OGET Science & Scientific Inquiry 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best explains why the Earth experiences seasons?
- The Earth's distance from the Sun changes significantly throughout the year
- The Earth's axial tilt causes different hemispheres to receive varying amounts of sunlight (Correct answer)
- The Sun's intensity increases and decreases on a regular cycle
- Ocean currents redistribute heat from the equator to the poles seasonally
Correct answer: The Earth's axial tilt causes different hemispheres to receive varying amounts of sunlight
Earth's 23.5-degree axial tilt causes one hemisphere to be angled toward the Sun (summer) while the other is angled away (winter) as Earth orbits.
Question 2: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) carries genetic information in its sequence of:
- Amino acids
- Nucleotide bases (Correct answer)
- Fatty acids
- Glucose molecules
Correct answer: Nucleotide bases
DNA encodes genetic information through the specific sequence of four nucleotide bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine.
Question 3: Which of the following describes the water cycle process of evaporation?
- Water vapor cools and condenses into liquid droplets in clouds
- Liquid water on Earth's surface transforms into water vapor due to heat energy (Correct answer)
- Water moves from soil into plant roots and up through stems
- Precipitation falls from clouds to Earth's surface as rain or snow
Correct answer: Liquid water on Earth's surface transforms into water vapor due to heat energy
Evaporation is the process by which liquid water absorbs heat energy and changes into water vapor, rising into the atmosphere.
Question 4: The atomic number of an element refers to:
- The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus
- The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom (Correct answer)
- The number of electrons in the outermost shell
- The average mass of all isotopes of the element
Correct answer: The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
The atomic number uniquely identifies an element and equals the number of protons in the nucleus, which also equals the number of electrons in a neutral atom.
Question 5: Which of the following correctly describes a chemical change?
- Ice melting into liquid water on a warm day
- Salt dissolving in a glass of water
- Iron rusting when exposed to oxygen and moisture (Correct answer)
- Glass breaking into smaller pieces
Correct answer: Iron rusting when exposed to oxygen and moisture
Rusting is a chemical change because new substances (iron oxides) are formed with different properties than the original materials, unlike physical changes that are reversible.
Question 6: Natural selection, as proposed by Charles Darwin, states that organisms with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to:
- Develop new organs through intentional effort
- Survive and reproduce, passing those traits to offspring (Correct answer)
- Migrate to environments where their traits are less useful
- Mutate rapidly to adapt within a single generation
Correct answer: Survive and reproduce, passing those traits to offspring
Natural selection is the mechanism of evolution where organisms with advantageous traits for their environment survive, reproduce more, and pass those traits to future generations.
Question 7: Which layer of Earth's atmosphere contains the ozone layer that protects life from harmful ultraviolet radiation?
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere (Correct answer)
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
Correct answer: Stratosphere
The ozone layer is located in the stratosphere, approximately 15–35 km above Earth's surface, where it absorbs most of the Sun's harmful UV radiation.
OGET Science & Scientific Inquiry 2
Which of the following best explains why the Earth experiences seasons?