differences between minerals and rocks.
What is a Mineral? video, checked
Identifying Minerals video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Definition of a Mineral video, checked
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice

NGSS


4-ESS1-1 Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
Reading the Rocks: Law of Superposition video
Reading the Rocks: Law of Crosscutting video
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
Reading the Rocks: The Present is the Key to the Past video, ClosedCaptions
Paleo Cookies video
Homemade Fossil Dig text page
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Geologic Time-3 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Geologic Time-1 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Geologic Time-2 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice

MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
Evaporites video, learnalong, checked
Definition of a Mineral video, checked
Igneous Rocks and Bubbles video, free, learnalong, Updated
What is a Mineral? video, checked
Identifying Minerals video, learnalong
Sedimentary Rocks video, learnalong
What is a Rock? video, learnalong, checked
The Rock Cycle video, learnalong
Bioclastics: Rocks With No Minerals video
Light and Dark Minerals text page, learnalong
Review Rocks-3 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Rocks-5 practice
Review Rocks-6 practice
Review Rocks-8 practice
Review Rocks-9 practice
Review Rocks-7 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-10 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice
Review Rocks-2 practice

Which part of the food web does this roadrunner belong to?

  1. Producer.

    No. A producer captures energy from sunlight, and stores it as food. To do that, the organism needs to contain chlorophyll.
  2. Primary Consumer.

    No. Primary consumers eat producers. In spite of what you may have seen in cartoons, roadrunners do not eat plants or bird seed.
  3. Secondary Consumer

    Yes! Secondary consumers eat other consumers. Roadrunners are predators, and eat lizards, snakes, mice, and many other small animals.
  4. Decomposer

    No. Roadrunners may occasionally scavenge freshly killed animals, but they are not decomposers.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.4.L.17.3 Trace the flow of energy from the Sun as it is transferred along the food chain through the producers to the consumers.
Primary Consumers video, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
Secondary Consumers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Producers video, free, Updated, checked
What is a Food Web? text page, free, checked
Food Web Tag text page
Review Food Web-2 practice
Review Food Web-1 practice
Review Food Web-3 practice
Review Food Web-4 practice
Review Food Web-5 practice
Review Food Web-6 practice
Review Food Web-7 practice
Review Food Web-8 practice
Review Food Web-9 practice
Review Food Web-10 practice

SC.7.L.17.1 Explain and illustrate the roles of and relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in the process of energy transfer in a food web.
Primary Consumers video, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Measuring Calories video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
Secondary Consumers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Producers video, free, Updated, checked
What is a Food Web? text page, free, checked
Food Web Tag text page
Review Food Web-2 practice
Review Food Web-1 practice
Review Food Web-3 practice
Review Food Web-4 practice
Review Food Web-5 practice
Review Food Web-6 practice
Review Food Web-7 practice
Review Food Web-8 practice
Review Food Web-9 practice
Review Food Web-10 practice

Utah


UT.8.II.2.a Categorize the relationships between organisms (i.e., producer/consumer/decomposer, predator/prey, mutualism/parasitism) and provide examples of each.
Secondary Consumers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Producers video, free, Updated, checked
Primary Consumers video, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
What is a Food Web? text page, free, checked
Review Food Web-1 practice
Review Food Web-3 practice
Review Food Web-4 practice
Review Food Web-5 practice
Review Food Web-6 practice
Review Food Web-7 practice
Review Food Web-8 practice
Review Food Web-9 practice
Review Food Web-10 practice
Review Food Web-11 practice
Review Food Web-12 practice
Review Food Web-2 practice

NGSS


5-PS3-1 Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
Measuring Photosynthesis video, checked
Primary Consumers video, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Measuring Calories video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
Secondary Consumers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Producers video, free, Updated, checked
Calories: Measuring the Energy text page, free
What is a Food Web? text page, free, checked
Review Food Web-2 practice
Review Food Web-1 practice
Review Food Web-3 practice
Review Food Web-4 practice
Review Food Web-5 practice
Review Food Web-6 practice
Review Food Web-7 practice
Review Food Web-8 practice
Review Food Web-9 practice
Review Food Web-10 practice

5-LS2-1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
Primary Consumers video, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
Secondary Consumers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Producers video, free, Updated, checked
What is a Food Web? text page, free, checked
Review Food Web-2 practice
Review Food Web-1 practice
Review Food Web-3 practice
Review Food Web-4 practice
Review Food Web-5 practice
Review Food Web-6 practice
Review Food Web-7 practice
Review Food Web-8 practice
Review Food Web-9 practice
Review Food Web-10 practice

The Earth stays in orbit around the Sun because:

  1. The Sun's gravity pulls on the Earth

    This is only part of the answer.
  2. The Earth's gravity pulls on the Sun

    This is only part of the answer.
  3. The gravity of the Sun and the Earth pull on each other

    Yes! The gravitational attraction between the Earth and the Sun is a result of both the Sun pulling on the Earth and the Earth pulling on the Sun.
  4. Gravity does not keep the Earth in its orbit.

    No. Without the pull of gravity, the Earth would continue moving in a straight path instead of curving around the Sun.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.5.P.13.1 Identify familiar forces that cause objects to move, such as pushes or pulls, including gravity acting on falling objects.
Water in a Glass, part 1 video, checked
Obedient Coin video, checked
The Slow Race video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
Magic Coin video
Making a Compass video, checked
Torque video
Water in a Glass, part 2 video, checked
Water in a Glass, part 3 video, checked
Balancing a Meter Stick text page
Review Space-13 quest

SC.8.E.5.9 Explain the impact of objects in space on each other including: 1. the Sun on the Earth including seasons and gravitational attraction 2. the Moon on the Earth, including phases, tides, and eclipses, and the relative position of each body.
Global Science video, ClosedCaptions
Why is a Full Moon So Bright? text page, free, checked
Review Space-13 quest
Review Space-12 practice

SC.6.P.13.2 Explore the Law of Gravity by recognizing that every object exerts gravitational force on every other object and that the force depends on how much mass the objects have and how far apart they are.
Water in a Glass, part 2 video, checked
Water in a Glass, part 3 video, checked
Water in a Glass, part 1 video, checked
Planets and Pennies video, ClosedCaptions
Force, Pressure, and Shoes video, checked
Review Space-13 quest

Utah


UT.3.IV.2.c Pose questions about gravity and forces.

UT.6.III.3.a Describe the forces holding Earth in orbit around the sun, and the moon in orbit around Earth.

NGSS


MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
Planets and Pennies video, ClosedCaptions
Review Space-13 quest
Review Space-10 practice

These cells DO NOT have a cell wall. What does that tell us?

  1. These are young cells.

    No. Even new cells can have a cell wall.
  2. These are NOT plant cells.

    Yes! Plant cells are surrounded by a cell wall, which provides structure and protection.
  3. These are NOT animal cells.

    No. Animal cells do not have a cell wall.
  4. These are dead cells.

    No. Being alive or dead does not change whether a cell has a cell wall or not.



Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.

Florida


SC.6.L.14.4 Compare and contrast the structure and function of major organelles of plant and animal cells, including cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, chloroplasts, mitochondria, and vacuoles.
Osmosis video, checked
Review Cells-1 practice
Review Cells-2 practice
Review Cells-3 practice
Review Cells-4 practice

Utah


UT.7.III.1.c Differentiate between plant and animal cells based on cell wall and cell membrane.
Review Cells-1 practice
Review Cells-2 practice

NGSS


MS-LS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.
Osmosis video, checked
Review Cells-1 practice
Review Cells-2 practice
Review Cells-3 practice
Review Cells-4 practice

The questions are chosen randomly, so this quest will be different each time you reload the page.