MCAS Questions Science and Technology

Grade 8 MCAS Questions Science and Technology

MCAS 20142. The picture below shows an airplane wing with flaps down. A pilot lowers the flaps before takeoff to increase which of the following forces? • Drag • Gravity • Lift • Thrust

3. The diagram below shows the outline of a box that is closed on all sides. Which of the following patterns could be used to create the box?

7. The picture below represents boxes piled in a closet. The same boxes were then arranged neatly on shelves in the closet. The shelves were built to help store the boxes so the contents of the boxes can be found more easily. Which of the following problems was solved by building shelves? Organizing the use of space Limiting the shape of the boxes Increasing the size of the closet Equalizing the weight of the boxes

8. Which of the following is the most important function of the research and development department of a large corporation? • To create, test, and improve products • To manage the manufacturing of products • To persuade customers to buy the products • To label, package, and send products to retail stores

11. At one station in a production line, a worker must drill a hole in each end of wooden boards. At the next station, another worker attaches two of the boards together using metal fasteners that fit in the holes. Which of the following processes will ensure that the wooden boards fit together with the fewest errors? Placing the parts of a conveyor belt to keep them moving quickly Using a fixture to hold the boards in place as the holes are drilled Inspecting the boards after they are attached to each other Installing equipment to protect workers from debris

20. The students in a class would like to make 20 paper sailboats for a race. The students will select one design and collect the materials they need to construct the boats. Which of the following is the best way for the students to be sure the paper sailboats will float without tipping over in the water? • Construct a prototype of a boat for testing • Calculate the total mass of all the finished boats • Determine the total amount of weight each boat can carry • Test the strength of each material used to construct the boats

MCAS 20133. A scientist wants to collect several bird eggs on an island. She needs a case that will protect the eggs she collects. Which of the following cases would best protect the eggs? A hard metal case with flexible foam lining A flexible metal case with smooth plastic lining A strong wooden case with lightweight plastic lining A lightweight wooden case with strong aluminum lining

17. A student is comparing the composition of different samples of soil. She needs to find out how much gravel (small stones) is in each sample. Which of the following tools would best separate the gravel from the rest of the soil in each sample?

21. Which of the following is the most efficient way to transport large amounts of coal from a mine in Kentucky to a power plaint in Arizona? • By ship • By train • By truck • By airplane

#2 Which of the following tools is most useful for tightening a small mechanical fastener? • Chisel • Pliers • Saw • Sander

MCAS 2012 #1. The pictures below show a drawing on paper and the same drawing is an electronic format on a computer screen. Which of the following devices was most likely used to convert the drawing on paper into an electronic format that could be viewed on a computer screen? • Internet modem • Network router • Printer • Scanner

#4. Which of the following pictures shows a beam bridge? A. C. D. B.

#9. Ann makes hats for people. She has each person select the fabric and a hat style before she makes the hat to fit the person’s head size. Which type of manufacturing system is Ann most likely using to make hats? • Mass production • Custom production • Automated production • Assembly line production

#11. Leather basketballs are made for indoor use on smooth surfaces. Rubber basketballs are made for use on many different surfaces.Which of the following properties of rubber makes it better than leather for use on many different surfaces? • Rubber is durable. • Rubber is lightweight • Rubber is dark in color • Rubber is quickly produced

#16. A ship has a satellite communication device to identify the ship’s position at sea. For which of the following activities is the device most likely used? • Control • Guidance • Propulsion • Suspension

#18. The international highway symbol for “No Entry” is shown on the sign below. Which of the following is the most important reason why this symbol is used on roads throughout Europe? • Symbols take up less space on a sign than words. • European countries have many different languages. • Small children can understand symbols better than words. • One factory can make signs used by many European countries

MCAS 2011 #7. A movie studio will use two methods of communication, television and the Internet, to advertise a new movie. Which of the following must both methods of communication use in order to show the advertisements to viewers around the world? • Systems to locate viewers • Networks to transmit signals • Printing to create the images • Software to search for images

Open Response#11. A design for a wooden shelf is shown below. The materials available for construction include one 1”x 8”x7’ board, four wooden shelf brackets with backer boards, and 21 1¼” wood screws. Examples of the materials are illustrated beneath the design of the shelf. Sue wants to make two of these 3-foot- long shelves using these materials. • Describe the steps Sue would take to complete this project. Include in your discussions the tools she needs to use in each step. • Identify and describe one safety precaution Sue needs to follow in completing the project.

Answer to Open Response #114 points • 1. Measure board w. a measuring tape • Cut the (2) two 3’ boards with a saw • Measure 6” in on both sides of each board w. a measuring tape & mark them w a permanent marker • Under each of these marks put the shelf brackets in using 2 screws each & a screwdriver. • Screw shelves into the wall w a screw in each bracket using a screwdriver. • One safety precaution would be to wear safety goggles while using the saw and the screwdriver so no woodchips enter her eyes..

Answer to Open Response #111 point • Screw everything together and then just screw the whole thing on the wall. • She needs to wear saftey gogles.

Encoder • An encoder is something that converts information from one format, or code to another. • a typical rotary encoder is a device and circuit that converts the physical rotary position (angle) into an electrical signal indicating that position. • a typical video encoder is a piece of computer software that converts a stream of raw pixels and sound from a video camera into a much smaller compressed video stream

Transmitter & Receiver • The essential elements of a telephone are a microphone (transmitter) to speak into and an earphone (receiver) • transmitter converts the sound waves to electrical signals

#14. Which of the following best describes the function of an encoder in a telephone communication system? • Converting sound to electrical impulses • Receiving transmitted electrical signals • Changing electrical impulses into sound • Sending electrical signals though a circuit

#17. During the construction of a new building, workers dug round holes in the ground and filled the holes with steel and concrete. Which of the following parts of the building was being built during this stage of construction? • The floor • The foundation • The plumbing • The walls

MCAS 2010 #4. In the design process, a trade-off occurs when a problem is solved but a feature is sacrificed. Which of the following is an example of a trade-off? A. A car’s gas mileage is increased and the engine has less power. B. An airplane uses a more efficient engine and has higher performance. C. A sports drink’s taste is improved and has the same nutritional content. D. A computer company upgrades the hardware and the price remains unchanged.

# 9. Some species of bacteria produce a substance that is toxic to insects but harmless to humans. Scientists have isolated the gene that controls production of this substance. Which of the following is the best reason for inserting this gene into corn plants? • The corn will grow faster. • Less fertilizer will be needed. • Fewer pesticides will be needed. • The corn will be more nutritious.

# 10. The picture below shows a machine used in a factory to make metal parts for toy cars. What is the most likely purpose of this machine in making the metal parts? • to sand the parts • to make holes in the parts • to fasten the parts together • to measure the size of the parts

# 11. Which of the following statements best describes a result of using interchangeable parts to manufacture automobiles? • The automobiles are identical. • The automobiles wear out quickly. • The automobiles are difficult to design. • The automobiles can be produced on an assembly line.

#15. Company X makes 100 custom buses each year. Company Y makes 10,000 of one type of bus each year. Which of the following is the most likely reason a customer would buy a bus from company X instead of company Y? • to keep the cost of the bus low • to ensure that the bus will be easy to replace • to provide ideas about how the bus will be built • to ensure that people know how to drive the bus

#16. A student is investigating potential and kinetic energy by stretching a spring across a table. When the student lets go, the spring recoils. At which time is potential energy in the spring being converted into kinetic energy in this system? • When the spring is stretching • When the spring is fully stretched • When the spring is recoiling • When the spring is fully recoiled

#18. A stone arch bridge relies primarily on which of the following for its load strength? • bending • compression • tension • torsion

Bridge Loads • Tension: What happens to a rope during a game of tug-of-war? Correct, it undergoes tension from the two sweaty opposing teams pulling on it. This force also acts on bridge structures, resulting in tensional stress. • Compression: What happens when you push down on a spring and collapse it? That's right, you compress it, and by squishing it, you shorten its length. Compressional stress, therefore, is the opposite of tensional stress. • Torsion: It occurs when high wind causes the suspended roadway to rotate and twist like a rolling wave. • Buckling occurs when compression overcomes an object's ability to endure that force. • Snapping is what happens when tension surpasses an object's ability to handle the lengthening force.

# 19. A company is making prototypes for a new computer system. Which of the following statements best describes an advantage of making several different prototypes? • They can be tested at the same time. • They can be produced in large numbers. • They will be bought by many different users. • They will be sold for more than they cost to build.

MCAS 2009 #2. Sherry is going to use her computer to draw a three-dimensional box. She wants to be able to specify the exact dimensions and angles and to rotate the box as needed on the screen. Which of the following types of programs would Sherry most likely use for this purpose? • Word processing software • Math spreadsheet program • Internet-based search engine • Computer-aided design program

#5. Which of the following would be most effective in reducing air traffic congestion at a busy airport? • Providing performance feedback to pilots • Providing flight information to passengers • Increasing the number of aircraft at the airport • Increasing the number of runways at the airport.

Open Response#19 Parts of a scooter are labeled in the diagram below. Hand brake Handlebars • Identify the subsystem (propulsion, guidance, control or suspension) to which each of the four labeled parts belongs. • Identify one important property of the material used to make the wheel. • Explain why the property you identified in part (b) is important for the scooter. wheel motor

#19. Open Response Answer4 points • The handle bars is the guidance. The handbreaks is the control. The wheel is for suspension. The motor is for propulsion. • The material use the make the wheel should not be stiff or it will rack t needs to be flexible. • If the wheel is flexible it can go over stuff and even the curb of the sidewalk.

#19. Open Response4 points • The motor belongs to the propulsion system. The handlebars belong to the guidance system. The hand brake belongs to the control system. The wheel belongs to the suspension system. • The material used to make the wheel is very thick, or in other words it is durable. • The has to be durable, this is an important piece to the scooter. As you are driving on the road you might go over a rock, glass, or even just a bump. You wouldn’t want any of these things to make a hole in your wheel, and the durability of the wheel prevents this from happening, costing you money and riding time.

#19. Open Response1 point • The subsystem for the four labeled parts are the handlebars are the control, hand-brake suspension, the wheel is guidance and the motor is propulsion. • One important property of the material used to make the wheel is rubber. • The property I identified in part b is important for the scooter because it helps it act smoother.

MCAS 2008 #2 Which of the following tools is most useful for tightening a small mechanical fastener? • Chisel • Pliers • Sander • Saw

# 6. After a windstorm, Niko called the electric company to report that he had no electricity. His phone call is an example of which of the following elements of a universal systems model? • Designing a process • Generating output • Giving feedback • Setting a Goal

# 20. During a remodeling project, homeowners want to remove a wall that separates two rooms in their house. The wall and the two rooms are shown in the diagram below. • The wall provides heat insulation for the rooms. • The wall provides structural support for the house. • The wall provides a sound barrier between the rooms. • The wall provides a place to hang objects in the house. According to building codes, the homeowners must add a beam in the ceiling when they remove the existing wall. Which statement best explains why the homeowners must do this?

#23. A shoe manufacturer randomly selects 10% of the production from each shift. Each of these shoes is checked to ensure that it is correctly made. What is this process called? • Quality control • Product distribution • Production selection • Research and development

MCAS 2007 #4. A manufacturer wants to produce a container for food storage that does not break easily and is airtight, inexpensive, and microwave-safe. Which of the following is the best material to use to make the container? • Glass • Metal • Paper • Plastic

# 6. Which of the following bridges is an example of a suspension bridge? • Bridge A • Bridge B • Bridge C • Bridge D A. B. D. C.

MCAS Questions Science and Technology