Here are some science questions to help you test your general science knowledge. They will also show you which of the Florida, Utah, and NGSS science standards each question is testing.
The questions are chosen randomly, so this quest will be different each time.
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Which of the following observations is scientifically testable?
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Honeybees are good insects.
No. "Good" is a generic term that could mean many different things in different situations. It is an opinion, not a testable property. This statement is NOT scientifically testable. -
Honeybees are important insects.
No. "Important" is a generic term that could mean many different things to different people. It is an opinion, not a testable property. This statement is NOT scientifically testable. -
Honeybees are pretty insects.
No. Some people might think that a honeybee is pretty, and some people might not. It is an opinion, not a testable property. This statement is NOT scientifically testable. -
Honeybees are not insects.
Yes! While this statement is not correct, it is scientifically testable. You could examine the bee to see that it does fit the definition of an insect. This statement is IS scientifically testable.
Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.
Florida
SC.5.N.2.1 Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable; explanation must always be linked with evidence.
| My Position on Science and Religion | video |
| What is Science?: Objective | video |
| Mobius Strip | video |
| Is Your Project Scientifically Testable? | text page |
| Is Your Project Scientifically Testable? Part 2 | text page |
| Review Scientific Process-3 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-4 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-8 | practice |
SC.8.N.2.1 Distinguish between scientific and pseudoscientific ideas.
| What is Science? | video, ClosedCaptions |
| Feeding Bread to Birds | text page |
| Fact checking GMOs | text page |
| I Saw It on the Internet, part four | text page |
| I Saw It on the Internet, part three | text page |
| I Saw It on the Internet, part two | text page |
| I Saw It on the Internet, part one | text page |
| Review Scientific Process-3 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-4 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-8 | practice |
Utah
NGSS
When you mix cornstarch and water, you get something that many science sites call Oobleck. Under pressure, it feels like a solid, but when the pressure is removed, it flows like a liquid. What state of matter is it?
Answer:
This is a mixture, made up of particles of solid matter surrounded by a liquid. The mixture is not a single state of matter.
This is an important concept to understand, and it is seen in many things we use every day. A good example is the Egg States video, showing how a mixture of liquid and gas can seem to be a solid.
Before you try to decide if something is solid, liquid, gas, plasma, or some other state of matter, first make sure that it is a pure substance, and not a mixture of different states.
Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.
Florida
SC.2.P.8.2 Identify objects and materials as solid, liquid, or gas.
| Egg States | video, checked |
| Experimenting with Dry Ice | video, free, checked |
| Ice Cream Science | video, checked |
| Raw Egg or Boiled? | video, checked |
| Air Space | video |
| Teach It Right the First Time. | text page, free |
| Review Matter-3 | practice |
SC.5.P.8.1 Compare and contrast the basic properties of solids, liquids, and gases, such as mass, volume, color, texture, and temperature.
>>> Teacher Page: States of Matter
| A Bouncing Water Balloon | video |
| Egg States | video, checked |
| Experimenting with Dry Ice | video, free, checked |
| Wax and Wood, part 1 | video, checked |
| Wax and Wood, part 2 | video, checked |
| Ice Cream Science | video, checked |
| Raw Egg or Boiled? | video, checked |
| Air Space | video |
| Air has Weight | text page |
| Teach It Right the First Time. | text page, free |
| Review Matter-2 | practice |
| Review Matter-1 | practice |
| Review Matter-3 | practice |
| Review Weather-10 | practice |
SC.8.P.8.1 Explore the scientific theory of atoms (also known as atomic theory) by using models to explain the motion of particles in solids, liquids, and gases.
| A Bouncing Water Balloon | video |
| Egg States | video, checked |
| Experimenting with Dry Ice | video, free, checked |
| Ice Cream Science | video, checked |
| Expansion of Solids | video, ClosedCaptions, checked |
| Review Matter-1 | practice |
| Review Matter-3 | practice |
Utah
UT.5.I.2.a Identify the physical properties of matter (e.g., hard, soft, solid, liquid, gas).
| A Bouncing Water Balloon | video |
| Egg States | video, checked |
| Experimenting with Dry Ice | video, free, checked |
| Wax and Wood, part 1 | video, checked |
| Wax and Wood, part 2 | video, checked |
| Ice Cream Science | video, checked |
| Raw Egg or Boiled? | video, checked |
| Crushed Can | video, checked |
| Review Matter-1 | practice |
| Review Matter-3 | practice |
NGSS
When you break the mineral calcite, it breaks into shapes with flat, smooth sides. This is an example of:
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Cleavage
Yes! A mineral has cleavage when it breaks to form flat, smooth surfaces. -
Fracture
No. There are different kinds of fractures, but none of them form flat, smooth surfaces. -
Conchoidal
No. A conchoidal fracture is the shell-shaped break that is commonly seen when glass breaks. A conchoidal fracture is not flat.
-
Hardness
No. Hardness tells us how easily a mineral can be scratched, not how it breaks.
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.6.2 Identify the physical properties of common earth-forming minerals, including hardness, color, luster, cleavage, and streak color, and recognize the role of minerals in the formation of rocks.
| What is a Mineral? | video, checked |
| Identifying Minerals | video, learnalong |
| Definition of a Mineral | video, checked |
| Minerals Around You | text page, learnalong, checked |
| Review Minerals-1 | practice |
| Review Minerals-2 | practice |
| Review Minerals-3 | practice |
| Review Minerals-4 | practice |
| Review Minerals-5 | practice |
| Review Minerals-6 | practice |
| Review Minerals-7 | practice |
| Review Minerals-8 | practice |
Utah
UT.4.III.1.b Observe rocks using a magnifying glass and draw shapes and colors of the minerals.
| What is a Mineral? | video, checked |
| Identifying Minerals | video, learnalong |
| What is a Rock? | video, learnalong, checked |
| Definition of a Mineral | video, checked |
| Review Minerals-3 | practice |
| Review Minerals-4 | practice |
| Review Minerals-5 | practice |
| Review Minerals-6 | practice |
| Review Minerals-7 | practice |
| Review Minerals-8 | practice |
UT.8.III.1.b Observe and describe the minerals found in rocks (e.g., shape, color, luster, texture, hardness).
| What is a Mineral? | video, checked |
| Identifying Minerals | video, learnalong |
| What is a Rock? | video, learnalong, checked |
| Definition of a Mineral | video, checked |
| Review Minerals-1 | practice |
| Review Minerals-2 | practice |
| Review Minerals-3 | practice |
| Review Minerals-4 | practice |
| Review Minerals-5 | practice |
| Review Minerals-6 | practice |
| Review Minerals-7 | practice |
| Review Minerals-8 | practice |
NGSS
5-PS1-3 Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
| Definition of a Mineral | video, checked |
| Floating Bubbles | video, checked |
| Finding Fat in Foods | video, ClosedCaptions, checked |
| Fireworks Colors | video |
| Iron Cereal | video, ClosedCaptions, checked |
| Density: Ice, Oil, and Water | video, checked |
| Wax and Wood, part 1 | video, checked |
| Wax and Wood, part 2 | video, checked |
| What is a Mineral? | video, checked |
| Identifying Minerals | video, learnalong |
| Raw Egg or Boiled? | video, checked |
| Making Turmeric Paper | video, checked |
| Testing for Tannic Acid | video |
| A Cool Change | text page |
| Acid Hunt | text page |
| Review Minerals-4 | practice |
| Review Minerals-5 | practice |
| Review Minerals-6 | practice |
| Review Minerals-7 | practice |
| Review Minerals-8 | practice |
| Review Minerals-2 | practice |
| Review Minerals-3 | practice |
I wanted to test a new fertilizer, to find the best concentration for my garden. I divided my garden into four sections and put a different amount of fertilizer in each section.
My test results showed that using 10 grams of fertilizer per gallon made the plants grow faster and bigger. To follow proper scientific guidelines, what should I do next?
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Apply 10 grams of fertilizer per gallon to all the plants in my garden.
No. While that might make my garden grow well, it would not provide more evidence that this was the best mixture of fertilizer -
Do the same experiment over again.
Yes! Repetition is an important part of the scientific process. If my hypothesis is correct, I should get the same results every time I repeat the experiment. -
Do the same experiment, but use a different fertilizer.
No. Using a different fertilizer would be testing a different variable. I wanted to find the best concentration of the original fertilizer, so testing a different fertilizer would not help with that. -
Publish my results, so that other scientists could replicate my experiment.
No. Replication is an important step, but I should repeat my experiment several times to be sure that I get consistent results before I ask other scientists to try replicating it.
Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.
Florida
SC.2.N.1.4 Explain how particular scientific investigations should yield similar conclusions when repeated.
| What is Science? | video, ClosedCaptions |
| Review Scientific Process-6 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-5 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-7 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-10 | practice |
SC.5.N.1.3: Recognize and explain the need for repeated experimental trials.
>>> Teacher Page: Nature of Science and Dissolving
| What is Science? | video, ClosedCaptions |
| What is Science?: Repeat and Replicate | video |
| Review Scientific Process-7 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-10 | practice |
SC.8.N.1.2 Design and conduct a study using repeated trials and replication.
| What is Science?: Repeat and Replicate | video |
| Review Scientific Process-6 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-5 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-7 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-10 | practice |
Utah
NGSS
3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
| What is Science? | video, ClosedCaptions |
| Review Scientific Process-1 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-2 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-7 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-9 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-10 | practice |
| Review Scientific Process-11 | practice |
Which of these sources of electricity is a renewable resource?
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Coal
No. Coal is the fossilized remains of ancient plants, and it takes millions of years to form. -
Hydroelectric
Yes. The lake water that provides hydroelectric power is replenished every time it rains. -
Natural Gas
No. Natural Gas is a fossil fuel, and takes millions of years to form. -
Fuel Oil
No. Fuel oil comes from petroleum, which requires extremely long periods of time to form.
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.6.3 Recognize that humans need resources found on Earth and that these are either renewable or nonrenewable.
| Recycle | video |
| Review Energy-4 | quest |
| Review Energy-1 | practice |
Utah
UT.8.II.3.a Describe specific examples of how humans have changed the capacity of an environment to support specific life forms (e.g., people create wetlands and nesting boxes that increase the number and range of wood ducks, acid rain damages amphibian eggs and reduces population of frogs, clear cutting forests affects squirrel populations, suburban sprawl reduces mule deer winter range thus decreasing numbers of deer).
| Investigating Acid Rain | video, checked |
| Quadrats and Population Sampling | video, ClosedCaptions |
| Review Energy-1 | practice |
NGSS
4-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
| Investigating Acid Rain | video, checked |
| Solar Power | video, checked |
| Review Energy-4 | quest |
| Review Energy-1 | practice |
MS-ESS3-1 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
| Evaporites | video, learnalong, checked |
| What is a Mineral? | video, checked |
| Identifying Minerals | video, learnalong |
| Definition of a Mineral | video, checked |
| Review Energy-1 | practice |
The questions are chosen randomly, so this quest will be different each time.