School Improvement in Maryland

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Standard 1.0 Skills and Processes

Topic B. Applying Evidence and Reasoning

Indicator 1. Seek better reasons for believing something than "Everybody knows that..." or "I just know" and discount such reasons when given by others.

Objective a. Develop explanations using knowledge possessed and evidence from observations, reliable print resources, and investigations.

Selected Response Item

Seawater contains a number of different salts. The water can be separated by a process called distillation. A simple distillation setup is shown below.

Question Image

The water in the flask evaporates. Water vapor (gas) rises, leaving the salt in the flask. The water vapor is cooled in the condensing tube and drips into the beaker.

Why does salt remain in the flask?

  1. Salt is attracted to heat.
  2. Salt does not evaporate.
  3. Salt is too heavy to become a vapor (gas).
  4. Salt becomes water after it is heated.
/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_science_5_037.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item

Use the passage 'The Greenhouse Effect' to answer the following.

How would Earth most likely change if the amount of greenhouse gases continued to increase?

  1. Glacier size would increase.
  2. Air pollution would decrease.
  3. Ocean levels would decrease.
  4. Global temperatures would increase.
/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_science_5_044.xml

Correct Answer:
D