Study Guide

Field 241: Science: Earth and Space Science 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

The following reference material will be available to you during the test:

Periodic Table PDF opens in a new window.

Objective 0001 
Understand practices of science and engineering.

1. Use the information below to answer the question that follows.

Alcohol % Water % Measured Freezing Point (°C)
10 90 25
20 80 20
30 70 5
40 60 0
50 50 −5
60 40 −10
70 30 −20
80 20 −35
90 10 −70
100 0 −130

A student designs a study to determine how adding isopropyl alcohol to water changes the freezing point of the solution. The table shows the freezing points measured by the student for each condition. The student uses this information to draw a number of conclusions. The teacher, however, notices that the student measured the freezing points in Fahrenheit and not in Celsius as labeled in the table. Which of the following conclusions by the student is most affected by the student's mislabeling of the temperature unit?

  1. Increasing the percentage of alcohol in a solution decreases the freezing point of water.
  2. The freezing point of pure water is different from the freezing point of pure isopropyl alcohol.
  3. A solution of 40 percent isopropyl alcohol and 60 percent water has the same freezing point as pure water.
  4. Changing the percentage of water in the solution results in an inversely linear change in the measured freezing point.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The freezing point of pure water is 32 degreesF or 0 degreesC. When analyzing the table, a student might conclude that a solution of 40 percent isopropyl alcohol and 60 percent water has the same freezing point as pure water. This type of misconception is formed when data is mislabeled. In this case, the table is labeled in Celsius but the data were measured in Fahrenheit. Therefore, in reading the table, the student will infer that the 40/60 solution has a freezing point of 0 degreesC, when in actuality the freezing point is 0 degreesF, which is not the freezing point of pure water.

Objective 0002 
Understand crosscutting concepts and their applications across science and engineering disciplines.

2. Which of the following sequences best describes the changes in energy forms as first a plant grows, then it is consumed by a rabbit, and finally the rabbit runs through a field?

  1. radiant energy becomes chemical energy becomes kinetic energy
  2. geothermal energy becomes radiant energy becomes chemical energy
  3. potential energy becomes mechanical energy becomes kinetic energy
  4. geothermal energy becomes potential energy becomes chemical energy
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The radiant energy from the sun is transferred into chemical energy during the process of photosynthesis when sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide are taken in by the plant to produce sugar and oxygen. The energy is stored as a sugar and can be either used for the function and/or growth of the plant. When the plant is consumed by the rabbit, the plant is digested as food and converted into chemical energy through metabolic processes. These chemical reactions produce and store energy in the form of macromolecules. As the rabbit begins to run, that stored chemical energy is converted into kinetic energy, enabling the rabbit to move and function.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the science classroom.

3. Students in a chemistry class will be reading a text that focuses on the complex process of reaction mechanisms and transition states. The teacher wants to teach students how to use visualization as a strategy to improve their comprehension of the text. The teacher begins by explaining that visualization is used to create a mental picture of an object, concept, or process described in a text. Which of the following steps should the teacher take next in teaching this comprehension strategy?

  1. reading aloud a section of the text to students and prompting them to make a detailed drawing of the text's main idea
  2. using think-aloud to model the strategy while reading a section of the text aloud to students
  3. asking students to read the text and analyze how the author uses graphic features to support comprehension
  4. having students read the text silently and then point to a key illustration or graphic in the text
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
A think-aloud process allows teachers to describe things they are doing to monitor comprehension while reading a text orally. By modeling how to use visualization as a comprehension strategy, the teacher shows students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text by generating mental images as they read. The students can then apply the teacher's visualization strategy to create their own images to help them understand the text they are reading.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the science classroom.

4. An environmental science teacher would like to promote students' ability to use evidence from a text to support their writing and class discussions about assigned informational and expository texts. The teacher could best achieve these goals by providing the students with explicit modeling and practice in which of the following strategies?

  1. defining new vocabulary in their own words
  2. using visualization during reading
  3. identifying a text's organizational structure
  4. annotating a text during reading
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The process of annotating a text during reading enables students to engage in a close reading—a thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details—to develop a deeper understanding of the text. When annotating a text, students highlight/underline key information and make notes of key ideas and questions. These notes help students formulate their thoughts for expression in writing and class discussions.

Objective 0004 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of chemistry.

5. Use the incomplete chemical equation below to answer the question that follows.

3 M G C L 2 + 2 F E yields 2 F E C L with an unknown subscript  + 3 M G

In order to complete the equation shown, the subscript on chlorine on the product side of the equation must equal which of the following values?

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Chemical equations must follow the law of conservation of mass. Therefore, the number of atoms for each element on the reactant side is equal to the number of atoms for each element on the product side. In this example, magnesium chloride has a coefficient of three and chlorine has a subscript of two. Since there is no subscript on magnesium, the number of atoms is determined by what its coefficient is. In this case, there are three magnesium atoms on the reactant side of the equation. Similarly, there are two iron atoms on both the reactant and product sides. To determine the number of chlorine atoms, the coefficient number and the subscript number of that element are multiplied together, giving a total of six chlorine atoms in this compound. Thus, there needs to be six chlorine atoms on the product side of the equation. As the equation is presented, iron chloride has a coefficient of two, giving a total of two chlorine atoms. However, in order to balance this equation, there needs to be a total of six chlorine atoms. This is achieved by placing a subscript of three on the element chlorine. This will result in there being two molecules of iron chloride that each contain three atoms of chlorine. This equals a total of six chlorine atoms on the product side, which equals the reactant side and balances the chemical equation.

Objective 0005 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of physics.

6. Use the graph below to answer the question that follows.

graph showing the velocity of a person on a bike

A graph of velocity in M per S versus time in S is shown. From 0 to 3 S, there is a flat line at 2 M per S. Then, there is a line with a negative slope from 3 to 6 S that goes from a velocity of 2 M per S to 1 M per S. Next, from 6 to 9 S, there is a flat line at 1 M per S. Finally, between 9 and 12 M per S, the line has a positive slope that goes from a velocity of 1 M per S to 2 M per S.

The graph shows the velocity of a person on a bicycle traveling on a straight, flat road. Within which of the following ranges is there a net force on the bicycle in a direction that is opposite to the velocity of the bicycle?

  1. 0to3 s
  2. 3to6 s
  3. 6to9 s
  4. 9to12 s
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
On a velocity versus time graph, a negative slope, as shown between 3 and 6 seconds on the graph, indicates a decrease in velocity over time. The bicycle is slowing down because the net force is in the opposite direction of the velocity of the bicycle. This is due to the fact that the magnitude of the frictional force is greater than the magnitude of the applied force. However, the bicycle is still moving forward because velocity is the amount of displacement of the bicycle over a given time.

Objective 0005 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of physics.

7. A physical science teacher wants to relate motion and kinematics concepts to real-world events that occur in daily life. Which of the following student activities would best accomplish the teacher's goal?

  1. Students carry out an imaginary car ride and analyze changes in displacement and velocity that occur.
  2. Students measure the work done in pulling a box filled with books across a rough floor.
  3. Students analyze the forces acting on a piece of classroom furniture and construct a free-body diagram.
  4. Students visit a commercial power plant and describe the ways in which energy changes forms.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The best activity to demonstrate motion and kinematics concepts in a classroom is to have students relate to these concepts by using real-world experiences. Students can use their real-world experience to perform an imaginary car ride and analyze what will happen to a car's displacement and velocity when it changes speeds, reverses, stops, or maintains a constant speed.

Objective 0006 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of biology.

8. Students use a molecular model kit with various colors of beads and are asked to create six carbon dioxide molecules and six water molecules. These bead molecules are then used to represent the process of photosynthesis. This bead model directly shows which of the following aspects of photosynthesis?

  1. The number of molecules of water produced in photosynthesis is equal to the number of reactant molecules of water.
  2. The oxygen that is produced as a result of the photosynthetic process is derived from both carbon dioxide and water.
  3. The splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen in photosynthesis is driven by the absorption of light energy.
  4. There is a conservation of matter during the reaction that produces one glucose molecule.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The activity described directly shows the conservation of matter because students can observe the number of atoms per element before and after a chemical reaction. When students build the carbon and water molecules, they are able to observe and count how many atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are present before the reaction occurs. Then, as the students represent the products of these reactions, they can observe that the atoms representing these elements were neither removed nor added but rearranged to form a glucose molecule during the reaction.

Objective 0007 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of Earth and space science.

9. Which of the following wind patterns is produced when warm air rises under high pressure and deflects right as Earth rotates about its axis?

  1. Doldrums
  2. Polar easterlies
  3. westerlies
  4. northeast trade winds
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The northeast trade winds, also known as prevailing winds, develop when the warm air at the equator rises under high pressure and Coriolis forces. As the air rises and flows toward the north, Earth is also rotating about its axis, which produces the Coriolis effect and deflects winds to the right. Around 30-degrees North latitude, the air begins to cool and descend, while still continuing to deflect to the right. The wind moves from a northeasterly direction to a southwesterly direction, and eventually returns back to the equator.

Objective 0007 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of Earth and space science.

10. Use the passage below to answer the question that follows.

When developing earthquake-resistant buildings, many newer designs follow a base-isolation model. This technology enables buildings to remain suspended above the foundation as an earthquake hits, allowing for the foundation to move and not the building. This design relies upon the use of bearings that contain a lead core wrapped in alternating layers of steel and rubber and move with the building and the foundation's movement.

Which of the following improvements would optimize this base-isolation design?

  1. adding shock absorbent materials to the building
  2. changing all metals in the building structure to titanium
  3. surrounding all of the building's bearings with concrete
  4. adding points along the building that can fold with movement
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The base-isolation model is used to prevent damage to a building during an earthquake by displacing and isolating the motion of the building to its foundation. The functioning of this type of design is dependent on the material and height of the building. Shock absorbent materials are added to the design to prevent and minimize further damage to the building in the event that the original design fails and the building would move. The shock absorbent materials function by absorbing the kinetic energy, instead of displacing that energy, in order to protect the building from damage.

Objective 0008 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of environmental science.

11. Compared with other forms of environmental regulation, policies that promote full-cost pricing, such as taxation of pollutants, have the primary advantage of:

  1. coordinating the efforts of many nations to maximize the global impact.
  2. having more transparent and visible benefits.
  3. relying on the power of incentives to encourage efficient responses.
  4. working in a more time-efficient manner.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Full-cost pricing is a policy wherein the price of a product is adjusted to account for any external costs, such as the costs associated with pollution. The taxation of pollutants has the effect of raising the price paid by consumers for a polluting product, or reducing the revenues and profits that its producers receive, or both. Consumers and producers then respond to these price incentives by finding ways to change the quantity of the product that they buy or sell, which reduces the quantity of pollution in the most efficient possible way.

Objective 0008 
Understand the disciplinary core ideas of environmental science.

12. Students are using the engineering design process to create a filtration system that removes microplastic beads from a local freshwater aquatic ecosystem in order to reduce the presence of these beads in top-level predators. Background research needed to develop this filtration system would most likely include obtaining information about the:

  1. production and use of plastics in various consumer products.
  2. movement of microplastics through the food chain.
  3. availability of alternative plastic-free consumer products.
  4. current sources of microplastic pollution in global ecosystems.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
To accomplish the goal of this activity, the students need to have an understanding of how matter moves through the local watershed, including through the aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, the students must research the movement of microplastics to determine where the microplastics are in the environment and in which organisms they are concentrated. This will allow them to discover the best design and place for the filter.

Objective 0009 
Understand the characteristics and formation of the universe and the objects within it.

13. Which of the following statements most accurately summarizes a currently accepted detail about galaxy evolution?

  1. Irregular galaxies are formed when spiral galaxies decelerate and break apart.
  2. Elliptical galaxies are formed when two or more spiral galaxies collide and merge.
  3. Spheroidal galaxies are extremely active and contain large amounts of gas and dust.
  4. Spiral galaxies are disordered systems and the youngest type of galaxy in the universe.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
All galaxies are theorized to form from the collapse of a hydrogen and helium cloud. As the clouds collapse, a spin is generated. The spin begins to increase in speed and forms a rotating disk, known as spiral galaxies. Current theories suggest that elliptical galaxies primarily form from the collision of these spiral galaxies. Elliptical galaxies are generally located in rich galaxy clusters, which increase the probability of collision between galaxies. Compared to spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies tend to have less interstellar gas among their bodies, suggesting that the gas was consumed during the creation of new stars as the galaxies collided. Current observations also show existence of newer stars within elliptical galaxies, which further supports this claim.

Objective 0010 
Understand the solar system and the characteristics and interactions of the objects within it.

14. During the formation of the solar system, the composition of Jupiter and the sun were similar. Which of the following statements best explains why the sun produces vast amounts of heat and light, while Jupiter is cold and dark?

  1. Jupiter formed in the outer reaches of the solar system, which was far colder than the center where the sun formed.
  2. The sun rotates much faster than Jupiter and the rapid rotation produces tidal forces sufficient to initiate fusion reactions.
  3. The sun is much more massive than Jupiter, and the greater gravitational force heated the sun enough to ignite fusion.
  4. A passing star interacted with Jupiter and stripped off much of its gaseous hydrogen, leaving heavier, more stable elements behind.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The sun started to form when large amounts of hydrogen gas contracted under the forces of its own gravitation. This increasing contraction eventually hit a critical threshold and ignited the process of nuclear fusion within the core, which formed a star. Even though Jupiter is a massive planet, it is not as large as the sun. Therefore, Jupiter never reached its critical mass that would ignite nuclear fusion to generate the massive radiant heat and light that the sun currently produces.

Objective 0010 
Understand the solar system and the characteristics and interactions of the objects within it.

15. Which of the following observations best supports the conclusion that the moon was formed as a result of the collision of Earth with another large body?

  1. Earth is a slightly flattened rather than a perfect sphere, with a wider diameter at the equator than at the poles.
  2. Some moon rocks have the same chemical composition as Earth rocks, while others are very different.
  3. Earth's axis of rotation is oblique rather than vertical and wobbles back and forth over time.
  4. The moon's orbital rotation around the Earth and its rotation on its axis are synchronized.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
The giant impact hypothesis suggests that the moon formed from the collision of Earth and a large celestial body that was about the size of Mars. After the collision, the debris from the outer layers of both planets coalesced to form the moon. The analysis of moon rocks showed similar composition to Earth’s outer layers, supporting the idea that they are of similar origin. However, samples of rocks also contained poor iron content and depleted amounts of volatile elements in comparison to that of Earth. The lack of volatile elements can be explained and supported by the idea that the material vaporized due to the enormous energy produced from the collision of the bodies.

Objective 0011 
Understand features, characteristics, and interactions of Earth's geologic systems.

16. Proceeding from the bottommost layer to the topmost, which rock sequence would most likely be deposited as sea levels fall?

  1. sandstone on which is deposited bioclastic limestone on which is deposited siltstone on which is deposited shale
  2. shale on which is deposited siltstone on which is deposited sandstone on which is deposited bioclastic limestone
  3. sandstone on which is deposited siltstone on which is deposited bioclastic limestone on which is deposited shale
  4. bioclastic limestone on which is deposited sandstone on which is deposited siltstone on which is deposited shale
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Changes in a sedimentary column can indicate either a rise or fall of sea level. Shale is composed of the consolidation and compaction of very fine-grain clay minerals. Fine-grained particles in a rock, such as shale or siltstone, indicate that the rock formed in a low energy environment, such as deep ocean waters. As the water level decreases, the turbidity increases, because shallower waters generate higher energy waves. Therefore, as rocks form in the sequence, they must consist of clastic sediment grains that increase in size and increasingly vary in size because the grains become coarser as the sea level drops. Sandstone can be formed in shallow bodies of water. It is formed from the compaction of sand with clays or silica. Bioclastic limestones are composed of course-grained sand and broken-up marine fossil debris. Therefore, presence of bioclastic limestone indicates that the environment favored both biological activity and formed in a high-energy environment, which are characteristics consistent with shallower waters.

Objective 0011 
Understand features, characteristics, and interactions of Earth's geologic systems.

17. According to Bowen's reaction series, which of the following minerals would crystallize first when magma maintains a high temperature?

  1. olivine
  2. potassium feldspar
  3. quartz
  4. muscovite mica
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Bowen’s reaction series is a diagram that shows initial melting temperatures of igneous silicate minerals that crystalize as magma cools. The silica content of the magma affects temperature of the melt. The top of the diagram contains minerals that crystallize first, as the magma cools. The diagram is in the shape of a “Y.” In the left branch of the “Y” in the diagram, minerals contain iron and magnesium, and are known as the discontinuous series, because the group is not chemically compatible with the melt as it cools. In the right branch of the “Y” in the diagram, there are minerals that are known as plagioclase feldspar and are known as the continuous series. The lower portion of the diagram contains minerals with a large amount of potassium and silica, which decrease melting points. Therefore, the first rock to crystalize when the magma maintains a high temperature will be olivine, because olivine is composed of a magnesium iron silicate and is typically found in mafic or ultra-mafic igneous rocks.

Objective 0012 
Understand features, characteristics, and interactions of the hydrosphere.

18. Compared to the epipelagic zone, which of the following characteristics best describes the abyssopelagic zone of any ocean?

  1. relatively high temperature
  2. relatively low density
  3. relatively high salinity
  4. relatively low dissolved oxygen
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Within any ocean, the abyssopelagic zone begins around 4,000m deep and extends to about 6,000m in depth. Due to the depth, this zone lacks sunlight and has a higher density compared to above layers. As the depth increases, the temperature decreases to near freezing and the pressure increases. Relatively few organisms are found in this zone because the pressure is so intense, and the temperatures are so low. Since, no light penetrates this zone, photosynthesis cannot occur, which results in a relatively low dissolved oxygen content when combined with the decreased amount of mixing that occurs in this layer.

Objective 0013 
Understand features, characteristics, and interactions of the atmosphere, weather, and climate.

19. Which of the following statements best explains why the temperature in the stratosphere increases above the tropopause?

  1. The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
  2. Water vapor and clouds that could reflect sunlight are not present in the stratosphere.
  3. Aerosols and particulates that could reflect sunlight are not present in the stratosphere.
  4. Relatively high carbon dioxide levels in the stratosphere prevent heat from being reflected into space.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The stratosphere lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere, ranging from around 6 miles to about 31 miles above Earth’s surface. This layer has little water vapor and is the location of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is composed of three-atom oxygen molecules and can absorb a portion of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. This prevents most of the ultraviolet radiation from reaching the Earth’s surface. Since this layer absorbs radiation, the temperature increases with altitude. The air in the upper portion of the layer becomes warmer than the lower portion of the layer, preventing convection and upward vertical movement of gasses.

Objective 0014 
Understand the dynamic interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere.

20. A high school science teacher prepares a demonstration with petri dishes that contain water, light soil, or dark soil. Light from an incandescent light bulb is projected upon the surfaces of the substances, and each dish contains a thermometer. Which of the following concepts is the teacher demonstrating?

  1. conduction
  2. climate change
  3. irradiation
  4. albedo effect
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
This demonstration represents the concept of the albedo effect. The albedo effect is the measure of reflectivity on a surface. In this example, the projection of light is from an incandescent light bulb and represents the sun. Each of the substances in the petri dish represents a type of surface that is present in different types of climates, such as oceans, deserts, or fertile grounds. As the light is projected upon each dish, each surface will either absorb or reflect a different amount of radiation based on the reflectivity’s of these surfaces.