Take 90 Minutes to answer ALL Questions.
Element
Melting Point, F
Boiling Point, F
Radon
-96
-79
Lithium
357
2448
Magnesium
1202
1994
Sulfur
239
832
Titanium
3038
5949
1.
Which of the following statements is supported by the data in the chart?
A. Radon has a higher melting point than titanium.
B. Titanium and magnesium are both liquids at room temperature.
C. Titanium, magnesium, sulfur, and radon are all solids at room
temperature.
D. Radon is a gas at room temperature
2. Carbonic acid molecules are composed of two hydrogen atoms, one carbon atom, and three
oxygen atoms. Water is also composed of hydrogen and oxygen, but water has two fewer
oxygen atoms than carbonic acid does. Carbon dioxide molecules are composed of one carbon
atom and two oxygen atoms. Which of thefollowing statements best describes the chemical
reaction represented by the equation below?
H2CO3 → H2O + CO2
A. Water is reacting with carbon dioxide to make carbonic acid.
B. Carbonic acid is decomposing into water and carbon dioxide.
C. Carbonic acid is decomposing into pure water
D. Carbon atoms were created during the reaction, resulting in more carbonatoms in the
products.
3. The standard heat of combustion is the energy released when a substance undergoes
combustion, with excess oxygen at standard conditions. A scientist wanted to determine the
performance of various fuels in a power generation turbine. She determined the standard heat of
combustion for 5 chemicals. However,she lost the data for chemical 4.
1
Chemical #
Heat of Combustion (kJ/mol)
1
1167
2
3393
3
3268
4
?
5
1527
The mean value of the heat of combustions is 2088.2. What was the heat ofcombustion for
chemical 4? You may use a calculator.
Write your answer in the box below:
Questions 4 through 6 refer to the following paragraph and diagram:
The following Punnett square shows all the possible combinations of alleles for color in
offspring pea plants when two-color hybrid pea plants are crossed. A capital P represents the
dominant color (purple) allele, while a lowercase p represents the recessive color (white) allele.
A combination of two dominant allelesresults in a purple phenotype. A combination of a
dominant allele and a recessive allele also results in a purple phenotype. However, a combination
of two recessivealleles results in a white phenotype.
One parent’s alleles are seen on the left-hand side of the square, and the other parent’s alleles
are seen on the top of the square. The genotypes of the offspringare shown in the boxes.
4. If you wanted to only grow purple pea plants in your yard this year, which of thefollowing
genotypes would you not want?
2
A. Pp
B. pP
C. pp
D. PP
5. What is the probability that the offspring will be white? You may use acalculator.
A. .25
B. .50
C. .75
D. 1.00
6. What is the probability that the offspring will be purple? You may use acalculator.
A. .25
B. .50
C. .75
D. 1.00
7. Below is the chemical equation for photosynthesis in plants.
Which of the following is correct based on the information given in the equation?
A. Water and carbon dioxide are produced as a result of photosynthesis.
B. Sugar and oxygen are the reactants in photosynthesis.
C. Carbon dioxide and water are the reactants in photosynthesis.
D. Light energy is not involved in photosynthesis.
8. The data in the table below represents the highest daily temperature in Hawaiimeasured
over a 4 day period.
Day
Temperature (degrees F)
1
86
2
87
3
87
4
86
3
What was the temperature on day 3, measured in degrees Celsius? You may use acalculator.
Write your answer in the box below:
Schematic of photosynthesis in plants
9. Which of the following is false based on the information provided in thediagram?
A. Sugar is synthesized from carbon dioxide and water
B. During the Calvin cycle, carbon dioxide is captured and converted intosugar.
C. Light energy is converted into chemical energy that gets stored in sugars.
D. Water is released as a waste product.
10. In the 4th century, scientists believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe and that
the Sun rotates around the Earth. This model is known as thegeocentric model. The model was
supported by the observation that the Sun appears to revolve around the Earth once a day when
a person watches the skyfrom anywhere on Earth. Additionally, the Earth feels stationary from
the perspective of observers on the Earth.
Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model in the 16th century. Copernicus proposed
that the Sun is the center of the Universe and that the Earth orbits the Sun. Shortly after, Galileo
Galilei used the telescope to gather evidenceconfirming that Copernicus was correct. Today,
scientists reject the geocentric model and hold that the heliocentric model is correct.
Which statement most accurately summarizes the passage?
A. In the 4th century, scientists believed that the geocentric model was correct.Scientists
today still believe that the geocentric model is correct, and reject the heliocentric model.
B. In the 4th century, scientists believed that the geocentric model was correct.Today,
4
scientists now believe that both the geocentric and heliocentric models are correct.
C. In the 16th century, scientists believed that the geocentric model was correct,but they
believed that the heliocentric model was correct in the 4th century. Today, scientists
believe that both models are incorrect.
D. In the 4th century, scientists believed that the geocentric model was correct. Today,
scientists now know that the geocentric model is false, and accept theheliocentric model.
An Astronaut Floating in Earth's Atmosphere
11. Which of the following statements best describes the force of gravity's effect on an astronaut
floating more than 30,000 kilometres above Earth's surface?
Gravity's effect
A) is the same as on Earth's surface
B) is much less than on Earth's surface
C) is significantly affected by weather conditions
D) varies with the astronaut's age, diet, and physical condition
E) would be less on an astronaut than on people in other occupations
12. Clay soil forms a fairly effective barrier against the movements of water. It also swells and
shrinks significantly as its water content changes. Sandy soil, in contrast, allows water to move
freely and does not change shape as the water content varies.
In which statement is the appropriate soil selected for its intended site?
A) Sandy soil would make a good lining for a toxic waste site.
B) Clay soil would work well in a drain field.
C) Clay soil would be a good foundation for a large building.
D) Clay soil would form a good liner if a person built a pond.
E) A sandy lake bottom would prevent water from seeping out of the lake.
5
13. The root hair of a plant, shown in the diagram below, is the most efficient way for the plant to
absorb water from surrounding soil.
Root Hair Growing among a Plant's Root Cells
At what point is the flow of water the GREATEST?
A) C to B
B) C to A
C) D to B
D) A to B
E) D to C
14. A cook decides to recover some table salt that has been completely dissolved in water. Which
of the following processes would be the most effective method of extracting salt from the solution?
A) spinning the solution in a mixer
B) boiling away the water
C) pouring the solution through cloth
D) dripping the solution through a paper filter
E) bubbling oxygen through the solution
15. A large fiberglass tank was placed in a pit, as shown below. Before pipes could be attached and
the tank filled with gasoline, however, the workers were asked to move the heavy tank to another
location.
Buoyancy and a Tank
6
Which of the following methods would be the best way to raise the tank off the bottom of the
pit so that cables could be placed under the tank?
A) Fill the tank with gasoline.
B) Fill the tank with water.
C) Fill the pit with water.
D) Fill the pit with water and fill the tank with gasoline.
E) Fill both the pit and the tank with water.
16. Viscosity is a measure of the internal resistance of a fluid to flow. For example, motor oil is
more viscous than water. The viscosity of a fluid will change with temperature. The graph below
illustrates how the viscosity of oil changes with temperature.
Effect of Temperature on Viscosity
Under which situation will the viscosity of the oil increase?
A) as temperature decreases
B) when mixed with water
C) as its volume decreases
D) as its flow increases
E) if its resistance stabilizes
17. As a moist air mass begins to ascend one side of a mountain, the cooler, high altitudes cause the
water
vapor to condense and fall onto the mountain in the form of rain, hail, or snow. After the
condensation
occurs, the now-dry air mass continues across the mountain.
7
A certain mountain range runs from north to south across a continent. At this location, the winds
always
blow from the west to the east. Based on the process described above, which represents the BEST
description
of the location involved?
A) much vegetation on the west side of the mountain range and dry conditions on the east side
B) desert on both sides of the mountain range
C) a large lake on the east side of the mountain range
D) tropical conditions in the northern part of the continent
E) desert conditions on the west side of the mountain range and lush forests on the east side
18. The blocks in the figure below each float in water and are all the same size; each is constructed
of a different substance. A block will float only if its weight is less than the weight of an equal
volume of water
that it displaces.
Which of the blocks shown above displaces the largest volume of water?
A) Block 1
B) Block 2
C) Block 3
D) Block 4
E) Block 5
19. If object A and object B below both have the same mass, object B will lose heat more quickly
than object A.
8
If minimizing heat loss were the main consideration, which type of animal adaptation would be
BEST suited to a small animal that lives in a cold climate?
A) long ears and long body
B) small ears and short tail
C) long nose and long tail
D) short nose and large ears
E) long tail and short nose
Questions 20, 21, 22 and 23 refer to the following passage
Agriculture depends on a layer of soil that averages only 15 centimeters in depth over Earth’s
surface. Crop plants rely on this rich upper layer called “topsoil.” Erosion is a natural process by
which topsoil is removed by the action of wind or water. Plant cover helps hold soil in place and
limits the amount of erosion that takes place.
Soil formation takes thousands of years, but across the world, topsoil is being lost at ten times the
rate at which new soil is formed. People have accelerated the rate of erosion by using the land in an
uncontrolled manner. However, erosion can be reduced in several ways. Contour plowing (plowing
along the contour of the land) and terracing (making a series of level plots in a steplike fashion
along a slope) reduce water runoff. To minimize soil loss when crop plants are spaced far apart, a
method called strip cropping is used. In strip cropping, farmers grow low strips of vegetation that
hold down the soil between the crops. Trees called windbreaks are planted between fields to help
prevent the wind from carrying away topsoil.
Soil depletion also threatens topsoil. In a natural setting, nutrients from plants are returned to the
soil as a result of decay. Farmers use fertilizers to return nutrients to the soil. A technique of
alternating crops, called crop rotation, can also return nutrients to the soil. Legumes such as alfalfa
and beans can add nitrogen to the soil. Legumes can be alternately grown with plants like wheat or
sorghum, which deplete nitrogen from the soil.
20. If corn is grown in the same soil for many years, such corn will deplete nitrogen from the soil.
Which
method could help to return depleted nutrients to the soil?
A) contour plowing
B) terracing
C) crop rotation
D) strip cropping
E) windbreaks
9
21. Which method is used to counteract the effects of erosion caused by water?
A) crop rotation
B) soil depletion
C) fertilizers
D) legumes
E) terracing
22. Why are plants able to slow down soil erosion?
A) They prevent plant disease.
B) The prevent water from evaporating.
C) They use up nutrients in the soil.
D) Their roots hold the soil.
E) Their leaves catch water.
23. H.H. Bennett, one-time chief of the Soil Conservation Service, is known as the father of soil
conservation. He once said, “Productive soil is life, and the production of soil is vanishing with
each passing year.”
Which solution would be MOST beneficial to help resolve this environmental problem?
A) Tax farmers for every acre of the land they use.
B) Convince farmers to use accepted methods to prevent erosion.
C) Do not let farmers use the land.
D) Encourage landowners to clear-cut all vegetation.
E) Lower the price of fertilizers to reduce the total cost to the farmer.
24. The living cells that conduct food and water up and down through the trunk of a tree are located
in a relatively thin layer just under the bark. The center part of the trunk contains old, dead cells.
If it were necessary to kill a mature tree, which of the following methods would be most effective?
A) Saw a deep cut about halfway into the trunk on one side.
B) Remove most of the center of the trunk through a small opening.
C) Drive a steel spike through the bark to the center of the trunk.
D) Bore a hole through the center of the trunk.
E) Cut a deep groove below the bark around the tree trunk.
25. Many wine tasters are trained to judge the quality of wines. By tasting a particular wine, they
can identify the region and country from which the wine comes. The taste is influenced by the type
of soil in which the wine grapes grow.
These facts best support which generalization about wine production?
A) Heat and light are not important in wine production.
B) The quality of wine grapes does not vary.
C) Chemicals in nature generally harm wine production.
D) Wine production is affected more by human intervention than by nature.
10
E) Geographic conditions affect wine production.
26. Bats navigate by sending out and receiving sound waves. The bat can determine the shape, size,
and location of an object by measuring the time it takes for the sound waves to return.
Which of the following uses this principle?
A) a telephone call that is transmitted via satellite
B) a radio signal that is sent from a tower to a radio receiver
C) a special photograph taken by a satellite that shows areas of different temperature
D) a message transmitted over phone lines from one computer to another
E) a sonar system that can determine if there are fish beneath a ship
27. At high altitudes, the atmosphere contains fewer molecules per unit volume of air than it does at
low altitudes.
For which reason may people experience shortness of breath more quickly at the top of a mountain
than along a seashore?
A) a slower pulse rate
B) a great gravitational force on the body
C) a lower percent of oxygen in the blood
D) a faster heartbeat
E) a slower circulation of blood
28. Smokestacks used by industries that burn coal or oil often give off sulfur dioxide as a byproduct. Sulfur dioxide reacts with the oxygen in the air to form sulfur trioxide. Sulfur trioxide then
combines with the water in the air to form sulfuric acid.
What is the most prominent atmospheric consequence of this series of chemical reactions?
A) The atmosphere is polluted with substances that are harmful to humans and to the environment.
B) Plants that require a basic soil with a high pH level thrive.
C) The atmosphere becomes less polluted because sulfuric acid dissolves all particles in the air.
D) Marine life reproduces faster because of the increasing acidity of the water.
E) Increased sulfur dioxide emissions have little effect because wind blows the emissions away.
29. The force of gravity causes objects to fall toward Earth, but it is commonly observed that a
feather falls more slowly than a penny. However, when a feather and a penny are placed in a
chamber where all the air has been removed, they both fall at the same rate.
These observations indicate that:
A) the shape of the feather causes gravity to have less force
B) metals fall faster than feathers even when no air is present
C) air resistance will cause the feather to fall more slowly
D) air resistance acts more on the penny than on the feather
E) both the feather and the penny fall more slowly in a vacuum
11
30. As part of a laboratory experiment, five students measured the weight of the same leaf four
times. They recorded 20 slightly different weights. All of the work was done carefully and
correctly. Their goal was to be as accurate as possible and reduce error in the experiment to a
minimum.
Which of the following is the BEST method to report the weight of the leaf?
A) Ask the teacher to weigh the leaf.
B) Report the first measurement.
C) Average all the weights that were recorded.
D) Average the highest and lowest weights recorded.
E) Discard the lowest five weights.
31. When sunlight is absorbed by an object, the energy heats the object. But if light is reflected by
or passes through the object, the object is heated to a lesser degree.
An automobile with black seatcovers is left outside on a sunny day with its windows rolled up.
Which of the following will heat up the MOST while causing the inside of the automobile to get
warm?
A) window glass in the side windows
B) the white steering wheel cover
C) window glass in the front windshield
D) the black seatcovers
E) the air inside the automobile
32. Which of the following statements could be directly derived from the fact that Earth rotates on a
tilted axis while revolving around the sun?
A) Earth is widest at the equator.
B) While the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter, the Southern Hemisphere experience
summer.
C) Most of Earth’s surface is covered by ocean.
D) The desert area of East Africa increases in size each year.
E) Erosion occurs in a west-to-east pattern.
33. A naturalist wanted to answer the question, “How many petals does an average daisy have?” He
gathered a large number of daisies and counted the number of petals on each. He then listed his
observations in the following graph.
12
Which of the following statements could BEST be supported by his observations?
A) The most common number of petals on a daisy is 15.
B) The least common number of petals on a daisy is 20.
C) The largest number of petals on a daisy is 19.
D) The smallest number of petals on a daisy is 14.
E) The number of petals on a daisy varies.
34. Based on the data provided in the chart, in which months is the rainfall about the same?
A) March and August
B) January and November
C) February and June
D) May and September
E) October and December
35. The graph below shows the percentage of light of different wavelengths that is absorbed by
chlorophyll.
13
For a plant to achieve the maximum rate of photosynthesis, what wavelengths of light would be
MOST effective?
A) violet and blue
B) blue and red
C) green and orange
D) orange and red
E) violet and yellow
36. Which gas listed above is the LEAST dense?
A) air (dry)
B) ammonia
C) chlorine
D) helium
E) oxygen
37. In order to cut her grass, Georgette recently purchased a string trimmer with the following
instructions.
Georgette needs to fill the trimmer’s engine properly before she uses it.
Which amount of gasoline should she mix with the contents of the oil container?
A) 1.0 gallon
B) 1.25 gallons
C) 1.5 gallons
D) 2.0 gallons
E) 2.5 gallons
38. As many as 20 percent of patients who take prescription drugs including insulin consume herbal
supplements, but without realizing that such a combination may pose a health risk under certain
circumstances. Patients should always consult their pharmacists or physicians before taking herbal
supplements with prescription drugs.
14
From the information provided in the chart above, which of the following statements is true?
Herbal supplements:
A) are types of vitamins that have a high calorie content
B) interfere with all prescription drugs
C) are cheaper than prescription drugs
D) boost the human immune system
E) may change the effect of certain prescription drugs.
39. Earth’s environment has changed over the centuries. Such changes can be viewed by examining
fossils below Earth’s surface. The fossils shown in the following diagram were found in a rock
cliff.
What environmental change BEST explains the differences between layers A and B?
A) The weather changed.
B) Oceans covered the area.
C) Earthquakes occurred.
D) No observable changes are present.
E) Drought conditions prevailed.
40. Two identical balls are suspended by a rod, as shown in the diagram below.
A positive electrical charge is put on the left ball and a negative charge on the ball on the right.
Expected Change in Position When Particles Have Opposite Charges
15
After placing the charges on the balls, which of the following BEST represents how the balls will
react to
each other?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E
16