Science and Technology/Engineering (Grades 5 and 8; High School Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering)
MCAS Science and Technology/Engineering covers grades 5 and 8 and high school Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering. Items combine core content with science practices: asking questions, designing investigations, analyzing data, and constructing explanations.
Core rules
- Identify the independent variable (what is changed), dependent variable (what is measured), and controlled variables.
- Distinguish observation from inference and correlation from causation.
- Use the formula sheet and units consistently; in chemistry, balance equations before using mole ratios.
- In physics, a position-time graph's slope is velocity, and a velocity-time graph's slope is acceleration.
Worked example
A sealed flask contains vinegar and baking soda before reaction; after reaction, the mass is unchanged on a balance. A student claims gas escaped. The sealed system means no matter entered or left, so the claim is unsupported: conservation of mass holds, and the gas remains inside. If the flask were open, a mass decrease would be expected because gas left the system.
Traps
- Describing a pattern without naming the mechanism.
- Forgetting that a control group is needed to attribute a change to the treatment.
- Confusing mass and weight, or speed and acceleration.
- In genetics, mixing genotype and phenotype frequencies.
- In engineering, proposing a solution without testing criteria and constraints.
For constructed responses, state the claim, cite the data pattern, and explain the principle that links them.