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This page shows questions in the Groundwater public release module at MSDE. 8th Grade MISA
"Groundwater"

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Expand All Official Practice Test

This is test content.

After reading about a drought in other states, a class of students began to research renewable and nonrenewable resources. One group of students focused their research on water. The research stated that 97.5% of the water on Earth is salt water that is located mainly in the oceans. Only 2.5% of water on Earth is fresh water, which is found in glaciers, ice caps, groundwater, lakes, rivers, streams, the atmosphere, and other locations where surface water is found. To better understand how water moves through the water cycle and where it can be stored, the group constructed a model of the water cycle, similar to the one shown.

Model. The figure shows a model that includes mountains, a forest, a coastline, a sea, a sky, a sun, and clouds. A series of arrows indicate how water moves through the water cycle in the environment. Two arrows point upward from the sea and from the forest into the sky and the cloud. Rain is shown falling from the cloud onto mountaintops. An arrow points down the slope of the mountains toward the coastline, and another arrow points from the base of the mountains toward the sea. End figure description.

This is test content.

The research stated that groundwater makes up about 30% of the fresh water found on Earth. One of the primary sources of groundwater is water that soaks into the ground after rain falls and snow melts. Another source is water that seeps deep into the ground from the bottoms of rivers and lakes. Once the water has moved into the ground, it will stay in crevices in fractured rock or pool in wells and aquifers. In Maryland, the type of rock found in a given region determines how the groundwater is stored. West of the fall line shown on the following map, water is found primarily in wells that form in rock fractures. East of the fall line, groundwater is found in aquifers, wells, and sediment.

Map. The figure shows a map titled “Locations of Maryland Rock Types.” The map shows Maryland divided into 5 regions comprising 3 rock types. A legend indicates the rock types are sand and gravel, limestone, and fractured rock. A line labeled fall line is drawn through the state to the west of the Chesapeake Bay. The region surrounding the Chesapeake Bay to the east of the fall line is labeled Coastal Plain and is indicated as sand and gravel. Going east to west from the fall line, four regions are labeled Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley, and Appalachian Plateau. The Piedmont region is indicated as fractured rock. The Blue Ridge region does not have a rock type indicated. The Ridge and Valley region is indicated as limestone. The Appalachian Plateau region is indicated as fractured rock. End figure description.

This is test content.

The research stated that groundwater is a primary water source for humans. Over 50% of the people in the United States use groundwater for drinking and other daily uses. The amount of groundwater for an area is affected by the geographic location. The figures on the map illustrate the varying levels of groundwater at each location shown.

Map. The figure shows a map titled “Maryland Groundwater Levels, May 2016,” which shows a map of Maryland with varying levels of groundwater indicated across the state. A legend shows four groundwater levels represented by four symbols indicating much above normal, above normal, normal, and below normal. Groundwater levels are indicated to be much above normal at one spot in western Maryland, two spots in southeastern Maryland, and one spot in the central southern part of Maryland. Groundwater levels are indicated to be above normal at one spot in western Maryland, one spot in eastern Maryland, and one spot in the central southern part of Maryland. Groundwater levels are indicated to be normal at 17 spots throughout the central and eastern parts of Maryland. Groundwater levels are indicated to be below normal at one spot in northeastern Maryland and at one spot in central Maryland. End figure description.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

The students used their model to better understand how water moves through the water cycle.

Which phenomenon causes precipitation to reach Earth?

  1. A.
    solar energy
  2. B.
    magnetic force
  3. C.
    potential energy
  4. D.
    gravitational force

This is a question with 2 parts, including a drag and drop question that allows you to select text and place it in an appropriate answer space, and, a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Part A

The students reviewed a list of materials and began to classify them as renewable or nonrenewable resources.

Classify the materials as renewable or nonrenewable resources.

Place each of the resources into the appropriate box.

water metal oil trees sunlight coal
Renewable Resources Nonrenewable Resources

Part B

The difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources is that nonrenewable resources require

  1. A.
    less material to make than renewable resources.
  2. B.
    more material to make than renewable resources.
  3. C.
    less time to naturally occur than renewable resources.
  4. D.
    more time to naturally occur than renewable resources.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select several options.

After constructing their model, the students found that water is stored in many different water systems.

Which water systems store liquid water after it falls as precipitation?

Select three.

  1. A.
    aquifers
  2. B.
    atmosphere
  3. C.
    clouds
  4. D.
    lakes
  5. E.
    wells

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

The students found that in Maryland some aquifers exist beneath the Ridge and Valley region.

Aquifers form in this region of the state because limestone is

  1. A.
    porous and composed of sediment.
  2. B.
    volcanic and composed of cooled magma.
  3. C.
    nonporous and composed of folded metamorphic rock.
  4. D.
    sedimentary and composed of crystallized igneous rock.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Some of the fractured rock that makes up naturally occurring wells in the Appalachian Plateau region of Maryland is composed of sandstone. This type of rock was formed through

  1. A.
    volcanic activity.
  2. B.
    sediments compacting over time.
  3. C.
    folding and squeezing of rock layers.
  4. D.
    extreme pressure on and heating of rock layers.

This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.

The students found that some of the locations on the Maryland groundwater map currently have above normal water levels. However, these locations have also experienced periods of drought in the past five years.

Use evidence to explain how water can be depleted and refilled in such a short period of time.