Go to the main content of the page.
Logo, Maryland State Department of Education
MCAP, Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program

This page shows questions in the Rock Layers public release module at MSDE. 5th Grade MISA
"Rock Layers"

Select from the list to explore. Read any associated passages and then interact with the questions here.

Expand All Official Practice Test

This is test content.

A science club was planning a field trip to Calvert Cliffs State Park in Maryland. The purpose of the field trip was to observe rock layers and to record information about the different layers of rock. Before the trip, the students researched rock layers and drew diagrams of different rock layers in their science journals. One diagram showed rock layers that appeared to have moved over time, shown as follows.

Diagram.

This is test content.

After the field trip to Calvert Cliffs, some students stated that they observed rock layers high up on the cliff face similar to the diagrams they made in their science journals. The rock layers were visible due to their different coloration. The students also observed fossils in some of the rock layers. The diagrams of the fossils they observed and the rock layers in the cliffs are shown.

Fossils diagram. The figure is titled “Fossils Observed at Calvert Cliffs” and shows five fossils labeled “Scallop Shell Fossil,” “Murex Shell Fossil,” “Snail Fossil,” “Shark Tooth Fossil,” and “Sand Dollar Fossil.” End figure description.

Rock layers diagram. The figure is titled “Rock Layers of Calvert Cliffs” and shows 4 layers of rock below the ground surface. There are a few trees at the surface. End figure description.

This is test content.

The students continued their research to determine the types of fossils that may be found in the different rock layers. The following diagram illustrates some of the fossils that formed in the different rock layers.

Diagram.

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

The students’ diagram of the rock layers that appeared to have moved is evidence that the area was affected by an Earth force.

The event that most likely caused the movement shown in the diagram was

  1. A.
    a flood.
  2. B.
    a hurricane.
  3. C.
    an earthquake.
  4. D.
    a volcano eruption.

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

The fossils and rock layers provide evidence that although it is now dry land, millions of years ago the area of Calvert Cliffs was

  1. A.
    underwater.
  2. B.
    hot and humid.
  3. C.
    the same as today.
  4. D.
    a desert environment.

This is a question with 2 parts, including a question with drop-down menus from which you must select an option to fill in the blank.

The students concluded that Calvert Cliffs at one time was  
  environment because of the fossil evidence from  
 

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

One student drew the following map that identified the ocean shoreline in the area of Calvert Cliffs millions of years ago.

Map. The figure shows a map of the mid-Atlantic coast region that includes parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Calvert Cliffs is labeled at a point on the western part of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. A curve labeled “Historic Coastline” shows that most of Delaware and Maryland, including Calvert Cliffs, would have been underwater in the distant past. End figure description.

The data to support the student’s map of the historic coastline is

  1. A.
    the types of rocks found at Calvert Cliffs.
  2. B.
    the types of fossils found at Calvert Cliffs.
  3. C.
    the number of rock layers found at Calvert Cliffs.
  4. D.
    the amount of water at the bottom of Calvert Cliffs.

This is a question with 2 parts, including a question with drop-down menus from which you must select an option to fill in the blank.

The students’ diagram of rock layers containing fossils provides evidence that the organisms in layer 3 lived  
  the organisms in layer 2 and lived  
  the organisms in layer 6.

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

Use evidence from the diagrams to describe how the Calvert Cliffs most likely appeared millions of years ago.