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Quest: 8th Grade Science Assessment

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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.



I wanted to test different amounts of fertilizer to see which was best for growing grass. I mixed water with different amounts of fertilizer, and then added sodium polyacrylate to change it into a gel. Then I sprinkled the grass seeds on top, and waited for them to grow.

I really need a control group for this experiment. What would I use for a control?

  1. Water, fertilizer, and grass seed, without any sodium polyacrylate.

    No. For the control, we want to skip the thing we are testing for. We are not testing changes caused by the amount of sodium polyacrylate.
  2. Water, sodium polyacrylate, and grass seed, without any fertilizer.

    Yes! We are testing to see how different amounts of fertilizer change the growth of the grass. The amount of fertilizer is the variable we are testing, so the control group should not have any fertilizer.
  3. Water, sodium polyacrylate, and fertilizer, without any grass seed.

    No. For the control, we want to skip the thing we are testing for. We are not testing changes caused by the amount of grass seed, and we know that no grass will grow if we do not have any seeds.
  4. Sodium polyacrylate, fertilizer, and grass seed, without any water.

    No. For the control, we want to skip the thing we are testing for. We are not testing changes caused by the amount of water.



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.1.4 Identify a control group and explain its importance in an experiment.

SC.7.N.1.4 Identify test variables (independent variables) and outcome variables (dependent variables) in an experiment.

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.

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
Light and Dark Minerals text page, learnalong
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
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 Erosion-4 practice
Review Erosion-5 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-1 practice
Review Erosion-1 practice
Review Erosion-2 practice
Review Erosion-3 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 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
Review Geologic Time-1 practice
Review Rocks-4 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-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

It takes the Earth 24 hours to:

  1. Rotate

    Yes. The Earth turns on its axis to make one full rotation every 24 hours.
  2. Revolve

    No. It takes a year for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.
  3. Orbit

    No. It takes a year for the Earth to orbit around the Sun.
  4. Reverse

    No. The motion of the Earth does not reverse.



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.5.3 Recognize that Earth revolves around the Sun in a year and rotates on its axis in a 24-hour day.
Making a Scale Model of the Solar System video, ClosedCaptions
Global Science video, ClosedCaptions
Finding Your Way video, checked
Review Space-11 practice

SC.8.E.5.7 Compare and contrast the properties of objects in the Solar System including the Sun, planets, and moons to those of Earth, such as gravitational force, distance from the Sun, speed, movement, temperature, and atmospheric conditions.
Making a Scale Model of the Solar System video, ClosedCaptions
Global Science video, ClosedCaptions
Planets and Pennies video, ClosedCaptions
Review Space-4 practice
Review Space-11 practice

Utah


UT.3.I.2.a Describe the motions of Earth (i.e., the rotation [spinning] of Earth on its axis, the revolution [orbit] of Earth around the sun).
Global Science video, ClosedCaptions
Review Space-11 practice

UT.6.I.2.a Identify the difference between the motion of an object rotating on its axis and an object revolving in orbit.
Review Space-11 practice

NGSS

What do you have to do to replicate an experiment?

  1. You do the same experiment several times.

    No. Doing the same experiment several times is repetition, not replication.
  2. You do the same experiment that someone else did.

    Yes. By replicating an experiment exactly, you should get the same results as the original experiment.
  3. You do an improved version of someone's experiment.

    For replication, you do the experiment exactly as the original scientist did, without making any changes.
  4. You look for errors in someone's experiment.

    The purpose of replication is to verify, not to look for errors.



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.

SC.5.N.2.2 Recognize and explain that when scientific investigations are carried out, the evidence produced by those investigations should be replicable by others.

>>> Teacher Page: Nature of Science and Dissolving


SC.6.N.1.2 Explain why scientific investigations should be replicable.

SC.7.N.1.2 Differentiate replication (by others) from repetition (multiple trials).

SC.8.N.1.2 Design and conduct a study using repeated trials and replication.

Utah

NGSS

After I rubbed this ballon against my hair, it stuck to the side of my head. Why?

  1. The balloon stuck because I don't have enough hair.

    No. While much of my hair is gone, I still have enough to do this experiment.
  2. The balloon stuck because the balloon had the same charge as my hair.

    No. Two things with the same electrostatic charge will repel, pushing apart.
  3. The balloon stuck because the balloon had a different charge from my hair.

    Yes. When I rubbed the balloon against my hair, electrons moved from my hair to the balloon. The extra electrons gave the balloon a negative charge, and the missing electrons left my hair with a positive charge. Opposite charges attract, so the balloon stuck to my hair.
  4. The balloon stuck because my hair was magnetized.

    No. Rubbing a balloon against something does not magnetize it. Even if it was magnetized, a magnet would not attract the rubber balloon.



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.
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
Electricity video, free, Updated
The Compass and Magnetic Fields video, ClosedCaptions, checked
Review Energy-6 quest
Review Energy-7 quest
Review Energy-8 quest

Utah


UT.5.IV.1.c Describe the behavior of objects charged with static electricity in attracting or repelling without touching.

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.

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