OAE Earth and Space Science case studies
OAE Earth and Space Science · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The OAE Earth and Space Science assessment is one of the subject-matter tests Ohio uses in the educator licensure pathway for teachers who want to teach Earth and space science, typically at the middle or high school level. It is built for candidates who already hold a science background or are completing an approved preparation program and now need to demonstrate that their content knowledge is broad enough for the classroom, not just deep in one specialty. The OAE Earth and Space Science case studies are 5 cases and about 4,094 words.
1The Predicted Quake That Did Not Happen
At a regional middle school, the after-school science club posts a warning: a magnitude 6.0 or larger earthquake will strike within 120 km in the next seven days. Their evidence is a full moon on Friday, a predicted spring tide, and three magnitude 3.1–3.4 tremors recorded in the past month.
854 words, about 4 min2The Missing S-Waves at 4,200 Kilometers
Students in an Earth science lab examine records from a school seismograph 4,200 km from an M6.8 earthquake. The P wave arrives at 7 min 10 s; the S wave is not visible above background noise.
829 words, about 4 min3The Hillside Behind the Gym
After a wildfire burned the vegetation on the 18° hillside above a school gym, the district engineer notes 2–3 cm wide tension cracks near the top of the slope, a muddy seep at the toe, and a utility pole that has tilted about 4° since spring. The slope is underlain by clay-rich soil about 3 m thick over fractured sandstone.
800 words, about 4 min4Heat Index at the Track
A district athletic director must decide whether to hold a 3 p.m. The National Weather Service forecast for the airport 12 km away is 34°C air temperature, 55% relative humidity, and light wind, yielding a heat index near 40°C.
811 words, about 4 min5The Lunar Phase Item That Passed
A district common assessment includes a multiple-choice item: 'Why does the Moon show phases?' A: Earth's shadow falls on the Moon; B: the Moon rotates on its axis; C: the Sun-Earth-Moon angle changes as the Moon orbits; D: clouds cover the Moon. Across 420 students, 68% chose C, 22% chose A, and 10% chose B or D.
800 words, about 4 min