This page shows a list of topics in the 8th Grade MISA public release collection at MSDE. 8th Grade MISA
Released Questions in Topic "Earth and Space Science"

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.

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.

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.

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

Which phenomenon causes precipitation to reach Earth?

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.

Part B

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

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.

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

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

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.

While studying the solar system, students investigated the phases of the moon. They developed a model to demonstrate the phases of the moon. In the model, a golf ball represented the moon, a basketball represented Earth, and a lamp represented the sun. The golf ball was moved in different positions around the basketball, and the students observed how the shadow on the golf ball changed. The students used their observations to construct the following diagram.

The students then researched the effect the sun has on Earth at different times of the year. The students drew the following diagrams showing Earth in four different locations.

The students continued to research facts about Earth and other celestial objects in the solar system. The students constructed a table to display the data.

The students were asked to predict what would happen if the gravitational pull of Earth diminished.

Use the students’ model to identify the most likely motion of the moon if the gravitational pull of Earth diminishes.

A student extended the moon phase activity by placing the golf ball and basketball into the positions the objects would occupy during a solar eclipse. The student’s observations are shown in the following diagram.

As part of the moon phase investigation, the students made predictions about the positions of Earth, the moon, and the sun during a solar eclipse.

Which predictions would the students most likely make about a solar eclipse?

Select two.

When the students researched the planets in the solar system, one student learned that Jupiter has 67 moons.

Jupiter most likely has 67 moons because Jupiter

The students constructed another model of the solar system using round objects of various sizes.

If the students chose a volleyball, which is 25.6 centimeters in diameter, as the sun, then the round object the students need for Earth would be approximately

After the students constructed the table of the sun and planet data, the students examined the information to compare the differences between the inner planets and the outer planets.

Use evidence from the data tables to compare the inner and outer planets.

In a science class, students examined a map of Earth’s tectonic plates, and one student observed that the eastern side of South America fits like a puzzle piece with the western side of Africa. The class then began to research scientific information to find data on reasons the coastlines of South America and Africa appear to have once been connected. The class investigated maps of fossils, rocks, and glaciers as well as data about the age of rock near the mid-Atlantic ridge. As the students completed their investigation, they compared the maps found to a map of the current continents, shown below.

The students used the fossil evidence map to observe the locations of the strata in which four different fossil types were found. The fossils are at least 250 million years old.

The students used the rock strata evidence map to observe where rocks from different time periods are found.

The students observed the glacier evidence map to determine where glaciers existed in the Southern Hemisphere and the direction the glaciers moved.

The students’ research indicated that the mid-Atlantic ridge data are based on sediment samples taken from different locations on both sides of the ridge. The data from the mid-Atlantic ridge and a map of where the data were obtained are shown below.

The students used the plate boundary map to observe the locations of Earth’s tectonic plates.

The students found that scientists used the data from the mid-Atlantic ridge to support the claim that continent shape and location change over time due to tectonic plate movement.

Which data best supports this claim?

The students’ research indicated that Lystrosaurus was a slow-moving, plant-eating reptile that lived over 250 million years ago.

The supporting evidence that Lystrosaurus inhabited a single landmass that broke apart is that fossils of Lystrosaurus are found

The students found that the mid-Atlantic ridge data were used to support a scientist’s claim that new crust forms at ridges.

Which graph best represents the mid-Atlantic ridge data?

After examining the tectonic plate maps, the students determined where the plate boundaries exist on Earth.

A student observed the plate boundary map and found that active volcanoes form where two plates currently meet. The student stated that extinct volcanoes are likely found where plates met in the past and wanted to determine if the past eruptions of the extinct volcanoes could be used as evidence of plate motion.

Which evidence found in and around extinct volcanoes would best support the concept of plate motion?

The students’ research indicated that continents on Earth have changed position over time.

Use evidence to explain how the continents on Earth have changed position in the past and how the continents will most likely continue to change in the future.