Name: ________________________

Middle School Science Pretest: Summer School 2009

Complete the following test by marking the question number and your letter choice by each number. If youdo not know the answer to a question, make your best guess and move on.

1. If a farmer did not plant corn one year, which organism in the food web above would be MOST affected?

A. Mice B. Hawks C. Rabbits D. Grasshoppers

2. Plants use different compounds to complete the process of photosynthesis. What do plants give off as awaste product during photosynthesis?

A. Carbon dioxide B. Nitrogen C. Oxygen D. Water

3. The diagram shows the relative positions of Earth and the Sun for each of the four seasons. BecauseEarth travels in an elliptical orbit, it is about two million miles closer to the Sun in the winter than in thesummer.

If Earth is closer to the Sun in winter, why is Mississippi colder in the winter than in other seasons?

A. The Sun releases less energy in the winter.B. The Eastern Hemisphere faces the Sun during the winter.C. The Moon is between the Sun and Earth during the winer.D. The Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the Sun in the winter.

4. Red Eyes (R) are dominant in fruit flies, while brown eyes (r) are recessive. If a fruit fly has ahomozygous dominant genotype, what color eyes will it have?

A. Red B. Black C. Brown D. Maroon

5. Which type of rock was MOST LIKELY formed by the Mississippi River over the last 100 million years?

A. Igneous B. Sedimentary C. Mountainous D Metamorphic

6. Marvin visited an old library in the city. The outside of the library was decorated with many statues. Overtime, the features of the statues had become rounded and less detailed. What MOST LIKELY caused thischange?

A. Radiation B. Deposition C. Sedimentation D. Weathering

7. The levels of organization in the human body are arranged from least complex to most complex. Whichis the lowest level?

A. Cell B. Organ C. Tissue D. System

8. Which organ of the digestive system absorbs the MOST nutrients from food?

A. Small intestine B. Large intestine C. Stomach D. Pancreas

9. which is the BEST example of a natural cause of population decline in an ecosystem?

A. Air pollution B. Strip mining C. Pesticides D. Disease

10. On a very hot summer day, the rooms on the first floor of a house stay cooler than the rooms on thesecond floor. Which form of thermal energy flow causes this to occur?

A. Kinetic B. Radiation C. Convection D. Conduction

11. Scientists use sensors that measure the angle of Earth's tilt. Which of the following could theydetermine by the direction of Earth's tilt?

A. When the next lunar eclipse will be C. What time of day is occurring on EarthB. What seasons are occurring on Earth D. When a meteor shower will fall to Earth

12. Chung found a four-leaf clover in his yard. He wondered how the clover cells were similar to his skincells. How are plant and animal cells similar?

A. Both have a nucleus C. Both have chloroplastsB. Both have a cell wall D. Both have large vacuoles

13. When people have infections in their bodies, the productions of which of the following increases?

A. Plasma B. Platelets C. Red blood cells D. White blood cells

14. The energy in both wind and fossil fuels can be traced back to the same original energy source. What isthis original source of energy?

A. Earth's gravitational pull B. Earth's molten core C. The Moon D. The Sun

15. By what process are sex cells produced?

A. Mitosis B. Fertilization C. Meiosis D. Conjugation

16. Which of these MOST LIKELY forms when large sections of Earth's crust collide with each other?

A. Mountains B. Gullies C. Craters D. Reefs

17. A weather map is shown below.

A. Northeast B. Southeast C. Southwest D. Northwest

18. A brick with a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (oC) is placed on top of an identical brick with atemperature of 70 oC. After a while, what will the temperature of the two bricks MOST LIKELY be?

A. 10 oC B. 20 oC C. 45 oC D. 70 oC

19. Deep-diving submarines have helped scientists learn that photosynthesis does not take place in thedeeper parts of the ocean. Which of the following explains why photosynthesis does not occur very deep inthe ocean?

A. There is no oxygen. C There is no glucose.B. There is no sunlight. D. There is no nitrogen.

20. Early scientists kept track of the changes they saw in the Moon by drawing pictures of how the Moonappeared in the night sky. The picture below shows how these early drawings of the Moon looked.

Which row in the picture shows the new moon?

A. Row 1 B. Row 2 C. Row 3 D. Row 4

21. Which is the BEST metric unit for measuring the distance a student kicks a football?

A. Liters (L) B. Meters (m) C. Kilograms (kg) D. Centimeters (cm)