Study Guide

MoGEA Science and Social Studies Subtest
Sample Questions

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Competency 0008
Understand fundamental crosscutting scientific concepts.

1. Students in a fourth grade classroom are sorting photographs of various animals into distinct groups based on shared physical characteristics, such as number of appendages and type of body covering (e.g., scales, feathers, fur). This activity focuses students on which of the following crosscutting concepts in science?

  1. the existence of patterns in nature
  2. the relationship of cause and effect
  3. the importance of scale and proportion
  4. the universality of stability and change
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Correct Response: A. Observing animals and sorting them on the basis of their characteristics will make students aware of the existence of patterns in nature, as well as how these patterns can serve as the basis for identifying and classifying animals.

Competency 0009
Understand and apply science inquiry and literacy skills.

2. Many of the questions posed by students in a classroom cannot be answered by using the process of scientific inquiry. However, questions form the basis of the scientific inquiry process, and it is important that students learn to recognize that questions that are scientifically testable are those that:

  1. do not rely on observations or experiments made by other individuals.
  2. are related to the personal experiences of the individual performing the investigation.
  3. can be answered through the use of experiments or observations that provide evidence.
  4. may include the testing of phenomena that cannot be observed using the senses.
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Correct Response: C. Testable questions are questions which can be answered by performing experiments, making observations, or by taking measurements, which can be carried out by the person investigating the question. These types of questions typically ask "what" or "how" and focus on answering a particular question with respect to the problem that is being studied.

Competency 0009
Understand and apply science inquiry and literacy skills.

3. Which of the following activities best represents an inquiry-based learning approach for students studying the growth of plants?

  1. collecting leaves and writing descriptions of tree bark and using these data to identify the trees growing on the school grounds
  2. monitoring and recording the height of bean plants to answer a question about the effect of light exposure on plant growth
  3. creating a poster showing the adaptations of regional plants based on information obtained from approved Web sites
  4. drawing and labeling cross sections of plant leaves and stems after observing slides of these structures using a microscope
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Correct Response: B. In inquiry-based learning, students ask questions, develop hypotheses, and collect and analyze data to test their hypotheses. All of these are components of the activity in which students record the height of bean plants in order to determine the response of the plants to varying light levels.

Competency 0010
Understand fundamental social studies concepts.

4. Which of the following responses best describes the political science concept of balance of power?

  1. the effort by each nation to secure the greatest amount of military and economic power possible so as to balance the power of other nations
  2. a distribution of economic and military power among nations such that no single nation is able to dominate the others
  3. the effort by one nation to exercise sufficient economic influence and military force to discourage conflicts and maintain a stable world order
  4. an attempt by multiple nations to combine economic and political assets so that no other group of nations can pose a credible threat to their collective interests
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Correct Response: B. The concept of balance of power is the idea that nations or groups of nations should attempt to maintain an equilibrium of economic and military power among them so that no one state or alliance gains a predominance of power that would enable that state or alliance to impose its will on other states or alliances.

Competency 0011
Understand and apply social studies inquiry and literacy skills.

5. Which of the following sources would be most helpful in understanding the impact of the Great Depression of the 1930s on people in the United States?

  1. government reports from 1930 to 1939 on U.S. imports versus exports
  2. newspaper accounts of food distribution centers established in major U.S. cities during the period
  3. debates in the U.S. Congress over legislation to create jobs and establish welfare programs
  4. letters during the period between friends and family members in different parts of the country
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Correct Response: D. While each of the listed sources would be valuable in assessing the impact of the Great Depression, personal letters between individuals experiencing the consequences of the economic catastrophe from different geographic perspectives would be most likely to provide insight into how the Depression affected the lives of ordinary people.

Competency 0011
Understand and apply social studies inquiry and literacy skills.

6. Use the excerpt below from John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address to answer the question that follows.

We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end as well as a beginning—signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Which of the following best describes the main purpose of the excerpt?

  1. to persuade his listeners that the new president will stand above party politics
  2. to remind the world of the dangers of nuclear weapons and global poverty
  3. to warn other nations that the United States will continue to defend human rights
  4. to describe the difference between the revolutionary era and the present
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Correct Response: C. In this excerpt from his inaugural address, Kennedy sought to make a connection between the founders' belief that human beings have fundamental rights that cannot be compromised by any government or individual tyrant, and the continuing need, in a troubled world, to protect those rights wherever they may be threatened.