MTEL General Science (64) case studies
MTEL General Science (64) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
General Science (64) is one of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) subject matter tests listed on the MTEL website. Candidates who need to demonstrate general science knowledge for an educator license in Massachusetts take it. The MTEL General Science (64) case studies are 5 cases and about 3,483 words.
1The Missing Moon Data and Marcus's Eclipse Claim
A seventh-grade class spends 30 days recording the Moon's phase and the time of each observation on a shared data table. Priya logs a full moon on Day 8 and again on Day 22; three students log nothing for five consecutive rainy nights; one student records "half moon" on a night when the Moon was below the horizon at the observation time.
735 words, about 4 min2Potato Cores, Paper Towels, and One Upside-Down Result
Five lab groups each cut six potato cylinders to 4.0 cm and placed them for 25 minutes in 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 M sucrose solution. Every group blots the cylinders on paper towels before obtaining final mass, but Group 3 presses the cylinders firmly while blotting, Group 4 uses potatoes from a different bag that had been stored at 4 °C, and Group 5 stops at 15 minutes because the period ends.
660 words, about 3 min3Two Bulbs, One Cell, and "Used-Up Current"
Students build a series circuit with one 1.5 V D cell and two identical bulbs. With the bulbs glowing, multimeter readings are 1.48 V across the cell, 0.72 V across bulb 1, and 0.71 V across bulb 2.
712 words, about 4 min4The Flask That Lost 1.62 Grams
Students add 5.00 g of baking soda to 50 mL of household vinegar (about 5% acetic acid by mass) in a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask on a balance readable to 0.01 g. Three setups are run: Setup A is left open while the reaction fizzes; Setup B is immediately sealed with a rubber stopper; Setup C is sealed but the stopper is later found to be wet and not fully seated.
710 words, about 4 min5The Fertilizer Trial That Changed Two Things at Once
A fifth-grade class tests the claim "more fertilizer means taller plants." Sixteen bean seedlings are assigned by table group: eight go on the south windowsill and receive 10 mL of 1% fertilizer solution every other day; eight go on a north shelf near a frequently opened exterior door and receive 10 mL of plain water. After three weeks, the fertilized plants average 14.2 cm and the watered plants 9.6 cm, and the class concludes that fertilizer caused the difference.
666 words, about 3 min