Science: Inquiry, Data, and Core Concepts
MAP Growth Science assesses science understanding on an adaptive RIT scale. Items draw on life science (cells, ecosystems, heredity, evolution), Earth and space science (plate tectonics, weather, rocks, astronomy), physical science (matter, forces, energy, waves), and scientific inquiry, including experimental design and data interpretation.
Core rules and concepts
- Experimental design: a controlled experiment changes one independent variable and keeps other factors constant; the dependent variable is what is measured.
- Matter: density = mass ÷ volume; density is a property of a material and does not change when the sample size changes.
- Energy in ecosystems: energy flows from producers to consumers; only about 10% passes to the next trophic level, so food chains rarely have many links.
- Forces: an object at rest or moving at constant velocity has balanced forces; unbalanced forces cause acceleration.
- Earth processes: plate boundaries (divergent, convergent, transform) explain earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building.
- Data: identify the manipulated variable on the x-axis and the responding variable on the y-axis; check units and scale.
Worked example
A block has a mass of 60 g and a volume of 20 cm³. Will it float in water (density 1 g/cm³)? Reasoning: density = 60 g ÷ 20 cm³ = 3 g/cm³. Because 3 g/cm³ is greater than 1 g/cm³, the block is denser than water and will sink.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing mass and weight, or grams and newtons.
- Assuming a larger sample is always denser.
- Reversing independent and dependent variables.
- Treating a correlation as proof of causation.
- Forgetting that energy is lost as heat at each trophic level.