15 strategies every test taker should know Red

15 strategies every test taker should know Red Oak Middle School 2014 – 2015

• Get plenty of rest the night before each testing day You need 7 -9 hours of sleep, so go to bed at 10 pm. • Avoid the morning rush. Set out clothes the night before. Get to school a few minutes earlier than you usually do. • Eat a good nutritious breakfast the morning of each testing day (Milk w/cereal, eggs, fruits; no Hot Cheetos and candy. )

Always listen to the directions Always LISTEN given by teacher. READ • Read the directions written on the test • Read the question and all answer choices before marking anything. ASK • Ask the teacher if you do not understand the directions.

1. Don’t spend too much time on any one question. 5. Answer the easiest questions first, but be sure to go back to those 4. Save time at the questions you end to review your skipped. test and make sure you haven't left out any answers. 2. It is important to answer every question even if you are not sure of the answer. 3. Use all your time! There are no extra points for finishing early.

What form of energy is stored in a battery? A. chemical B. sound C. light D. heat

As Bobby entered a dark room, he pushed the switch on the wall to turn on the light. What makes the light turn on when Bobby pushes the switch? A. electricity B. Friction C. Gravity D. D. magnetism

On Mount Everest the temperature decreases as the altitude increases. The summit of this mountain is in which atmospheric layer? A. mesosphere B. stratosphere C. thermosphere D. troposphere

Water vapor sometimes condenses into stratus clouds that are in contact with the ground. What forms as a result of this process? A. Ozone B. methane C. Fog D. smoke

Storms transport water in the form of rain. The energy that starts this process comes from the A. Sun. B. oceans. C. Earth. D. clouds.

Eliminate obviously wrong answer choices If you can’t figure out which answer is correct, try to eliminate (get rid of) the answers that you know are wrong Eliminate choices that are partly correct Eliminate items that are correct but don’t answer the question

Riding a bicycle produces several forms of energy. Which form of energy is produced in the greatest amount by pedaling a bicycle down the sidewalk? A. chemical B. radiant C. kinetic D. sound

In a gasoline powered car, chemical energy from gasoline is transformed to make the car move. The motion of the car is what form of energy? A. radiant energy B. nuclear energy C. electrical energy D. mechanical energy

What form of energy is stored in a battery? A. chemical B. sound C. light D. heat

Which gas makes up the greatest percentage of Earth’s atmosphere? A. argon B. nitrogen C. nitrous oxide D. carbon dioxide

Which statement explains what will most likely happen to the hydrosphere in an area where air temperatures increase? A. Earthquake intensity will decrease. B. Mountain formation will decrease. C. . Rock weathering will increase. D. Evaporation will increase.

A random guess gives you a 25% chance of getting the right answer. An educated guess gives you chance of answering correctly up to 75%. Educated guessing means using everything you know to attempt to answer the question

Your Goal Choice (a) Choice (b) Choice (c) Choice (d) Choose an answer for every question!

ANSWERS WITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS ARE USUALLY WRONG/FALSE ALL ALWAYS MUST NONE NEVERY ENTIRELY BEST WORST ONLY EVERYONE

Example Which of the following is true for people who live in California? • A. Everyone in California lives on the San Andreas Fault. • B. Because California’s most powerful earthquake was in 1906, the next powerful earthquake will be centuries away. • C. Only people who live in California experience earthquakes. • D. People living in California experience earthquakes more frequently than in any other place in the country.

SOMETIMES GENERALLY USUALLY FREQUENTLY PROBABLY MOST FEW MANY OFTEN SELDOM ANSWERS WITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS ARE USUALLY CORRECT/TRUE

Example Which of the following is true for people who live in California? • A. Everyone in California lives on the San Andreas Does not Fault. make sense…. • B. Because California’s most powerful earthquake was in 1906, the next powerful earthquake will be centuries away. • C. Only people who live in California experience earthquakes. • D. People living in California experience earthquakes more frequently than in any other place in the country.

26. How do the conditions for a tornado differ from the conditions for a hurricane? A. Tornadoes never form when there is rain, while hurricanes always form with rain. B. Tornadoes form under low pressure, while hurricanes form under high pressure. C. Tornadoes form in a stable atmosphere, while hurricanes form in an unstable atmosphere. D. Tornadoes form over land, while hurricanes form over bodies of water.

Adam is studying forces in the lab. If he applies an unbalanced force to an object, what could happen? A. Only the object’s speed can change. B. Only the object’s direction can change. C. Neither the object’s speed nor direction can change. D. The object’s speed, direction, or both can change.

There is a good deal of stored energy in gasoline, which makes it useful as fuel for cars. When gasoline is burned in a car engine, what happens to this energy? A. It is destroyed as it is used to make the engine in the car run. B. Some of it is transformed into kinetic energy and some into potential energy. C. Some of it makes the car run, but most of it disappears before being transformed. D. It is transformed into kinetic energy, sound energy, and heat energy.

When a liquid substance, such as water, gains heat energy, which of the following will happen? A. The water will always change state and become a gas. B. The water may become a solid. C. The water will remain in the liquid state regardless of the amount of heat gained. D. The water may changes states depending on the amount of heat gained.

Ryan boiled a liter of water and then stirred sugar into it, adding more sugar until no more would dissolved in the water creating a saturanted solution. If he pours more sugar into it after it has had a chance to cool, what will most likely happen? A. All of the sugar will come out of solution, and pure water will float to the top. B. If he stirs constantly, the sugar will form into one large sugar crystal. C. The added sugar will sink to the bottom. D. The added sugar will dissolve in the water.

WHEN THE ANSWER IS NOT CLEAR, LOOK FOR CLUES ( CONTEXT, TENSE, WORD TYPE, GRAMMAR) IN THE QUESTION AND THE ANSWER CHOICES The context of a word includes all the words and sentences that surround it and the situation in which the word is used

Clue words in test questions: Who? Person What? Thing Where? Place When? Time Why? Reason Which? Choice How? A way something is done How many ? Number

Paula pushes a skateboard and it gradually slows down to a stop. Why does the skateboard come to a stop? A. Gravity alone stops the skateboard. B. Paula did not push the skateboard with enough force. C. The skateboard has a positive acceleration D. Friction and gravity slow the skateboard.

What happens when the forces applied to an object at rest produce a net force of zero? A. The object will move at constant speed. B. The object will have positive acceleration. A. The object will have negative acceleration. B. The object will not move at all.

Storms transport water in the form of rain. The energy that starts this process comes from the A. Sun. B. oceans. C. Earth. D. clouds.

A student is organizing a room She moves a box from the floor to a shelf. She wants to estimate the amount of potential energy the box has on the shelf. What information does the student need. A. the volume and mass of the box B. the mass of the shelf and the mass of the box. C. the mass of the box and the height of the shelf D. the volume of the box and the height of the shelf.

Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Which activity is an example of this law? A A football is kicked off a tee. B A baseball player slides into second base. C A floating stick is carried over a waterfall. D. A bicycle travels faster as it goes downhill.

The effect of negatives is to make the sentence the opposite of what it would be without the negative Negatives: Not None No one Hardly Scarcely Prefixes such as Un- Non- Dis- In- Simplify the question by getting rid of double negatives. Simplify this statement: Most people are not unafraid of snakes. Most people are afraid of snakes.

Example Mrs. Castro dislikes when students are being rude to their teachers. Without changing the meaning of the sentence, which words can best be used to replace the underlined part? A. Enjoys B. Tolerates C. Punishes D. Does not like

Gordon is making a list of forces for his science class. Which of the following should Gordon NOT list as a force? A. Gravity B. Friction C. A push or pull D. mass

Some forces require direct contact, while others, like gravity, act at a distance. Which of the following is NOT influenced by gravity? A. Earth’s tides B. Your weight C. Earth’s orbit D. magnetism

In Math, ESTIMATING is an approximate answer obtained by rounding the numbers BEFORE you add, subtract, multiply, or divide. Always ask yourself: “Is the answer reasonable? ” What is 325+917+ 796? A. 56 B. 2038 C. 1038 D. 10, 564

Examples What value of N makes the equation true? N 19=33 A. B. C. D. 245 42 14 52 Eliminate obviously wrong answers first and then estimate!

Example An airplane flew 2905 miles in 5 hours. What was the speed of the plane? A. 12 miles per hour B. 2324 miles per hour C. 581 miles per hour D. 481 miles per hour

Anna ran 100 meters in 20 seconds. What was her average speed? A B C D 2 m/s 5 m/s 20 m/s 25 m/s

An airplane flies in a straight line between two cities that are separated by 840 kilometers. If it takes 4 hours for the airplane to make the trip, what is its average speed? A B C D 84 km/h 105 km/h 180 km/h 210 km/h

A bus traveled 280 kilometers between two cities. It left the first city at 3: 00 p. m. and arrived at the second city at 7: 00 p. m. What was the average speed of the bus during the trip? A B C D 4 km/h 40 km/h 70 km/h 280 km/h

Arturo ran a 3, 000 meter race. His running Time from start to finish was 10 minutes. What was Arturo’s average speed? A. 5 m/s B. 50 m/s C. 100 m/s D. 300 m/s

In one day, a family in a car rode for 2 hours, stopped for 3 hours, and then rode for another 5 hours. During the day, the family traveled a total distance of 400 kilometers. What was their average speed for the whole trip? A. 10 km/h B. 20 km/h C. 40 km/h D. 50 km/h

1. Read all the titles, labels, and other given information 2. Check the units of measurement 3. 3. Look for a pattern, trend, or comparison in the graph or table

1. Read the title of the map 2. Check the map key( legend) 3. Look at the map scale (if you need to find a distance) 4. Re-read the question again

See Graph Sheet

More Tips If the test requires you to read passages and then answer questions about what you read, Read the questions first. Line up place value correctly on your scratch paper (thousands, hundreds, tens, ones). Remember: Never leave any question on a test blank.

Gravity is a force that every mass exerts on every other mass. When you jump up in the air, not only does the Earth exert a gravitational force on you, but you also exert a gravitational force on the Earth. You, of course, fall back don to the Earth. Which of the following explains why the Earth is not moving toward you when you jump up in the air? A. Earth exerts a gravitational force on itself. B. You don’t weigh enough to affect Earth’s surface. C. Your mass is very small compared to Earth’s mass. D. Earth’s fixed orbit around the Sun keeps it from moving.

Jessica knows that a rainbow is made up of the following colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. She has seven flashlights that each has a bulb matching a color of the rainbow, and she wants to try and make white light. Which of her seven colors would she have to mix to get white light? A. Just the bright colors: red, orange, and yellow B. All of the colors she has, red, orange, yellow green blue, indigo, and violet C. Ever other color: red, yellow, blue, and violet D. She can’t do it: Mising the colors will make the light darker, not white.

Water can occur as liquid water, water vapor, or ice. The water molecules move at different speed when they are in each state. Which of the following best describes the relative speeds at which the molecules move in each state from slowest to fastest? A. Water vapor, liquid water, ice B. Liquid water, ice, water vapor C. Ice, liquid water, water vapor D. Ice, water vapor, liquid water

Students conducted an investigation by dropping a ball from two different heights. In the first trial, the ball was dropped from a height of 10 meters and the speed was measured after 2 seconds. In the second trial, the ball was dropped from a height of 20 meters and the speed was measured after 2 seconds. Which of these describes the relationship between the measured speeds in the two trials? •

A. The speed in the second trial is twice the speed in the first trial. B. The speed in the first trial will be the same as the speed in the second trial. C. The speed in the first trial will be 10 m/sec faster than the speed in the second trial. D. The speed in the second trial will be 10 m/sec faster than the speed in the first trial.

If you misbubble you’re in trouble If you reach a hard question and can’t make your educated guess, an easier one is just around the corner. Write a light ? next to the question you are skipping and move on to the next question.

How do you prevent misbubbling? At the end of the test, go back to ? the questions with next to them and see if you can try to answer it. Please be sure to answer every question.

I am scared of the test monster!!!! • Remember the strategies! They will help you to feel confident. • Think positively about doing your best ! • Take a deep breath to relax. • Answer EVERY question. • Make intelligent educated guesses. • Think about one item at a time. • DO YOUR BEST !!!!

When you are done … ü Fill in bubbles fully, write neatly, and erase stray marks. ü If you finish early, check to make sure you have answered all questions. ü Once you have finished, please remain quiet as others will still be working on the test.