Study Guide

MoGEA Science Subtest
Sample Questions

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Competency 0009
Understand the nature and practice of science.

1. A researcher has designed an experiment intended to determine the effect of a soil additive on the growth rate of plants. Fifty corn plants are being grown in a greenhouse in which the air temperature and humidity are kept constant. The additive is dissolved in water and then spread on the soil in which the plants are growing. The additive is applied to the plants' soil weekly. A second group of fifty plants acts as an experimental control group. The control group should differ from the experimental group in which of the following ways?

  1. Plants in the control group should be given water with no dissolved additive on a weekly basis.
  2. The control group should be given a different soil additive that is also dissolved in water.
  3. Plants in the control group should be a species other than corn.
  4. The control group should be kept in a greenhouse in which temperature and humidity are varied.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the design of valid investigations. In an experimental design, control groups are often used to ensure that some part of the experimental process is not inadvertently influencing the experimental results. In this experiment, a control group could be used to ensure that the water itself is not contributing to any observed changes.

Competency 0010
Understand the fundamental concepts, principles, and theories of biology and chemistry.

2. For the simplified food web shown above, which of the following changes would most likely result in increased predation pressure on the mouse population?

  1. a reduction in the grasshopper population
  2. an increase in the crayfish population
  3. a reduction in the crayfish population
  4. an increase in the grasshopper population
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C. This question requires the examinee to recognize the characteristics of ecosystems and biomes. In the food web, predation pressure on the mouse population comes from the owls. A reduction in the number of crayfish would reduce the duck and finch populations, which are the owls' alternative food sources. This would leave only the mice and moles as prey for the owls, and thus increase predation on the mouse population.

Competency 0011
Understand the fundamental concepts, principles, and theories of physics, geology, and astronomy.

3. The range between high and low tides changes significantly over time. This change in the tidal range is primarily the result of:

  1. the variable effect of seasonal winds on coastal waters.
  2. the variability of Earth's gravitational field caused by Earth's elliptical orbit.
  3. the seasonal shifts in the tilt of Earth's axis.
  4. the additive effect of the gravitational pulls of the sun and moon.
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Correct Response: D. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the interactions of the sun, moon, and Earth and the effects of these interactions on Earth systems. As Earth orbits the sun and the moon orbits Earth, the variation in gravitational pull on the oceans creates cyclical variations in the range between high and low ocean tides.