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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.



This is a simple chart showing how energy flows through some of the parts of a food web. For example, the arrow from the grass to the grasshopper shows that the grasshopper gets it energy by eating the grass.

The hawk gets its energy by eating the water snake, but there is no arrow leading from the hawk. What should the arrow from the hawk point to>

  1. Egret

    No. The egret does not eat hawks.
  2. Carrion

    Yes! Carrion is dead animals. When the hawk eventually dies, flies will get their energy by eating the dead body. You could also draw arrows from all of the other animals to carrion.
  3. The Sun

    No. The Sun is not on the chart, and The Sun does not get its energy from the hawk.
  4. There should not be an arrow leading from the hawk.

    No. Energy cannot be destroyed. It always goes back into the system.



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.
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
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
Food Web Tag text page
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-2 practice

SC.8.L.18.4 Cite evidence that living systems follow the Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy.
Thoughts on Trees text page
What is a Food Web? text page, free, checked
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 Calories video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
Secondary Consumers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Producers video, free, Updated, checked
Measuring Photosynthesis video, checked
Primary Consumers video, ClosedCaptions, Updated, checked
Calories: Measuring the Energy text page, free
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-2 practice

5-LS2-1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
Scavengers and Decomposers video, free, ClosedCaptions, Updated
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-2 practice

This magnet attracts the compass and the magnetized needle without having to come in contact with them. This is an example of a force acting at a distance.

Which of the following is another example of a force that acts at a distance without actual contact?

  1. Wind turning a windmill.

    No. The moving air is pushing against the blades of the windmill. Because a physical object (moving air) is pushing on the windmill, this is a contact force.
  2. Sound causing you to hear something.

    No. For you to hear a sound, the vibrations of the object make the air vibrate. That is a contact force because there is direct contact between the vibrating object and the air. The vibrating air is in contact with your ear drum, causing it to vibrate too. That lets you hear the sound. Because a physical object (vibrating air) is moving your ear drum, this is a contact force.
  3. Gravity causing a rock to fall.

    Yes. The gravitational attraction between the Earth and the rock does not need physical contact. The rock would fall, even if it was in a total vacuum, with no physical object to push or pull on it. This is a force acting at a distance.
  4. Throwing a ball to knock over a target

    No. To throw the ball, your arm pushes against it. Your arm moving the ball is a contact force. The moving ball hits the target to knock it over. The ball is touching the target to knock it over, so this is also a contact force.



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.10.3 Investigate and explain that an electrically-charged object can attract an uncharged object and can either attract or repel another charged object without any contact between the objects.

>>> Teacher Page: Electrostatic Charges


SC.6.P.13.1 Investigate and describe types of forces including contact forces and forces acting at a distance, such as electrical, magnetic, and gravitational.
Electricity video, free, Updated
The Compass and Magnetic Fields video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Challenge: Paper, Coin, Cup, part 1 video
Making a Compass video, checked
Torque video
Versorium video, checked
Water in a Glass, part 2 video, checked
Water in a Glass, part 3 video, checked
Water in a Glass, part 1 video, checked
Challenge: Paper, Coin, Cup, part 2 video
Light a Bulb with a Balloon video, checked
Crushed Can video, checked
Review Energy-6 quest
Review Energy-7 quest
Review Energy-8 quest

Utah


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

NGSS


MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

Which organ produces insulin to control blood sugar levels?

  1. Liver

    No. The liver produces bile, which digests fats.
  2. Gall Bladder

    No. The gall bladder stores the bile produced by the liver.
  3. Pancreas

    Yes! The pancreas produces insulin.
  4. Thyroid

    No. The thyroid produces several hormones which control growth and metabolism, but it does not produce insulin.



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

Florida


SC.2.L.14.1 Distinguish human body parts (brain, heart, lungs, stomach, muscles, and skeleton) and their basic functions.
Bird Bones video, free
Bendable Bones video, checked
Reading a Skeleton video, free, checked
Review Anatomy-1 practice
Review Anatomy-2 practice
Review Anatomy-3 practice

SC.5.L.14.1 Identify the organs in the human body and describe their functions, including the skin, brain, heart, lungs, stomach, liver, intestines, pancreas, muscles and skeleton, reproductive organs, kidneys, bladder, and sensory organs.
Bird Bones video, free
Kneesy, Earsy, Nosey video, checked
Bendable Bones video, checked
Just a Suggestion video
Reaction Time video
Reading a Skeleton video, free, checked
Muscles Don't Push text page
Review Anatomy-1 practice
Review Anatomy-2 practice
Review Anatomy-3 practice

SC.6.L.14.5 Identify and investigate the general functions of the major systems of the human body (digestive, respiratory, circulatory, reproductive, excretory, immune, nervous, and musculoskeletal) and describe ways these systems interact with each other to maintain homeostasis.
Bird Bones video, free
Bendable Bones video, checked
Reaction Time video
Reading a Skeleton video, free, checked
Muscles Don't Push text page
Review Anatomy-1 practice
Review Anatomy-2 practice
Review Anatomy-3 practice

Utah


UT.7.III.2.c Relate the structure of an organ to its component parts and the larger system of which it is a part.
Reaction Time video
Reading a Skeleton video, free, checked
Review Anatomy-1 practice
Review Anatomy-2 practice
Review Anatomy-3 practice

NGSS


MS-LS1-3 Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
Bird Bones video, free
Bendable Bones video, checked
Reaction Time video
Reading a Skeleton video, free, checked
Review Anatomy-1 practice
Review Anatomy-2 practice
Review Anatomy-3 practice

This is a photograph of the Painted Desert in Arizona. These layers of rock have not been folded or overturned, so we know that the layer on the bottom is the oldest. This is based on:

  1. The Law of Superposition

    Yes! The Law of Superposition tells us that unless the layers have been disturbed, they will be in order of their age, with the youngest on the top, and the oldest on the bottom.
  2. The Law of Crosscutting

    No. The Law of Crosscutting tells us that a feature (crack, fault, igneous intrusion, etc.) that cuts through a layer of rock is younger than the layer it cuts through. That makes sense, because the layer would have to be there first, before it could be broken by a fault, etc.
  3. The Law of Relativity

    No. There is a theory of relativity, which deals with the basics of physics, not geology. There is no Law of Relativity.
  4. The Law of Thermodynamics

    No. The Law of Thermodynamics deals with energy, not with layers of rock.



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

Florida


SC.7.E.6.3 Identify current methods for measuring the age of Earth and its parts, including the law of superposition and radioactive dating.

Utah


UT.8.III.3.c Explain why some sedimentary rock layers may not always appear with youngest rock on top and older rocks below (i.e., folding, faulting).

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.
Paleo Cookies video
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
Homemade Fossil Dig text page
Review Geologic Time-1 practice
Review Rocks-4 practice
Review Geologic Time-2 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 Geologic Time-3 practice
Review Rocks-1 practice

Which of the following observations is scientifically testable?

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

SC.8.N.2.1 Distinguish between scientific and pseudoscientific ideas.

Utah

NGSS


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