Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 1
1. Below is a picture from an elementary science textbook that illustrates the movement of water. What additions would you make to the illustration to demonstrate a more complete understanding of the movement of water? Be sure to include appropriate labels in your illustration.
2. Explain the path water travels in your diagram.
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3. Clay, gravel, and sand are examples of Earth’s materials. How does the particle size of these Earth materials determine the rate at which water moves? You may include a diagram in your response.
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Rubric for Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 1
1. Below is the picture from an elementary science textbook that illustrates the movement of water. What changes would you make to the illustration to demonstrate a more complete understanding of the movement of water? Be sure to include appropriate labels in your illustration.
This item measures the student’s ability to identify where water is stored and the processes that move water through the cycle.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Includes the sun.
2. Adds transpiration, run-off and groundwater/aquifer/recharge to the illustration.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Includes sun, and at least one of the following: transpiration, run-off, and groundwater/aquifer/recharge.
Criteria for an incorrect response (0)
Does not include sun or
Only includes sun.
2. Explain the path water travels in your diagram
This item measures the student’s ability to explain the water cycle and its cyclical nature.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Includes all processes that move water through the cycle (i.e. evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, and run-off).
2. Describes cyclical nature of the movement of water.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
1. Includes four of the five processes and describes cyclical nature of the movement of water or
2. Includes all five processes but the cyclical nature of the movement of water is not present.
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
Does not describe the cyclical nature of the movement of water and only identifies fewer than three of the processes.
3. Clay, gravel, and sand are examples of Earth’s materials. How does the particle size of these Earth materials determine the rate at which water moves? You may include a diagram in your response.
This item measures the student’s understanding of how the particle size of Earth materials affects its porosity.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Explains the correct relationship between particle size and spaces between the particles (e.g. the smaller the particle size the less space between them.)
2. Explains that the more space between particles the faster the water will move.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
1. Explains the relationship between particle size and pore space with no relationship to the rate of water movement or
2. Explains the rate of water movement through the Earth materials in regard to pore space but not particle size or
3. Includes a correct diagram but explanation is wrong.
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
1. States that water goes into the ground or
2. Gives description of ground only.
Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 2
1. (a) Draw a diagram to show the difference in the amount of energy of the particles AND the spacing between the particles in a solid, a liquid, and a gas. You may use labels in your diagram.
1. (b) Describe the difference in the amount of energy of the particles AND the spacing between the particles in a solid, a liquid, and a gas.
Rubric for Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 2
1. (a) Draw a diagram to show the difference in the amount of energy of the particles
AND the spacing between the particles in a solid, a liquid, and a gas. You may use labels
in your diagram.
This item measures the student’s ability to describe the particle model and understand how it explains the differences of energy and space between particles in various phases of a substance.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Shows the correct relationship of spacing between particles and the phase of matter. e.g. least space: solid, some space: liquid, lots of space: gas).
2. Shows the correct relationship between energy in particles and phase (e.g. little energy: solid, some energy: liquid, lots of energy: gas). This may be shown with arrows, motion symbols or by labeling the diagram.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Shows correct spatial relationships between particle s but does not indicate movement of particles. Or
Meets both criteria for a complete response but particles are drawn in different sizes (shows particles “expanding” not necessarily space “expanding.”)
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
Meets neither criterion for a correct response.
1. (b) Describe the difference in the amount of energy of the particles AND the spacing
between the particles in a solid, a liquid, and a gas.
This item measures the student’s ability to describe the particle model and understand
how it explains the differences of energy and space between particles in various phases of
a substance.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Describes the correct relationship of spacing between particles and the phase of matter. (e.g. least space: solid, some space: liquid, lots of space: gas).
2. Describes the correct relationship between energy in particles and phase (e.g. little energy: solid, some energy: liquid, lots of energy: gas).
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Explains that solids, liquids and gases each have comparatively increasing space between particles but student does not include information about energy and/or movement. Or
Explains that solids, liquids and gases each have comparatively increasing energy and/or
movement of particles but student does not include information about spacing. Or
Meets criteria for a complete response but incorrectly describes the movement and/or energy of a
solid’s particles (i.e. states that particles in a solid don’t move or have no energy).
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
Explanation does not incorporate space or energy but may include description of solid,
liquid, and gas. Or
Equates particles with energy.
Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 3
1. It is a summer day at this beach. Look at the air movement shown by the arrows in the diagram. Use your knowledge of how temperature affects the density of air to explain why the air moves in this way.
2. It is now the middle of the night on the same beach. Draw how the arrows illustrating air movement would look. Explain why you drew them in this direction.
Rubric for Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 3
1. It is a summer day at this beach. Look at the air movement shown by the arrows in the diagram. Use your knowledge of how temperature affects the density of air to explain why the air moves in this way.
This item measures the student’s understanding of convection current. Heated air is less dense and rises; cooler air is more dense and sinks and rushes to take the place of the hotter rising air.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Explains that the air over the land is warmer, less dense, and rises over the land.
2. Explains that the cooler, more dense air from the ocean moves toward the land to
replace the warm air that has risen.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Explains the movement of air in terms of temperature differences, but omits density or
Explains the movement of air in terms of density differences, but omits temperature.
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
States land is cool and water is warm or
States all winds move from West to East or
States warm air rises and cold air sinks (alternatively, heat rises, and cold sinks).
2. It is now the middle of the night on the same beach. Draw how the arrows illustrating air movement would look. Explain why you drew them in this direction.
This item measures the student’s understanding of uneven heating (cooling) of land and water.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
1. Draws arrows showing a clockwise movement of air (this may be done on the diagram itself or in the response box.)
2. Mentions that since land cools faster than water, air pressure over the land is higher.
NOTE: this response may explain movement of air in terms of density differences as well. If the student wrote a complete response (2) on the previous question, a second explanation of density differences is unnecessary here.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Draws the arrows showing a clockwise movement of air with no explanation of why the air moves from land to the sea or
Mentions that since land cools faster than water, air pressure over the land is higher, but does not draw the arrows or
Draws the arrows showing a clockwise movement of air but states that at night, air moves from land to water (with no explanation of why).
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
Draws the arrows showing a counter-clockwise movement of air or
Gives an explanation that suggests that the wind will blow from the sea to the land.
Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 4
1. A Ford is sitting along the side of the road; it is not moving. Identify two forces acting on the Ford before it starts moving. Use labeled arrows to show the direction of each force.
Rubric for Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 4
1. Ford is sitting along the side of the road; it is not moving. Identify two forces acting on the Ford before it starts moving.
This item measures the student’s ability to identify the balanced forces on a resting object, and the direction of those forces.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
Describes two forces on the car. One force (gravity) is directed down and the other force (force of the road or ground) is directed up.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Gravity arrow points down, but cites friction as other force or
Up and down arrows included, but not labeled or
Correctly identifies only one force.
NOTE: inertia is not a force. If a response identifies inertia as a force acting on the car, it is counted as incorrect.
Criteria for an incorrect response (0)
Gravity and the force of the road are identified, but their direction is not indicated or is incorrect.
The two forces are parallel to the road (even if they are in opposite directions).
The directions of the forces are indicated, but they are not identified.
Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 5
1. Explain why the cell is said to be the basic unit of all living things.
2. A single celled organism like an amoeba
A. requires other cells to carry out all the processes of life.
B. is able to take in food, remove wastes and reproduce without the assistance of another cell.
C. is organized into complex multi-cellular structures called tissues.
D. does not have the characteristics of living things.
Rubric for Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 5
1. Explain why the cell is said to be the basic unit of all living things.
This item measures the student’s understanding that cells carry out the basic functions of life.
Criteria for a complete response (2):
Student explains that all living things are made of cells, that cells are the basic unit of structure AND function of all living things AND that all cells come from other cells.
Criteria for a partial response (1):
Student explanation includes the idea that all living things are made of cells but not that cells come from other cells or
student explanation includes the idea that all cells come from other cells but not that all living things are made of cells.
Criteria for an incorrect response (0):
Student explanation does not indicate an understanding of the connection between cells and the basic functions of life.
3. 2. A single celled organism like an amoeba
A. requires other cells to carry out all the processes of life.
B. is able to take in food, remove wastes and reproduce without the assistance of another cell.
C. is organized into complex multi-cellular structures called tissues.
D. does not have the characteristics of living things.
Answer: B
Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 6
1. Which statement is true of waves?
A. Waves transport energy over great distances without transporting matter.
B. All waves transport energy at the same speed.
C. The mass of a wave is related to the amount of energy it carries.
D. Waves can only travel where there are particles present.
2. A hockey puck is hit along the ice. Assuming it does not bump into anything and can move in a straight line, it will eventually stop. What happens to the energy of movement in the puck?
Rubric for Science DCAS review 8th grade—week 6
1. Which statement is true of waves?
a. Waves transport energy over great distances without transporting matter.
b. All waves transport energy at the same speed.
c. The mass of a wave is related to the amount of energy it carries.
d. Waves can only travel where there are particles present.
Answer: A
2. A hockey puck is hit along the ice. Assuming it does not bump into anything and can move in a straight line, it will eventually stop. What happens to the energy of movement in the puck?
This item measures the student’s understanding of how kinetic energy is transferred to particles in the surrounding environment.