Science
What the test rewards
Science questions cover life, earth/space, and physical science, plus scientific inquiry and the nature of science. Expect questions on the scientific method, experimental design, and safety as well as content knowledge.
Concepts to master
- Inquiry: observations vs. inferences, variables (independent, dependent, controlled), hypotheses, and the difference between a hypothesis and a theory.
- Life science: needs of organisms, life cycles, food chains and webs, and adaptations.
- Earth/space: the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection), rock types, weathering and erosion, and the Sun-Earth-Moon system (day/night, seasons, moon phases).
- Physical science: states of matter and changes (physical vs. chemical), forces and motion, simple machines, and basic energy transfer.
Traps
Questions frequently confuse weathering (breaking down) with erosion (transport), or physical changes (reversible, no new substance) with chemical changes (new substance formed). Seasons are caused by Earth's axial tilt, not by distance from the Sun-a classic distractor. Also distinguish observation (using senses) from inference (interpretation).
Worked example
A student asks why we have day and night. The correct explanation is Earth's rotation on its axis, not its revolution around the Sun. Rule of thumb: rotation explains day/night; revolution plus axial tilt explains the seasons.
Rule of thumb
For experimental-design items, identify the one variable deliberately changed and confirm everything else is held constant.