3rd Nine Weeks Benchmark Study Guide
1. Some students were investigating some properties of rocks. They wanted to compare the volumes of the
rocks. What tools should the students use to accurately measure the volume of each rock?
(hint: volume of irregular shaped objects)
Graduated cylinder and water
2. Explain how an organism undergoes sexual reproduction?
Organisms undergo sexual reproduction when two parents join their sex cells to produce an offspring
that is not identical to the parents.
3. What are the three types of rocks and how are they formed?
1. sedimentary – weathering and erosion of the earth’s crust and eventually sediments are
compacted together.
2. metamorphic – when other types of rocks undergo heat and pressure
3. igneous – when magma/lava cools
4. At about what rate does the lithospheric plates beneath the ocean move a year? About 2cm per year
5. When designing a new product how would you determine if the new product was a success? Make a
prototype, test it, see if others like it, see if its better than the old product, etc
6. What are the major functions of the muscular system, the respiratory system, and the skeletal system??
Muscular -Provides movement and flexibility
Respiratory-Helps you breath
Skeletal- Helps you have structure
7. Give an example of a product that has been adaptive bioengineered?
Lasik eye surgery, pacemaker, mechanical organs….
8. Draw a picture of the exchange of gases between plants and animals. Label the organisms and the gases.
9. An unknown mineral was soft enough to be scratched by a fingernail (hardness = 2.5). Use hardness scale
to determine what mineral(s) it could be. List the minerals.
Talc or Gypsum
10. List the levels of organization in order of simplest to most complex. Give an example with each level.
1. cells – red blood cells
2. tissue – connective tissues
3. organ - lung
4. organ system – cardiovascular system
5. Organism – ex. A human being
11. Medical researchers are developing a wireless blood pressure monitoring system that allows nurses to
measure a patient’s blood pressure without awakening the patient. What is the intended benefit of this
technology?
The patients won’t be disturbed while sleeping.
12. What is located on the chromosome? genes
13. Give the function and draw a picture of the organelles listed below.
Chloroplast – makes food for the plant cell, where photosynthesis takes place
Mitochondria – breaks down food to make ATP
Ribosome – makes proteins
Nucleus – brain of cell, hold genetic material
Endoplasmic Reticulum – makes lipids, internal delivery system, breaks down toxins
14. What is located in the mantle and causes the tectonic plates to move? Convection currents
15. What happens to particles during diffusion?
During diffusion particles move from high to low concentration until equilibrium
16. Differentiate between the female and male part of the flower?
Male- STAMEN- has a filament and an anther- To produce and store pollen
Female- PISTIL- ovary, ovules, style, stigma- To produce and store eggs
17. What is a good reason to use a renewable energy source instead of fossil fuels?
Renewable resources and not as harmful to the environment, can be reused, no pollution, etc…
18. How do you determine the independent variable? Doesn’t rely on anything else for it to change.
How do you determine the dependent variable? Relies on something else to change it. Outcome of the
change.
19. What cell parts are found in pairs and move towards the opposite ends of the nucleus during cell division?
(2 answers) Chromosomes and centrioles
20. Distinguish between genotype and phenotype.
Genotype are the dominate and recessive alleles. Phenotype is what an organism looks like.
21. Determine what genotypes are needed to show the dominant trait. Dd DD or dD
22. Determine what genotypes are needed to show the recessive trait. dd
23. What are the reactants and products of the two processes?
Photosynthesis – Reactants (Water, Carbon Dioxide, Light Energy) Products (Glucose, Oxygen)
Cellular Respiration – Reactants (Glucose, Oxygen) Products (Water, Carbon Dioxide, ATP)
24. Explain the purpose of a prototype in designing a new product.
Helps to know if others will want to buy it. Help to see what you need to do to fix it.
25. Draw the steps of cell division in order.
26. What is asexual reproduction? Give an example.
When a single parent produces an offspring that is identical to the parent and does not involve the
union of sex cells. EX: budding
27. What is an unintended consequence? Give an example
Unintended consequences are uses or results that engineers do not purposely include in the design of
products. Ex: Early refrigerators used CFCs and later engineers found out that CFCs damaged the
ozone layer.
28. What is the composition of the compositional layers of the Earth?
1. crust – oxygen, silicon, and aluminum
2. mantle – More magnesium and less aluminum and silicon than the crust
3. outer core – iron and nickel
4. inner core- iron and nickel
29. What questions did you have the most trouble with on this study guide?