The model below provides information about some animals, some of their senses, and how these senses cause specific responses to the animals’ environments.

Which statements supports the claim that elephants and bats both receive sound information but respond to the sounds differently?

The model below represents the path that a herd of elephants would take if given the choice when encountering the scents of two different tribes.

Which type of information processing allows the herd of elephants to make this choice?

Motion of Golf Balls

A group of students dropped a golf ball from different heights above a level concrete floor. The ball hit the floor and bounced directly upwards. The teacher calculated the speed of the ball when it hit the floor. The students measured the height of the bounce with a tape measure.

How does the speed of the golf ball affect its energy based on Data Table 1?

Which statement about forces acting on the golf ball is supported by the evidence in Data Table 1?

After completing the golf ball investigation, a student decided to investigate how to get a golf ball to travel from the beginning of a toy car track to the end of the toy car track.

The student placed a golf ball at the top of the ramp and observed that the ball rolled down the track, began to go up the loop, then fell off the track. In order to solve this problem of the golf ball not reaching the end of the track, the student came up with two solutions.

Which solution best solves the problem and allows the golf ball to travel around the loop and reach the end of the track, and why?

The student asks the question, “What will happen to the energy and motion of the two golf balls when Ball 1 is released down the toy car track?”

Which table correctly predicts the changes in energy and motion that will occur when the two golf balls collide?

How does the average daily air temperature change as a person travels directly north from Houston?

Using data from the maps, support the claim that, even though Los Angeles and Atlanta are located at about the same latitude, Los Angeles has a different climate than Atlanta. Include information about temperature and rainfall.

The map below shows the range of the menhaden along the east coast. The bar graph shows the number of fish factories that processed menhaden over a 60-year period in different coastal regions.

Which coastal region has shown the greatest decrease in the number of processing factories for menhaden fish from 1955 to 2015?

What is the method that the Long Island community of scientists, fishermen, and recreational boaters have used to protect the menhaden fish population, and why does this method protect the ecosystem of coastal waters?

Industrial fisheries use the menhaden for the production of paints, animal feed, and vitamins. Commercial fisheries use menhaden for crab, lobster, and recreational fishing bait.

The graphs below show the yearly amount of menhaden caught by these types of fisheries.

Which type of fishery (Industrial or Commercial Bait) most likely had the greatest impact on the menhaden population and the health of the ocean ecosystem during the time period 1986-2010?

The special type of topographic map below shows the depth of the ocean floor in meters along the coast of New York and New Jersey, where some menhaden fish populations occur. Letters A, B, C, and D indicate locations along the ocean floor. 

Using the ocean depth data from the map and your knowledge of topographic maps, which table correctly summarizes the ocean features and evidence for one of the lettered locations?

Identifying Substances 

Students conducted experiments to identify unknown substances using properties of known substances. During these experiments, appropriate safety equipment was used and safety procedures were followed.

Through experimentation, the students observed that an unknown substance was a fine, white powder that reacted to vinegar, was soluble in water, and did not conduct electricity.

Which is the unknown substance?

The models below represent the number and arrangement of particles in a sample of water and a sample of sugar.

Which model best represents the number and arrangement of the water and sugar particles after the sample of sugar was poured into the sample of water and mixed?

Students were then provided four minerals and completed certain tasks to identify the properties of each mineral. The table below shows the observations for four of the five properties that the students observed. The photographs below show the response of a strong magnet when brought close to each mineral.

Link if each mineral is magnetic with a Yes or No based on the Student Data Table 1.

The students then placed calcite onto a glass dish and placed it on a scale. Using an eye dropper, ten drops of vinegar were placed on top of the calcite and the total mass was recorded. Bubbles formed on top of the calcite and the total mass was recorded again. The diagrams and observations below represent the experimental setup and the observations made by the students.

A student makes a claim that a new substance was formed when vinegar was added to calcite. Which statement can be used as evidence to support this student’s claim?

The students were then given three different rock samples, labeled A, B, and C, to test with vinegar. The table below shows the results of the tests.

Why is rock A most likely made of the mineral calcite based on the results in Student Data Table 2?

Which facts could be used to provide evidence that meerkats use sense organs in order to detect threats from other organisms?

What is the proper sequence to complete the model to show the correct the movement of matter among organisms in Africa’s Kalahari Desert?

The graph below shows the relationship between the mass of a meerkat and the number of prey found per hour.

How does the graph provide evidence that a variation in a physical characteristic in the meerkat population gives an advantage for survival?

The graphs below show the effects of the number of adult meerkat helpers, per pup, on pups in a mob.

How do the graphs provide evidence that being part of a mob helps meerkat pups survive?

Graph A below shows the daily maximum air temperature in the Kalahari Desert. Graph B shows how the average mass (weight) of a 3-month old meerkat pup has changed over similar time periods.

How do Graph A and Graph B provide evidence that traits can be influenced by the environment?

Which row correctly pairs a claim with its logical solution that would help meerkat populations survive in deserts that are getting hotter and drier?

Which question is the student investigating?

The student repeated the investigation using two magnets (Diagram 4).

Which table shows the most likely results of this new investigation using two magnets?

The student is designing a refrigerator magnet to display papers and photographs. Various types of refrigerator magnets are shown in the photograph below.

Which factor should be considered when designing a refrigerator magnet to hold papers and photographs?

A student inspected the data to determine the relationship between the voltage of the battery and magnetic force exerted by the electromagnet. Which question was most likely being investigated?