California Science Test (CAST) 8th Grade Practice Exam

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• What term describes an explanation that has been repeatedly tested and supported by extensive evidence?
• Which term describes an organism's genetic makeup?
• Which mutation occurs when a nucleotide is added, shifting the reading frame?
• Which term describes transmitting information by a continuous varying signal?
• What is the force that arises from electrical charges interacting?
• Which force exists in an electric field when one charged particle exerts a force on another?
• Energy that is stored.
• Which term describes lava that erupts onto the surface and solidifies?
• Which space object is a large, irregularly shaped body that orbits the Sun?
• Which term describes a wave where the medium vibrates perpendicular to the travel direction?
• Which term describes a pair of chromosomes that are similar in length and carry genes for the same traits at corresponding places?
• Which term refers to a wave in which the particles vibrate perpendicular to the direction of travel?
• Which term matches the statement: Each organism has its unique set of traits, such as size, color, height, body weight, skin color and even the ability to find food?
• Which statement is true about extrusion relative to surrounding rock?
• What type of energy is stored due to position, such as a raised object?
• The term for magma that solidifies beneath the surface?
• Which term describes the condition of having positive and negative charges or magnetic or electric poles?
• Which term describes the theory that major changes in the Earth's crust during geological history have resulted chiefly from sudden violent and unusual events?
• A method of dividing the sequence of nucleotides in DNA/RNA into consecutive, non-overlapping triplets
• If rock layers are left undisturbed, the oldest layer lies at the bottom.
• Which term best describes large molecules determined by the DNA?
• Which term means a break in the Earth's crust where earthquakes occur?
• Which term describes forces that do not require physical contact to act on an object?
• What is the lowest point of a wave below the resting point called?
• If there is no change in an object's velocity, the forces are what?
• A mutation that affects the number or structure of whole chromosomes is called a ______ mutation.
• A pulling force is best described by which elastic term?
• A point mutation where one nitrogenous base is changed to another
• Which term is used for the three-nucleotide sequence that codes for one amino acid in the mRNA?
• The more compact, the more dense.
• What term describes the changing of the structure of a gene?
• What term describes a mutation that does not change the amino acid sequence?
• When a wave bounces off a surface that it cannot pass through. This does not change the speed or frequency of the wave, but the wave can be flipped upside down.
• Which term describes a time gap in the geological record caused by erosion and non-deposition?
• Which statement describes the age relationship of an intrusion to the surrounding rock?
• The multi-step process of turning the code of a gene into its final product (most often a protein)
• Tendency to resist any change in motion.
• Which phrase best defines the waves that travel through a medium and cause your eardrum to vibrate?
• What force slows down moving objects by acting through the air?
• Which term describes storing or transmitting information by discrete impulses?
• What is the highest point of a wave above the resting point called?
• The force caused by pulling on a rope, cable, or string?
• Which force is responsible for attracting or repelling magnets at a distance?
• Which force slows down rolling objects?
• Which term refers to a mutation that shifts the reading frame?
• The four-letter code; always use the chart reading the mRNA strand is called what?
• An object with more electrons than protons is what charge?
• What is the force of attraction between all masses in the universe?
• A positively charged object?
• What is the force perpendicular to a surface called?
• Which description best matches an analog signal?
• Which force slows down sliding objects?
• What term describes the ability to do work?
• Which term refers to a mature reproductive cell such as a sperm or egg?
• Which term describes a disturbance that transmits energy through a field?
• Which description best describes a digital signal?
• Which term describes storing or transmitting information by discrete impulses?
• Which force is a push or pull on one object by another object?
• What term describes the force that occurs when two surfaces rub against each other, producing heat?
• The region of influence around an object is called what?
• An analog waveform has two characteristics. Which statement best describes them?
• A disturbance that carries energy from place to place is a ______.
• Which principle explains why older sedimentary rock layers are found beneath younger ones in an undeformed sequence?
• What term describes a push or pull that can change an object's motion?
• In a longitudinal wave, the area where particles are spread apart is called
• A DNA section that codes for a protein and thus determines a trait is called what?
• Which law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?
• Which of the following describes a noncontact force?
• What is a segment of DNA that codes for a trait called?
• In a wave, the number of wave cycles that pass a given point in a given time.
• Which term describes the resistive force that slows a rolling wheel on a surface?
• What is the force between particles with like charges called?
• Which term refers to the breeding of plants and animals to produce desirable traits?
• Which term describes the structure that contains many genes arranged along a thread?
• Which theory holds that changes in the Earth's crust are the result of continuous and uniform processes?
• Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a digital signal?
• Which term describes the observable trait that results from the genotype?
• An organism's visible traits are its ______.
• What term describes a change by which an organism becomes better suited to its environment?
• A layer of lava that erupts onto the Earth's surface and hardens is called?
• Which term describes the resistance when a solid surface moves through a fluid?
• Which quantity is measured in hertz?
• Energy in motion.
• In horizontal sedimentary rock layers, the oldest is at the bottom and each higher layer is younger; which principle explains this?
• What is the term for how fast an object is moving, defined as distance traveled divided by the time taken?
• Which disturbance carries energy from one place to another through a medium?
• Which dating method estimates a rock's age by comparing unstable to stable atoms?
• Unit to measure frequency of a wave, cycles per second.
• What term refers to a portion of a DNA molecule that serves as the basic unit of heredity?
• The bending of a wave as it enters a new medium at an angle. This occurs because one side of the wave moves more slowly than the other side.
• Mutations that produce changes in a gene rather than changes in whole chromosomes are called what?
• What does a digital waveform typically look like?
• A wave in which the vibration is at right angles to the direction of travel?
• What word describes facts such as measurable data indicating whether a belief is true?
• What term describes a change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information?
• Which term is described by the statement: genetic variation is brought about by mutations, which are permanent changes in the chemical structure of chromosomes?
• A strand of DNA that carries genetic information is called a what?
• A gradual change in the characteristics of a population of plants or animals over successive generations is known as which term?
• Which term describes a force that can act at a distance without direct contact?
• Which space object is a large, irregularly shaped body that orbits the Sun?
• Mutation that does not result in a change to the amino acid sequence of a protein; also called neutral
• Which quantity must be known, along with mass, to calculate acceleration using F = m a?
• What term refers to the change in the chemical structure of a gene that can introduce new traits?
• Which phenomenon describes waves spreading out after passing through a small opening?
• In a longitudinal wave, area where particles are close together?
• Which term describes a well-supported explanation that has been repeatedly tested and verified?
• What term describes a wave in which the vibration is parallel to the direction the wave travels?
• Condensed, coiled, and shorted DNA that occurs during cell division is a ______.
• The law that an object will stay at rest or move in a straight line unless an outside force acts on it.
• Which term describes energy transfer by a disturbance moving through a medium by particle vibration?
• What term describes the damage that can occur if an asteroid collides with Earth?
• What term describes the distance from the rest position to the crest of a wave?
• Polarity describes the presence of what in a system?
• A body cell (non-sex cell) is best described as a ______.
• Solid is more dense than a gas.
• Which term describes the substance through which a wave travels?
• If an object's velocity changes, the forces acting on it are what?
• A frame-shift mutation where a nucleotide is deleted from the genetic material
• Which calendar do scientists use to outline the history of life on Earth?
• Which statement best contrasts analog and digital signals?
• For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• An organism's genetic makeup, or the combination of alleles it has, is its ______.
• What term refers to the process by which a gene's code becomes its final product?
• Energy stored due to position.
• Which term refers to studying something carefully to gain information using the senses?
• A boulder at the top of a hill stores what kind of energy due to its position?
• A three-nucleotide base sequence on DNA and mRNA that codes for a single amino acid?
• What term describes the process by which the genetic makeup of a population changes over time?
• In a longitudinal wave, which area corresponds to particles that are spread out?
• The material through which a wave travels. This can be a solid, liquid, or gas.
• What term describes the perceived frequency of a sound?
• A frame-shift mutation where a nucleotide is added to the genetic material
• Energy in motion.
• Which term describes the friction that resists the start of motion between two resting surfaces in contact?
• Which friction describes objects that do not move due to weight on a surface?
• The amount of matter in a given space, or volume.
• Which term describes forces that produce a net effect on motion when an object accelerates or changes velocity?
• In digital information, what two states are used to represent data?
• The distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next cycle.
• What is the rate of change of velocity called?
• Which term describes a point mutation where one base is replaced by another?
• Which force is the force that acts perpendicular to a surface to support an object resting on it?
• Which term describes a time gap in the rock record caused by erosion or non-deposition?
• Chromosome pairs of approximately the same length, centromere position, and staining pattern, with genes for the same characteristics at corresponding places (one homologous chromosome is inherited from the mother; the other from the father) are called ______.
• Force equals mass multiplied by acceleration.
• Which term describes a break in the Earth's crust that is associated with earthquakes?
• A wave is a disturbance that carries energy from place to place.
• A mutation that shifts the reading frame of the genetic message; includes insertions and deletions
• Lava that hardens beneath the surface as magma pushes up through cracks is called?
• Which option describes the attraction between particles with opposite charges or magnets?
• Genetic differences within a species are called ______.
• Which force opposes the motion of a rolling object as it moves along a surface?
• A gap in the geological record created when rock layers are eroded and new sediments form on top is called?
• What is the term for when two or more waves overlap and combine together?
• Which describes a negatively charged object?
• Which term refers to the calendar scientists use to outline Earth's history?
• What is the term for a small body from outer space that enters Earth's atmosphere and appears as a streak of light?
• The amount of matter in an object.
• A mutation involving change in one nucleotide; example is a substitution.
• What quantity represents the amount of matter in an object?
• Gravity pushing down on the mass of an object causes weight; weight is a downward force.
• The bending of a wave as it moves around an obstacle or passes through a narrow opening.
• What is the unit for acceleration?
• Which term means careful study to gain information using the senses?
• Which term best describes the process by which organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic information to succeeding generations?
• What is a theory in scientific terms?
• Which force slows down a sliding object moving on a surface?
• The region of influence around a charged object?
• What is the term for a record of events in order from earliest to latest?
• Dating fossils based on the rock layer in which they are found uses which dating method?
• Which type of wave can travel without a medium?
• A pushing force that can act upward is described by which term?
• What term is the distance between two successive crests?
• The maximum displacement of the medium from the rest position.
• Which term describes the speed and direction of an object's motion?
• One way to think about analog signals is to think of a dimmer light switch. Which description best illustrates an analog signal?
• Which term describes the process by which a cell determines which genes it will express and not express?
• A specialized cell involved in sexual reproduction is a ______.
• Which dating method uses the ratio of unstable isotopes to stable isotopes to determine the age of a rock?
• A characteristic of an organism that is determined by protein structure & function (for example hitchhiker's thumb) is called a what?