8th Grade Science Interactive Practice Benchmark Test

The arrow in the figure below represents a
ray of light striking a mirror.

Which of the following correctly shows
how a light ray would be reflected from the
mirror shown above?
Sound will travel the fastest through which
of these mediums?
1. Water
2. Oil
3. Steel
4. Mercury
Based on the observations in the table,
which word BEST describes the reaction
that took place when the two substances
were combined?
1. Endothermic
2. Nuclear
3. Exothermic
4. Decomposition
1. Both products of the reaction are
  gases.
2. There are more products than
  reactants.
3. The reactant is a liquid substance.
4. Energy is added to the reactants.
The scientist walks away for a few seconds
and when he comes back, he forgets which
sample is which.
Which is the easiest way for the scientist to
determine which sample is which?
1. Smell the air near each test tube.
2. Touch the side of each test tube.
3. Find the mass of both test tubes.
4. Look for gas in the test tubes.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a toxic gas released
by the burning of fossil fuels. It reacts
exothermically with oxygen (O2) to
produce sulfur trioxide (SO3), another toxic
gas. Which equation BEST describes this
reaction?
Four samples of different materials are
heated from 20 °C to 50 °C. Which sample
will absorb the most heat energy?
1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
A student mixes 200g of water and 200g of
metal pellets in an insulated container and
waits until the temperature of the water
stops changing. No heat flows into or out of
the container. The table shows the starting
temperature and specific heat of each
substance.

Which of these is MOST LIKELY the final
temperature of the water?
1. 15 °C
2. 25 °C
3. 45 °C
4. 100 °C
A student puts ice cubes from the freezer
into a glass, and then adds lemonade from
the refrigerator. The student sets the filled
glass on the table. Which of these describes
the largest flow of thermal energy?
1. From the lemonade to the glass
2. From the ice to the lemonade
3. From the glass to the table
4. From air to the glass
A student collects temperature data at the
beach. The graph below shows the results.

Which of the following BEST explains the
different rate change for each substance?
1. Sand stores more thermal energy
  than water.
2. Sand has a lower heat capacity than
  water.
3. Water gets more direct sunlight than
  sand.
4. Water has a lower boiling point than
  sand.
On a hot, summer day in July, Jonathan
stepped barefoot onto his concrete patio
from the grass and was immediately aware
of a big difference in the temperature
between the two surfaces. Why did the
patio seem so much warmer?
1. The concrete has a lower specific
  heat and heats up rapidly.
2. The grass has a lower specific heat
  and heats up slowly.
3. The concrete has a higher specific
  heat and heats up slowly.
4. The grass has a higher specific heat
  and heats up rapidly.
Susan’s teacher told her science class how
her grandfather used to make homemade ice
cream, turning the hand crank on a mailorder
wooden ice cream freezer to rotate a
metal container with milk, sugar, and
vanilla around a mixture of ice and rock
salt. Her grandfather would periodically add
more ice and rock salt to the freezer. What
was the function of rock salt? Susan’s
teacher told her science class how her
grandfather used to make homemade ice
cream, turning the hand crank on a mailorder
wooden ice cream freezer to rotate a
metal container with milk, sugar, and
vanilla around a mixture of ice and rock
salt. Her grandfather would periodically add
more ice and rock salt to the freezer. What
was the function of rock salt?
1. lowered the freezing point of ice
  cream making the ice cream freeze
  more quickly
2. raised the freezing point of water
  making the ice cream freeze more
  quickly
3. prevented the ice from melting
4. lowered the freezing point of water
  making the ice cream freeze more
  quickly
The amount of heat it takes for the
temperature of 1 gram of substance to be
raised one degree Celsius is
1. conduction
2. boiling point
3. specific heat
4. energy transfer
Specific heat is the amount of heat required
to raise the temperature of _________ by
_______.
1. 1kg of a substance, 1º F
2. 1 g of a substance, 10 ºC
3. 1ºC of a substance, 10 g
4. 1 gram of a substance, 1ºC
The specific heat of liquid water is 1 cal / g
K. The specific heat of ice is 0.51, and
water vapor is 0.48. Which state of water
requires the least energy to change its
temperature 2 degrees?
1. water, because it has the highest
  specific heat
2. ice, because it has the highest
  specific heat
3. steam, because it has the lowest
  specific heat
4. steam, because it has the highest
  specific heat
Mr. Evans heated several samples of
different metals in individual containers of
boiling water. As the containers cooled, he
measured the water temperature in regular
intervals. His students concluded that
1. the higher the metal’s specific heat
  capacity, the longer it took the metal
  to cool
2. the lower the metal’s specific heat
  capacity, the faster the metal cooled
3. the higher the metal’s specific heat
  capacity, the faster the metal cooled
4. the lower the metal’s specific heat
  capacity, the longer it took the metal
  to cool
Our sun is currently in which of these
stages?
1. 2
2. 4
3. 7
4. 9
Astronomers measure distances between
stars in units of light years because the
same distance written in kilometers
1. is not as accurate
2. cannot be used by a computer
3. is a very large number
4. cannot be used to compare long
  distances
Which of these two objects in space are
MOST LIKELY about 4 light years apart?
1. Earth and the sun
2. The sun and the closest star
3. Earth and the moon
4. Mercury and Pluto
1. 1.3 years
2. 8.6 years
3. 18 years
4. 78 years
Scientists that believe in the Big Bang
theory think that the universe was once
much
1. smaller and cooler
2. brighter and larger
3. heavier and darker
4. denser and hotter
The table describes two theories about how
the universe began and how it changes over
time.

An astronomer is trying to choose between
these two theories. Which of the following
would MOST directly help the astronomer
choose between these two theories?
1. Determining that the universe is
  about 14 billion years old
2. Observing that most stars seem to be
  moving closer together
3. Learning about black holes found in
  the center of each galaxy
4. Figuring out that many particles
  could be formed in an explosion

8th Grade Interactive Practice Benchmark Test

Quiz