CAASPP Science 5

Question 1

A student pushes two boxes with the same force. Box A has more mass than Box B. Which box will have the greater acceleration?

Accepted Answer

Box B, because less mass results in greater acceleration for the same force

Answer

According to Newton's Second Law (F = ma), with the same force applied, the object with less mass (Box B) will have greater acceleration.

Question 2

Which statement correctly describes the relationship between producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem?

Accepted Answer

Producers make food using sunlight; consumers eat producers or other consumers; decomposers recycle nutrients from dead organisms

Answer

In an ecosystem, producers use photosynthesis to make food, consumers eat other organisms for energy, and decomposers break down dead matter to recycle nutrients back into the soil.

Question 3

Tectonic plates move due to convection currents in Earth's mantle. What drives these convection currents?

Accepted Answer

Heat from Earth's core causing hot mantle rock to rise and cool mantle rock to sink

Answer

Heat from Earth's core warms mantle rock, causing it to rise; cooler, denser mantle rock sinks, creating slow convection currents that move tectonic plates.

Question 4

A scientist wants to determine whether fertilizer affects plant growth. She grows 20 plants with fertilizer and 20 plants without fertilizer, keeping all other conditions identical. Why is having 20 plants in each group important?

Accepted Answer

To ensure a larger sample size, reducing the effect of random variation and increasing reliability

Answer

A larger sample size reduces the impact of random variation, making the results more reliable and the conclusion more valid.

Question 5

Which type of rock is most likely to contain fossils?

Accepted Answer

Sedimentary rock, because organisms are buried by layers of sediment that harden over time

Answer

Fossils form most commonly in sedimentary rock because organisms are buried by accumulating sediment layers that compact and cement around them before they decay.

CAASPP - California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Practice Test

CAASPP - California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Practice Test

CAASPP Science 5