Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA) Science Practice Exam

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• Which statement describes an exothermic reaction?
• In geology, the rock block below a fault is called the ______.
• Actinides and lanthanides are_____________
• Which function is not associated with the semicircular canals?
• At the end of the second phase of mitosis, which event occurs?
• What is a long root that helps the plant stay anchored in the ground?
• The sky looks blue because of
• What is the term for the shallow-water area between the high-tide line and the low-tide line?
• The Palisade layer is a row of cells in the upper region of a leaf that contains many chloroplasts. Which leaf layer is this?
• In the heart, which chambers receive blood returning from the body’s veins?
• An underground region in which all the pores are filled with water is called the ___________
• One disease/disorder caused by a chromosome defect is
• Receptor cells in the retina that react to very dim light are called which of the following?
• Which structures in the inner ear are responsible for sensing rotational movement in three planes?
• The first 25 cm of the small intestine is called which structure?
• The horse latitudes are located at approximately which latitudes?
• Which type of compound conducts electricity when dissolved in water?
• Which of the following causes particles to move back and forth in the direction the waves are traveling?
• On maps, lines that run north-south are called what?
• Blood vessels that carry blood toward the heart are called?
• What is another name for a destructive plate boundary?
• Which type of biomolecule stores genetic information in most organisms?
• When waves come near the shore, which happens to wave height?
• Which type of rock forms when molten rock cools and solidifies?
• In an acid-base reaction, which product is formed alongside water?
• The medulla does not control which function?
• When a star is approaching Earth, its spectrum is shifted toward which end of the spectrum?
• The tubes that transport water and minerals upward in a plant are called ______.
• Which macromolecule is the most abundant organic compound in the human body and performs many functions including catalyzing reactions and providing structure?
• An ______ reaction can continue to occur once it has begun.
• The ______ lines measure north and south of the equator.
• Which type of plate boundary is associated with subduction and volcanic activity?
• Reproduction by both spore formation and budding is characteristic of which organism?
• What is the process by which an organism uses oxygen to release energy from food?
• Which structure forms the outer boundary of a plant cell?
• A plant whose stem is soft and not heavily reinforced is classified as what?
• The 180th longitude line is commonly known as which geographic boundary?
• What space rock is smaller than an asteroid and travels in space before reaching Earth?
• Which area of the brain coordinates muscular activity and balance?
• If light from a hot solid passes through a cooler gas, it produces a/an which spectrum?
• Meltwater is a stream of water formed by which type of glacier?
• Which organ filters old red blood cells from circulation?
• Which inner ear structures detect linear acceleration and gravity?
• A rock that consists of materials that cooled too quickly for crystals to form is called what?
• Which scientist is associated with the use of disinfectants in surgery?
• Which gas do plants release during photosynthesis?
• In a normal fault, the hanging wall moves down relative to the foot wall.
• Lines from east to west across maps are called
• A ______ is a plant that produces seeds with two halves.
• Which spectrum shows dark lines where a cooler gas absorbs specific wavelengths from a continuous source?
• What is the breathing tube that carries air to the bronchi?
• Which term describes the energy-releasing process that requires oxygen?
• The amount that light refracts depends on its _______________.
• Which lines measure east-west position relative to the prime meridian?
• Due to evaporation, which property of ocean water increases?
• These may be dominant or recessive.
• Which term describes a relationship in which both organisms benefit?
• Which cellular component is found in plant cells, animal cells, and bacterial cells?
• Which statement about the development of a tap root is correct?
• A substance with a definite ratio of components is called a ______.
• During cytokinesis in animal cells, which cytoskeletal element primarily forms the contractile ring that pinches the cell membrane inward?
• An organic compound that contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus is a
• Subduction occurs at what geological feature?
• An __________ is a compound that increases the number of hydrogen ions when dissolved in water.
• Which statement describes a protostar?
• Antibiotics are chemicals produced by living organisms that kill bacteria. Which option lists antibiotics correctly?
• Who proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system?
• Which type of mountains is formed by compressional stress when two continental plates collide?
• Which of the following is a moon of Mars?
• Of the following, a ____________ is present in plants and animals but not in bacteria.
• Which geologic setting is most likely to produce a normal fault?
• Which term describes bacteria that are round in shape?
• During the cell cycle, which phase is when DNA replication occurs?
• When all the molecules of a compound break apart in water to produce hydrogen ions, the compound is a ______ acid.
• Relative humidity can be measured with which instrument?
• The scientist associated with the germ theory of disease is ______.
• What term describes a compound that conducts electricity when dissolved in water?
• __________ is an example of mechanical weathering.
• The type of fault produced by shear stress is called a strike-slip fault.
• A heart attack is usually caused by blockage in the _____________.
• Which term best describes a chemical substance formed by combining two or more elements in fixed proportions?
• A ______ would feel slippery.
• The depositional feature formed where a stream flows from a steep slope onto level land is called what?
• Ovules in plants develop into which structures after fertilization?
• The _____________ removes toxic waste from cells so that it can be excreted from the body of animals.
• The body reacts to the injection of a vaccine by producing ____________.
• The embryonic leaf that stores nutrients for the developing seedling is called what?
• What term describes gaps in rock sequences caused by missing rock layers?
• Are low-mass stars that remain on the main sequence a long time and may be some of the oldest stars in the galaxy
• The smallest stars are called
• A large rounded elevation on the Earth's surface formed by rising magma is called what?
• Which mitotic phase is characterized by the chromosomes arriving at the poles and the nuclear envelope reformation?
• Rocks that form when great heat, pressure, and chemical reactions change existing rocks are called
• In plants, ovules develop into which structures?
• A supernova is the explosion of a ______________.
• Which phase does a cell typically enter after cytokinesis?
• The meridian that runs through Greenwich, England is called the ___________
• The functions of the internal organs are controlled by the ______.
• __________ pushes rocks of the crust in two opposite horizontal directions.
• If a star's spectrum is blue-shifted, what does this indicate about its motion relative to Earth?
• Which blood vessels carry blood away from the heart?
• Which phase of the cell cycle is primarily about cell growth and carrying out normal functions?
• Large clouds that produce thunderstorms are called which clouds?
• The two upper chambers of the heart that receive blood from the veins are called ___________.
• The two most abundant elements in the Earths crust are__________
• When going east, the time zone_____________
• Compounds whose bonds are the force of attraction between two oppositely charged particles are called ________ compounds.
• Initially, scientists determined the structure of the core by studying_____________
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis effect causes wind to curve in which direction?
• Which term describes a reaction that releases heat?
• What is the jelly-like substance inside bacterial cells that fills the interior of the cell?
• What are the reproductive organs of flowering plants?
• A change in an organism's environment that causes a response is called a ______.
• The most common class of gymnosperms is called which group?
• The type of stress force that produces a strike-slip fault is____________
• The category of plants called ___________ includes all our food crops
• The time between two successive wave crests passing a fixed point is called what?
• The most common organic compounds in the human body are what?
• Which term is used in the study material to denote the cellular waste-removal organelle?
• Charging by what process occurs when electrons are transferred from one object to another by direct contact?
• A ____________is formed when ground water enters cracks in limestone
• What structure provides nutrient molecules from growing plant embryos before the true leaves begin photosynthesizing?
• Which instrument is used to measure air pressure?
• Which brain region is primarily responsible for autonomic control such as heartbeat and breathing?
• The apparent change in light wavelengths due to motion is called which phenomenon?
• Lines on a globe or map that run between the geographic North and South poles are called what?
• Skeletal muscle fibers are elongated multinucleated cells. This description best matches which option?
• Which fluid fills the semicircular canals?
• When waves cut completely through a headland, a ____________ is formed.
• Which statement about cytokinesis in plant cells is correct?
• Which organelle is responsible for energy production in the cell?
• The block below a fault is called the ______.
• The doughnut-shaped region of charged particles surrounding the Earth are called which belts?
• The presence of vascular tissue is used to distinguish between which plant groups?
• Which of the following best describes an ionic compound?
• A bacterium with a round shape is called a ______________
• The SI unit of electric current is which of the following?
• Which term describes mountains formed from compressional stress when continents collide?
• Which term describes different forms of a gene that can be dominant or recessive?
• Chemicals produced by living things, such as fungi, that we use to kill disease-causing bacteria are called what?
• Which tiny vessels are the site where oxygen moves from red blood cells into body tissues?
• The change in state from solid to gas is called which process?
• Which term best describes rock formations that intrude into preexisting rock layers, forming features like sills and laccoliths?
• The day that spring begins is called which term?
• An oval or circular uplifted area created by rising molten rock is called what?
• The number that determines the identity of an element is its what?
• Shimmering curtains of colored light in the dark skies of the north and South Pole are called which of the following?
• Skeletal muscles are connected to bones by connective tissues called what?
• Stars similar to the sun are called __________
• Which phase immediately follows G1 in the cell cycle?
• When an acid reacts with a base, what forms?
• The remains of red blood cells are filtered from the blood by the ______.
• Skeletal muscles are made up of_____________
• Which cloud type is most associated with thunderstorms?
• A strike-slip fault is characterized by movement that is primarily in what direction?
• The tiny air sacs in the lungs where gas exchange occurs are called __________.
• What feature represents a gap in the geological record where rock layers are missing?
• The liver removes sugar from the blood and stores it as _____________
• Quasars are extremely distant objects in the universe.
• A solid, rock-like object that can enter Earth's atmosphere is called a ______.
• The material inside the cell membrane of a bacterium is called the ________________
• The bronchioles carry air from the bronchial tubes to the ____________.
• Quasars are________________
• The block of rock that sits above the fault plane is known as the ______.
• Which instrument uses two thermometers to determine relative humidity?
• In a lateral fault, one block moves horizontally past the other.
• Parallel rock fractures that occur along numerous flat surfaces are called ______.
• If cytokinesis fails after mitosis, what would you observe?
• Which type of glacier forms meltwater streams in mountain valleys?
• Particles of a ______ move fast enough to overcome some of the attraction between them.
• As the density of air decreases, its pressure
• Which instrument uses earthquake waves to map Earth's interior?
• Who first published the heliocentric theory, proposing that the sun is at the center of the universe and the planets orbit the sun?
• Which plant category includes all flowering crops?
• A geological feature formed when waves erode through a headland leaving a freestanding rock column is called a __________.
• In cells, the ______________ destroys toxic materials
• __________ is the time between the passage of two wave crests at a fixed point
• Which type of rock formations can have sills and laccoliths?
• Material in the soils B horizon is called which of the following?
• Which hormone signals the kidney to conserve water when you are dehydrated?
• Which type of scattering explains why the sky is blue?
• Mitosis in plant and animal cells differ in the ______ stage.
• Which of the following most directly prevents erosion in a watershed?
• The stars that appear to circle as the Earth rotates are called ______.
• Which vessels are the smallest blood vessels where oxygen exchange occurs with body tissues?
• Which seismic waves cannot move through liquids at all?
• Which plant seed leaves number is characteristic of a dicot?
• What is the final stage of the cell cycle called?
• The block of rock that sits above a fault plane is called the hanging wall.
• A flat platform formed at the base of a sea cliff is called a ____________.
• Which organelle is known as the powerhouse of the cell?
• Which statement correctly describes cytokinesis in plant cells?
• Most human cells have _____________ copies of each chromosome.
• During cytokinesis in plant cells, which structure forms to separate the daughter cells?
• Which group of stars appears to circle the sky because of Earth's rotation?
• The north star, polaris, is part of the ______________ of stars called Ursa Minor
• The property of light that determines how much it bends when entering a new medium is its _______________.
• The presence of vascular tissue is a distinguishing feature between which two plant groups?
• The leaf palisade layer is primarily involved in which process?
• A chemical reaction in which energy is released or removed is______________
• Cellular respiration takes place in which organelle?
• Lines from east to west across a map or globe are called ______.
• What term describes the division of the cytoplasm to form two daughter cells?
• Water escapes from the leaves of a vascular plant through the __________?
• The B horizon lies beneath the A horizon and is commonly referred to as which?
• Muscles that move food through the digestive system are which type of muscle?
• The steep side of a sand dune is called the ______.