FTCE Earth/Space Science 008 case studies
FTCE Earth/Space Science 008 · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Earth/Space Science 6–12 (008) is one of the subject-area certification tests listed in the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) program, which is administered for the Florida Department of Education and delivered through Pearson VUE test centers and the fl.nesinc.com website. Candidates typically take it to demonstrate subject-matter knowledge for teaching Earth and space science at the secondary level in Florida public schools, and it is commonly paired with professional preparation coursework or an educator-preparation program. The test is organized around four equally weighted content domains: Foundations of Earth and Space Science; Earth's Structure and Processes; Earth's History and the Fossil Record; and Astronomy and Space Science. Each domain carries roughly a quarter of the scored items, so a candidate cannot afford to neglect any single area, and the astronomy domain in particular rewards comfort with quantitative reasoning about orbits, seasons, and stellar properties. The FTCE Earth/Space Science 008 case studies are 5 cases and about 2,445 words.
1Eratosthenes Measurement with an Overstated Precision
At a district science fair, two students present an Eratosthenes-style measurement. School A is at 40.0°N, 88.0°W; School B is at 32.2°N, 88.0°W.
477 words, about 2 min2Rain-Induced Slope Movement above a School Bus Route
A hillside above a mountain road is underlain by 3–5 m of clay-rich colluvium over fractured sandstone. In 24 hours, 120 mm of rain falls.
460 words, about 2 min3A Trilobite in a Cretaceous Sequence
Three road cuts expose the same rock sequence. At Cut 1, a basal conglomerate contains rounded granite pebbles and a broken trilobite; above it, shale contains ammonites and an ash bed.
443 words, about 2 min4A Shallow Transit Announced as a Rocky Planet
A team observes a star with radius 0.80 R sun and mass 0.80 M sun. The transit light curve shows a depth of 1.2% and a period of 12.3 days.
624 words, about 3 min5Testing a Stream pH Claim with a Confounded Design
Students test a stream above and below a road-salt storage pile. Before a storm, pH at three upstream sites is 7.2, 7.1, and 7.3; at three downstream sites it is 7.0, 6.9, and 7.1.
441 words, about 2 min