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

While researching information for a science project, several students found a news article from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regarding the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The focus of this mission is to develop a first-ever robotic mission to visit a large near-Earth asteroid, collect a multi-ton boulder from its surface, and redirect the boulder into a stable orbit around the moon.

The students continued to research these asteroids and found the following data.

• Asteroids are pieces of rock or metal floating through space.

• In our solar system, there is a large concentration of asteroids in the asteroid belt, an area between Mars and Jupiter.

• Scientists estimate that millions of asteroids are found in this area.

• Some of these asteroids are large, but many are small.

• Scientists think that many asteroids were formed by collisions between other asteroids, moons, and planets.

The asteroid belt in our solar system is shown in the following diagram.

Additionally, the research indicated the following:

• Asteroids in our solar system orbit the sun.

• Asteroids can orbit a planet or larger asteroid.

• Smaller asteroids do not have enough gravity to pull themselves into a round shape.

• More massive asteroids have a more circular shape.

• It is possible for the orbits of asteroids and planets to cross, resulting in the chance of a collision.

• Scientists have studied past asteroid collisions with Earth and continue to monitor the orbits of asteroids in our solar system.

The research indicated that asteroids range in size from small rocks to massive boulders that may be hundreds of kilometers wide. The diagram shows two asteroids from our solar system. The table displays data on several other asteroids in the asteroid belt.

A Force with the Power to Move an Asteroid

Could a large asteroid hit Earth? Scientists do not believe that will happen anytime soon, but a new discovery will help them be more certain.

Using powerful radar, scientists tracked the path of an asteroid named 6489 Golevka.

Most asteroids in our solar system travel between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Sometimes an asteroid will leave that path and move closer to Earth. Golevka is a near-Earth asteroid, which means that it comes within 121 million miles (195 million kilometers) of the sun.

Using radar, scientists found that Golevka’s path moved 9.4 miles (15 kilometers) in the last 12 years. That distance may seem small compared with the billions of miles the asteroid traveled during that time, but Steven Chesley, a NASA scientist and leader of a new asteroid study, believes that those ten miles are important.

“Over tens of millions of years that [change] can have a big effect,” he explained.

But what caused asteroid Golevka’s path to change?

Scientists say that a force called the Yarkovsky effect moved the asteroid. The effect happens when the sun heats one part of an asteroid’s surface more than other parts. The uneven heating causes a force that pushes an asteroid out of its normal path.

“We measured a force of about one ounce (28 grams) acting on an asteroid that weighs 460 billion pounds (208 billion kilograms),” Chesley explained. That means that a force equal to about the weight of a strawberry can change the course of an asteroid that is longer than five football fields!

While no large asteroids appear on track to hit Earth, the Yarkovsky effect’s ability to predict asteroids’ paths could help scientists be more certain and give them some of the information necessary to stop a collision.

“A Force with the Power to Move an Asteroid”– Sarah Ives, © 2004, nationalgeographic.com

The students used evidence to present an argument that scientists should launch an unmanned spacecraft to prevent a collision between an asteroid and Earth’s moon.

In order for the spacecraft to prevent the asteroid from colliding with the moon, the spacecraft would most likely

Evidence indicates that some asteroids have moons that are held in orbit by a gravitational attraction between the moon and the asteroid.

Place the asteroids into the table in order of the gravitational attraction exerted by each asteroid.

Part A

Data from the students’ research indicated that some asteroids are orbited by other asteroids.

Select the asteroid that would most likely be orbited by other asteroids.

Part B

The explanation that best describes why one asteroid would orbit another asteroid is that the asteroid being orbited has a large

Based on the evidence from the research, select the point in Golevka’s orbit that the Yarkovsky effect is the weakest.

Asteroids orbit other asteroids similarly to moons orbiting a planet. The following table identifies the mass of Earth and Jupiter and the number of moons for each planet.

Use evidence to explain why there is a difference in the number of moons between Earth and Jupiter.

A student began researching trains after riding a high-speed train called the Acela Express. While conducting research, the student read about magnetic levitating trains, which are referred to as “maglev trains.”

Maglev trains do not have wheels like typical trains do. Instead, the train cars levitate or float above a track called a guideway, which acts as the track for the train. The diagram shows a comparison of a typical train on a track and a maglev train on a guideway.

Maglev trains rely on three functions to move: levitation, propulsion, and guidance. Levitation is the train floating above the guideway. Propulsion is the force needed for the train to move and is provided by a magnetic force: A generated magnetic field is sent down the guideway, and that force propels the train. The guidance function for these trains also relies on magnetic forces. Repulsive magnets keep the train from moving too far off the guideway. The following diagram shows how repulsive magnetic force is used.

Currently, research is being conducted to perfect this mode of transportation. Only four commercial maglev trains currently exist. They are operated in China, Japan, and Korea.

To better understand how maglev trains function, the student constructed a small electromagnet and investigated how the electromagnet generates a magnetic field. The following diagram shows the student's electromagnet.

During the investigation, the student noticed that a paper clip moved toward the electromagnet when the electromagnet was placed near the paper clip. The student decided to change the number of coils of wire around the iron core of the electromagnet and recorded the results in the following table.

After completing the initial investigation, the student decided to see how changing the core material affected the electromagnet. The student tested steel, iron, brass, and air as cores for the electromagnet. The student did not vary the number of coils while testing the different core materials. The results for this investigation are shown in the following table.

The student’s research indicated that a magnetic force keeps the maglev train above the guideway.

This magnetic force is produced by

The student wanted to arrange sets of magnets in the same way that magnets are used to guide maglev trains.

Select the magnet arrangements that would keep the train floating above the guideway.

Not all magnet arrangements will be used.

The student’s investigation of electromagnets allowed the student to directly observe and manipulate an electromagnet.

During the initial investigation, the student changed the number of wire coils wrapped around the iron core to determine

Before the investigation, the student hypothesized that the number of coils and the type of core directly affect the strength of an electromagnet.

The student wanted to graph the results of the initial investigation.

Which graph best represents the data the student collected?

Use evidence to explain how electromagnets enable the maglev trains to move. In your explanation, be sure to include the different forces used by the trains.

While studying phase changes in common substances in their science class, a group of students investigated how water capital H 2 capital O(H₂O) and table sugar capital C 12 capital H 22 capital O 11(C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁) respond to temperature changes. The students exposed beakers containing the substances to three different temperatures.

Sugar and Water Investigation

• Place 50 milliliters (mL) of each substance into separate beakers.

• Place each beaker in a freezer until each substance reaches 0 degrees Celsius, degrees see0 degrees Celsius (°C).

• Record observations of the appearance of the substances.

• Place the beakers on a table.

• After several hours, record observations of the appearance of the substances at room temperature 20 degrees Celsius(20°C).

• The teacher used a hot plate to heat the beakers to 100 degrees Celsius100°C.

• Record observations of the appearance of the substances.

After completing the investigation, the students organized their data into the following table.

After reviewing data from the investigation, the students constructed models of a table sugar molecule and a water molecule.

In the sugar and water investigation, the students observed that the liquid inside the thermometers moved when exposed to different temperatures. They researched thermometers and found that most are filled with alcohol capital C 2 capital H 6 capital O(C₂H₆O). When a thermometer is exposed to warmer temperatures, the liquid inside expands. A thermometer’s glass tube is not flexible, so the liquid expands vertically and rises up the tube. The students constructed the following model to illustrate how molecules of liquid in a thermometer move.

The students found that the volume of water increased when it froze. They constructed the following model of liquid and frozen water to illustrate how phase affects water molecule arrangement.

The volume of water increases when water freezes because

The students used the models to better understand the structure of table sugar.

Table sugar is composed of

The students used the model of a water molecule to better understand its structure.

Water is classified as a molecule because it

The students compared the models of a table sugar molecule and a water molecule.

How do table sugar molecules differ from water molecules?

Use evidence from the investigation to explain what causes water to change phases. In your explanation be sure to include

• the transfer of energy

• the molecular structure

A student observed a cooking demonstration at a grocery store using pans made of different metals and decided to research how different materials transfer thermal energy. The student placed one insulated cup into another insulated cup, poured 30 milliliters (mL) of water at 20 degrees Celsius into the inner cup, and covered the cup. Finally, a hole was made in the cover and a thermometer was placed in the hole. The student then obtained four 20-gram cubes of different metal types.

One of the metal cubes was heated to 100°C with the assistance of an adult and then placed into the cup, which was covered again. The student observed the thermometer until the temperature no longer changed and recorded the final temperature of the water. The process was repeated for the other three metal samples and the results of the investigation were recorded.

Which statements best describe the purpose of the design of the investigational device?

Select all that apply.

Which property of the metals used in the investigation is most likely the reason the student chose to use metal cubes?

What is the most likely reason the student waited until the temperature no longer changed to record the data?

Place the descriptions of the type of energy present in the cubes into the appropriate box.

Not all descriptions will be used.

A student claimed that thermal energy was transferred from the water to the metal in the investigation.

Use evidence from the investigation to refute or support this claim.