1st Benchmark Study Guide
Compiled from www.solpass.org & VDOE
Science Standards of Learning
Tonya Pervall-Harvey CCPS
1st Benchmark Study Guide
PS 1 Metric Measurements: Systematic investigations require standard measures and
consistent and reliable tools. SI (metric) measures, recognized around the world, are a standard
way to make measurements.
The units used
are…
Milligrams
Grams
Kilograms
When I measure…
Mass
I will use…
Triple Beam Balance
Volume
Graduated Cylinder
Milliliters
Liters
Temperature
Thermometer
Degrees Celsius
Kelvin
Density
g/ml
g/cm3
Length
Triple Beam Balance
Graduated Cylinder
Beaker
Flask
Ruler
Metric Ruler
Force/Weight
Spring Scale
The instrument
looks like…
*1ml=1cm3
Millimeters
Centimeters
Meter
Kilometers
Newton’s
Know scientific instruments, their purposes and how to inquire about science with them.
Example- Volume of an Irregular Object
Be able to figure out the volume of an object using a graduated cylinder.
The marble displaced the water from 30ml to 40ml so the marble’s volume is 10ml.
The volume of an object is the amount of space it takes up.
Example- Volume of a Regular Object
Be able to figure out the volume of a regular solid like a cube or a rectangle using a ruler.
Measure the length, the width, and the height of the cube or rectangle and then multiply using
this formula: Length x Width x Height
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
PS 1 Metric Conversions
1st Write the number line using the acronym – King Henry Drank Ucky Dark Chocolate Milk
Many Nights Ago
2nd Determine your starting point.
3rd Count the jumps to your ending point.
4th Move the decimal the same number of jumps in the same direction.
PS 1 Scientific Investigation
Scientific Method
1. Ask or define a question.
2. Do background research to gather information & resources.
3. Form your hypothesis.
4. Plan test w/ materials & methods( how you will do things).
5. Then test your hypothesis with the experiment.
6. Record & collect data.
7. Interpret data & form your conclusion: here’s when people often
create a new hypothesis for a future experiment.
8. Report your findings: by publishing them for others to see & gain
knowledge from.
Familiar terms used in scientific inquiry
In an experiment, there is an independent & dependent variable.
An experiment was conducted to see what gives the most energy
before a workout, either Blue Ox sports drink or a whey protein shake.
What is the independent and dependent variable?
Remember that the dependent variable depends on the independent
variable.
Independent variable: It is what the experimenter manipulates. We
manipulated the choice of drinks to compare them against each other.
This is the cause in the experiment. (ex. The whey protein shake caused
more or less energy).
Dependent variable: Is the responding outcome or effect in the experiment. (how much
energy one gets from the drink).
Experiments also have a control. This is an untreated sample. A control
for this experiment would be not taking either energy drink before a workout. This way we can
compare each energy drinks’ outcome to the energy one would have without taking either of
them.
Controls:
Controls are used to compare the treated samples to. Without controls, we would not be able to
tell. If the treatment (in this case the energy drinks) were effective.
Another good example is- How do we know if fertilizing your tomatoes
really makes them grow better? We would need a control, which would
be a tomato plant that does not receive the fertilizer, to compare to the
plant treated with fertilizers.
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
Systematic investigations require organized reporting of data. The way the data are
displayed can make it easier to see important patterns, trends, and relationships. Frequency
distributions, scattergrams, line plots, and histograms are powerful tools for displaying and
interpreting data.
DATA TABLES
A line graph shows data that changes continuously; such as temperature and time.
Speed of Various Liquids
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
A bar graph compares data; trends
A circle or pie graph shows parts of a whole; percentages.
A scattergram is a graph in which two sets of data are plotted in pairs.
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
A frequency distribution table shows how often each value occurred.
A histogram is a bar graph that shows the frequency of data within specific intervals.
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
PS 10 Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion:
1st law: A body at rest remains at rest and a body in motion remains in
motion until an outside force acts on it (inertia).
ex. The soccer ball will remain at rest on the field until someone kicks it.
Also, after someone kicks that ball, it will stay in motion until gravity & friction from the field or
another player stop it.
2nd law:
A force causes an object to accelerate.
EQUATION
→
FORCE (N)= MASS X ACCELARATION
A great example of Newton’s 2nd law is in bowling. The mass of the
bowling ball multiplied by how fast the ball is rolling determines how
great the force is that hits the pins.
Another good example-looking at the equation→ F= m x a:
Imagine you are traveling on the highway in a Honda Civic next to a tractor trailer and both
vehicles are accelerating at 65mph- Do you think both vehicles have the same force? Why not?
(Answer- no, because their masses are different)
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
Question: Would you rather be hit by a football player that has a mass of 45kg running at an
acceleration of 6.7m/s or a 135kg player accelerating at the same speed?
To Solve:
1.
Write the equation
F= m x a
2.
Substitute the known variables
3.
Solve
Hint: In order to answer this question you must find the force of each player.
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1st Benchmark Study Guide
3rd law: For every action there is an equal & opposite reaction.
Example: When you’re playing pool, the stick hits the cue ball. This is the action.
Question: What is the opposite reaction?
Answer: The cue stick receives a force from the cue ball and causes it to go backwards. This
is the reaction.
PS 10 Speed
Speed is the distance an object travels divided by the time it takes.
Question:
You are driving to visit your grandma. At the beginning you got a lot of red lights and only
traveled 20 meter in 2 seconds. What was you speed?
Speed= Distance/Time
PS 10 Force, Motion, and Energy
 A force is a push or pull. Force is measured in newtons. Force can cause objects to
move, stop moving, change speed, or change direction.
 Speed is the change in position of an object per unit of time.
 Velocity is the speed of an object in a particular direction. Velocity may have a
positive or a negative value depending on the direction of the change in
position, whereas speed always has a positive value and is non-directional.
 Acceleration is the change in velocity per unit of time. An object moving with
constant velocity has no acceleration. A decrease in velocity is negative
acceleration or deceleration. A distance-time graph for acceleration is always a
curve. Objects moving with circular motion are constantly accelerating because
direction (and hence velocity) is constantly changing.
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1st Benchmark Study Guide

Mass and weight are not equivalent. Mass is the amount of matter in a given
substance. Weight is a measure of the force due to gravity acting on a mass.
Weight is measured in newtons.

What is the difference between mass and weight? Which one- mass or
weight changes in outer-space?
• Work is done when an object is moved through a distance in the direction of the
applied force.

A simple machine is a device that makes work easier. Simple machines have
different purposes: to change the effort needed (mechanical advantage), to
change the direction or distance to which the force is applied, to change the
speed at which the resistance moves, or a combination of these. The work put
into a machine is always greater than the work output (due to friction). The ratio
of work output to work input is called efficiency.
List the 6 simple machines and give 2 examples of each.
List the 3 classes of levers. Label the effort, the fulcrum, and the load for
each class.
What is the calculation for the mechanical advantage of a lever?
• Mathematical formulas are used to calculate speed, force, work, and power
include:
Speed = distance/time (s = d/t)
Force = mass x acceleration (F = ma)
Work = force x distance (W = Fd)
Power = work /time (P = W/t)
acceleration= final velocity-starting velocity/time it takes to change velocity
How do the concepts of work, force, and motion apply to car safety
technology, machines, and rockets?
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Life Science Review:
LS3
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Cells that have the same function group together to form tissues. Tissues that
have the same function group together to form organs. Organs with similar
functions group to work together in an organ system.
Unicellular organisms are made of only one cell. Multicellular organisms are
made of many cells.
Multicellular organisms exhibit a hierarchy of cellular organization. They are
complex in that there is a division of labor among the levels of this hierarchy for
carrying out necessary life processes.
Cells perform numerous functions and processes including cellular respiration,
waste breakdown and removal, growth and division, and cellular transport.
Osmosis is the passive transport of water molecules across a cell membrane.
Diffusion is the passive transport of substances other than water across a cell
membrane. Cell membranes are selectively permeable to various substances.
Living things carry out life processes including ingestion, digestion and removal
of waste, stimulus response, growth and repair, gas exchange, and reproduction.
Numerous factors can strongly influence the life processes of organisms.
LS5
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Chlorophyll is a chemical in chloroplasts that can absorb or trap light energy.
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Photosynthesis is the necessary life process that transforms light energy into
chemical energy. It involves a series of chemical reactions in which the light
energy is used to change raw materials (carbon dioxide and water) into
products (sugar and oxygen). The energy is stored in the chemical bonds of the
glucose (sugar) molecules.
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Plants perform cellular respiration as well as photosynthesis.
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Plants convert the sugars they produce into other raw materials that are used
by plants and animals for growth, repair, and energy needs.
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Energy is a basic need of all living things. Photosynthesizing organisms obtain
their energy from the sun and are often called producers because of their
ability to produce glucose (sugar).
Photosynthesizing organisms are the foundation of virtually all food webs.
1st Benchmark Study Guide
Review Questions
1. How does a spring scale differ from a triple beam balance?
2. What is the difference between pounds (lbs) and grams (g)?
3. What are the units for measuring mass and weight?
4. Describe the differences between mass and weight.
5. What tool do you use to measure mass?
6. How do you use a triple beam balance?
7. What metric unit would you use to measure the mass of a paper clip?
8. What metric unit would you use to measure the mass of a person?
9. How do you find the volume of a cube?
10. What are the metric units for the volume of a cube?
11. How do you find the volume of an irregular solid?
12. What are the metric units of an irregular solid?
13. What is the formula for finding the density of an object or substance?
14. What is the density of water?
15. Why do objects like wood float in water?
16. Does the density of an object depend on size?
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