1. A student kicks a ball into the air. At which point will the ball have the greatest potential energy?
A. as the ball starts rising into the air
B. as the ball is about to hit the ground
C. when the student’s foot connects with the ball
D. when the ball reaches its highest point in the air
2. Shown below is a student throwing a ball against a wall.
Which correctly explains why the ball bounces back toward the student?
A. balanced force changes the direction of the ball.
B. 2-An unbalanced force changes the direction of the ball.
C. The force of the wall is equal to the force of the ball when it hits.
D. The force of the ball is greater than the force of the wall when it hits.
3. Four blocks are all moving at the same velocity of 2 m/s. A 5 kg and 10 kg block are moving to the right, and a 5 kg and 10 kg block are moving to the left. All the blocks are struck with the same force of 50 N. Which block will travel to the left with the most speed after the force strikes?
4. A bar magnet that shows two different poles by shading is shown below.
A. By adding shading, show two different arrangements of the three bar magnets below, so that they meet the following requirement:
Arrangement 1 should require more force to push the magnets together than Arrangement 2 should require.
B. Explain why Arrangement 1 would require more force than Arrangement 2 to push the magnets together.
5. A certain animal species can have either brown or red fur, but there are many more brown-furred animals than red-furred animals in the population. Which Punnett square likely shows the correct genotypes for a cross between a brown-furred and a red-furred animal of this species?
6. Which arrangement will show Bulb 2 lit?
7. A baseball thrown from a pitcher to a batter has mechanical energy.
A. Explain why the ball has or does not have potential energy.
B. Explain why the ball has or does not have kinetic energy.
8. An albatross is a bird that sometimes runs off of a cliff while flapping its wings to take off into flight. Which are two values needed to help determine the mechanical energy possessed by the albatross at takeoff?
A. speed of albatross and height of cliff
B. weight of albatross and temperature of air
C. body temperature of albatross and wind speed
D. wingspan of albatross and distance to cliff edge
9. In which situation would a person have high potential energy but little to no kinetic energy?
A. running through the waves at a beach
B. standing on the edge of a deep canyon
C. just before the climb up a mountain trail
D. just before a parachute jump from an airplane
10. A scientist collected weather data from a field station on an island. The location of the field station, indicated by the X, and her data are shown below.
Which is the best explanation for the wind data she collected?
A. The wind changed direction because the air over the land became warmer and thus lower in pressure, causing a breeze from the ocean.
B. The wind changed direction because the air over the land became warmer and thus higher in pressure, causing a breeze from the ocean.
C. The wind changed direction because the air over the water became warmer and thus lower in pressure, causing a breeze from the ocean.
D. The wind changed direction because the air over the water became warmer and thus higher in pressure, causing a breeze from the ocean.
11. Which example most likely has the highest level of mechanical energy?
A. a child riding a bicycle through a valley
B. a fighter jet parked at a sea-level airport
C. a climber standing at the top of Mt. Everest
D. a marble thrown from the top of a skyscraper
12. Which has the most kinetic energy?
A. a basketball rolling down a hill
B. a bus stopped at the top of a hill
C. a dump truck driving down a hill
D. a golf ball sitting at the top of a hill
13. The map below shows high and low pressure systems across the United States.
Which numbered location would likely be the windiest?
A. location 1
B. location 2
C. location 3
D. location 4
14. The diagram below shows the water cycle.
A. Describe the role that the Sun plays in the water cycle.
B. Describe the process that is occurring at point 1.
C. Describe the process that is occurring at point 2.
15. The weather map below shows a forecast with high temperatures for one day in July in North Carolina.
A. Explain why Cape Hatteras’s forecast high temperature differs from Raleigh’s.
B. Predict which city will get cooler that night.
C. Explain why.
16. Two cars are both traveling north from Center City. One car is driving on a highway at 100 kilometers per hour, whereas the other car is driving on small roads at 50 kilometers per hour. Both cars are traveling for 12 hours.
A. Label the blank graph with appropriate axes titles.
B. Construct the graph, showing how the position of each car changes with time using correct incremental values. Provide a key.
17. The diagram below shows a toy car about to be released down a ramp.
Describe how the car’s potential and kinetic energy changes as it is released and moves from Point 1 to Point 2 to Point 3.
18. The graph below shows the motion of a car and four different sections of time.
Which statement describes the difference in the car’s motion between section Q and section S?
A. In section Q, the car is traveling faster than in section S.
B. In section Q, the car is traveling slower than in section S.
C. In section Q, the car is stopped and in section S it is moving.
D. In section Q, the car is moving and in section S it is stopped.
19. The distance from a reference point traveled by four different objects is recorded on a graph, as shown below.
Which object is moving the fastest?
A.blue
B. green
C. red
D. yellow
20. Which statement is correct about simple machines and mechanical energy?
A. Simple machines move objects without the use of mechanical energy input.
B. Simple machines produce mechanical energy to move an object more easily.
C. Simple machines transmit mechanical energy to move an object more easily.
D. Simple machines move objects by reducing the mechanical energy of a system.
21.Which is a correct statement about the jet stream?
A. The jet stream is a wide band of winds located in the lower troposphere.B. The jet stream is a wide band of winds located in the lower stratosphere.
C. The jet stream is a narrow band of winds located in the upper troposphere.
D. The jet stream is a narrow band of winds located in the upper stratosphere. �
22. Which is only associated with winter storms?
A.ice
B. a blizzard
C. strong wind
D. a flooding river
22. A student places clear plastic bags over three identical plants, securing the open ends of the bag to the stem beneath the leaves. Each plant is given 100 mL of water. Plant 1 is placed on a sunny window sill, Plant 2 is placed on a table in partial sunlight, and Plant 3 is placed in a dark closet. What question could the student answer performing this investigation?
A. Is sunlight necessary for cross-pollination to occur?
B. How does sunlight affect the transpiration rate in plants?
C. Do different types of plants have different transpiration rates?
D. Does the evaporation rate from plants differ from the soil evaporation rate?
23. Students wanted to investigate a process in plants. For their investigation, they placed plastic bags over a part of both Plant 1 and Plant 2. The plants were both given the same amount of water. Plant 1 was then put into a closet in the classroom, and Plant 2 was placed by a sunny window.
The results of the experiment after 6 hours are shown below.
Which is the best conclusion for this experiment?
A. Darkness is necessary for transpiration.
B. Sunlight is necessary for condensation.
C. Cool temperatures increase the rate of condensation.
D. Warm temperatures increase the rate of transpiration.
24. If a warm air mass is saturated with water vapor and begins to cool, which process will occur first?
A. condensation
B. evaporation
C. precipitation
D. transpiration
25. The weather map below shows locations marked 1–4.
Which location will most likely have stormy weather tomorrow?
A. Location 1
B. Location 2
C. Location 3
D. Location 4
26. Which weather condition is most likely to result in a winter storm?
A. spiraling winds
B. a fast-moving cold front
C. a developing low pressure system
D. vertical development of cumulonimbus clouds
27. Which produces strong winds and powerful waves, and can cause heavy flooding?
A. tornadoes
B. hurricanes
C. winter storms
D. thunderstorms
28.During the winter months, Arctic and tropical air masses create greater surface temperature variation than during the summer months. How does this affect the jet stream?
A. The jet stream is weaker during the winter than during the summer.
B. The jet stream is stronger during the winter than during the summer.
C. The jet stream is closer to ground level during the winter than during the summer.
D. The jet stream is farther from ground level during the winter than during the summer.