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8th Grade Pre-Test
Contributed by: Sweek
  • 1. Anton van Leeuwenhoek made simple microscopes and used them to observe different materials. Which of the following statements is the most likely conclusion van Leeuwenhoek drew from his observations?
A) Matter is made up of atoms.
B) Organisms exist that are too small to see with unaided eyes.
C) Soil is made up of tiny rocks and organic material.
D) Living things are made up of cells.
  • 2. How did Darwin explain the differences he observed between similar species found on the mainland and the Galápagos Islands?
A) Organisms from the islands moved to the mainland and evolved
B) All the organisms originated in North America and migrated
C) The organisms on the mainland and the islands were unrelated
D) A few mainland organisms populated the islands and evolved over time
  • 3. Which body system is responsible for releasing excess water from the body?
A) Digestive system
B) Circulatory system
C) Excretory system
D) Nervous system
  • 4. No matter how a corn seed is positioned in the soil, the roots always grow downward, and the stems always grow upwards. Which of the following is the most logical inference for this observation?
A) The seeds are responding to the touch of the surrounding soil.
B) The seeds are responding to gravity.
C) The seeds are responding to the sunlight.
D) The seeds are responding to the chemicals in the leaves and flowers.
  • 5. What is one limitation of using a food chain model to represent how energy flows through an ecosystem?
A) The model is simpler than the processes taking place in the natural world.
B) The model accurately shows the relationship between the parts of the system.
C) The model is more complex than the processes taking place in the natural world.
D) The model does not accurately show the relationship between the parts of the system.
  • 6. A heavy rainstorm washed fertilizer from a farm field into a pond. Following the rainstorm, there was a sudden increase in the algae population in the pond. What is the best explanation for this sudden population growth?
A) The pond ecosystem contained too few consumers.
B) The pond ecosystem included few producers.
C) The runoff contained a nutrient for the pond ecosystem.
D) The algae were living in the runoff before it entered the pond.
  • 7. Tamara uses sticks and balloons that look like an arm. How is she studying the human body?
A) She has made a variable to show how the nervous and circulatory systems move blood.
B) She has made a model to show how the nervous and circulatory systems move blood.
C) She has made a variable to show how the muscular and skeletal systems produce movement.
D) She has made a model to show how the muscular and skeletal systems produce movement.
  • 8. Which of the following structures does a fish have for gas exchange?
A) Tracheal tubes
B) Gills
C) Lungs
D) Air sacs
  • 9. Plants transform energy from the sun into
A) water and carbon dioxide.
B) carbohydrates.
C) chemical energy.
D) radiant energy.
  • 10. How can many types of food waste and yard trimmings be recycled?
A) By burning
B) By bagging
C) By reusing
D) By composting
  • 11. What element is common to all organic compounds?
A) oxygen
B) carbon
C) phosphorus
D) nitrogen
  • 12. What is the function of chemical digestion?
A) To tear and grind food into smaller pieces
B) To break down large molecules into smaller molecules that the body can use
C) To alter the temperature of the digestive system
D) To act as a catalyst in a chemical reaction
  • 13. Which of these is an example of work?
A) Standing motionless
B) Hanging from a monkey bar on the playground
C) Raking leaves into a large pile
D) Holding a door shut so your sister cannot get into your room
  • 14. Natural disasters or human activities can disturb an ecosystem. Which term describes the series of predictable changes that follows these events?
A) adaptation
B) pioneering succession
C) secondary succession
D) emigration
  • 15. Sand dunes reduce beach erosion because
A) the roots of dune plants hold sand in place.
B) they prevent people from walking on the beach.
C) they cause waves to break offshore.
D) they cause the tides to go higher.
  • 16. What do the four outer planets have in common?
A) They are much larger than Earth and are made mainly of iron.
B) They are about the same size as Earth and are made mainly of the gases hydrogen and helium.
C) They are much larger than Earth and are made mainly of the gases hydrogen and helium.
D) They are about the same size as Earth and are made mainly of iron
  • 17. Which of the following conditions do astronauts traveling in space face?
A) bright stars
B) high oxygen levels
C) extreme temperatures
D) increased gravity
  • 18. In which of the following ecosystems would you expect to find the greatest biodiversity?
A) A desert preserve
B) A coral reef
C) A large city park
D) A temperate forest
  • 19. In a population of insects, 50 percent of the individuals are red and 50 percent are green. The green individuals blend in with the green plants on which they feed. Birds prey on these insects. Which is the most likely prediction for this population?
A) The birds will eat more green individuals than red ones. More red individuals will survive to reproduce.
B) The birds will eat equal numbers of red and green individuals. The ratio of red to green individuals in the population will not change.
C) The birds will eat more red individuals than green ones. More green individuals will survive to reproduce.
D) The birds will eat more green individuals than red ones. The ratio of red to green individuals in the population will not change.
  • 20. Which level of organization of life is made up of cells that work together to perform a specific function?
A) Organ
B) Tissue
C) Cell
D) Organ system
  • 21. In the diagram of the amoeba, the arrows show food and oxygen moving into the cell and wastes and carbon dioxide moving out of the cell. Which of the cell’s life activities are represented by the arrows?
A) digestion, reproduction, and gas exchange
B) immunity, digestion, and movement
C) excretion, transport, and gas exchange
D) digestion, coordination, and reproduction
  • 22. Which factor’s loss from this coastal ecosystem would have the greatest effect on the ecosystem’s survival?
A) Turtle
B) Eelgrass
C) Bass
D) Insects
  • 23. Hydra reproduce by budding from the parent. Later, they separate and live on their own. Which of the following is a characteristic of this kind of reproduction?
A) The new hydra has half of the parent’s genetic material.
B) The new hydra has an exact copy of the parent’s genetic material.
C) The new hydra looks different from the parent.
D) The genetic material of two parents is passed on to the new hydra.
  • 24. The structures labeled A, B, C, and D in the diagram represent parts of the cell that animals and plants have in common. What is the structure labeled C?
A) Chloroplast
B) Cell wall
C) Nucleus
D) Mitochondrion
  • 25. What type of information about organisms is usually found in a dichotomous key?
A) Physical characteristics
B) Physiological adaptations
C) Behavioral adaptations
D) Genetic make-up
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