2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
D
irections
Read this article. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Copycat Elephants by Michael Thai
What do elephants and parrots have in common? 1
You may have seen a talking parrot on a TV show, in a movie, or even in someone’s home. The parrot has learned to copy sounds that people make. Birds are not the only animals that can copy the noises they hear. Dolphins, bats, and some apes also mimic sounds. Now we can add elephants to this list of copycats.
2
Dr. Joyce H. Poole is a zoologist. She studies the sounds of elephants. While she was in Kenya, she would hear strange noises made by Mlaika after sunset. Mlaika was a 10-year-old African elephant.
3
Mlaika lived near a highway. Dr. Poole says, “I could not tell the difference between Mlaika’s call and the distant truck noise.” She and other scientists studied Mlaika’s sounds. It turned out that Mlaika was copying the sounds of the trucks driving by. Chirping Elephants
4
“Mlaika was not the only copycat elephant,” Dr. Poole says. Calimero is a 23-year-old male African elephant. He spent 18 years with two female Asian elephants. Asian elephants make chirping sounds to talk with one another. African elephants usually do not make chirping sounds. But Calimero now does. He is copying his Asian elephant friends.
5
Only a few other mammals, such as bats, dolphins, and humans, have learned to copy noises around them. Many of them seem to copy the sounds of friends to create a special bond.
6
Dr. Poole says that elephants, too, need to form bonds with their family and friends. She says, “They make sounds to communicate with each other. When they are separated, they use sound to keep in contact.”
1
What is a mammal? A mammal is an animal that has hair on its body and makes milk to feed its young.
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
7
Why would Mlaika copy trucks that she heard going by on the highway? Animals that are able to mimic sounds may enjoy practicing new sounds. When they are kept outside of their natural environment, they may copy unusual sounds. That may be why an elephant would copy the sound of a truck.
8
Parrots, dolphins, humans, and elephants show that being a copycat is one way that animals and people make new friends and keep old ones.
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Which detail about Mlaika helps explain the strange sounds she was making?
A B C D
She was an African elephant. She lived in Kenya. She lived near a highway. She was ten years old.
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Which paragraph in the article shows how people are most like the animals?
A B C D
paragraph 2 paragraph 3 paragraph 5 paragraph 7
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Which detail best supports the article’s main idea?
A B C D
Parrots copy human sounds. People copy sounds and noises. Mlaika is one of the elephants that copy sounds. Dr. Joyce H. Poole studies mammals that copy sounds.
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Read the sentence from paragraph 7. When they are kept outside of their natural environment, they may copy unusual sounds. What is the meaning of “environment” in this sentence?
A B C D
the work a person or animal does the place a person or animal lives the family a person or animal has the noise a person or animal makes
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Read the sentence from the article. It turned out that Mlaika was copying the sounds of the trucks driving by. (paragraph 3) How does paragraph 7 support this sentence?
A B C D
It gives a new example of Mlaika copying sounds. It shows how Mlaika enjoyed studying the trucks. It gives a possible reason for Mlaika copying sounds. It shows how Mlaika learned to make the truck sounds.
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Read the sentence from paragraph 6. Dr. Poole says that elephants, too, need to form bonds with their family and friends. Which action in the article best shows the forming of a “bond”?
A B C D
imitating a truck talking on television learning to chirp studying animal sounds
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
D
irections
Read this story. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Jump! by Sara Matson
1
2 3
I rub the goose bumps on my arms as a kid struts to the end of the diving board. He gives a friend on the ground the thumbs-up and launches into a cannonball. Boing! SPLASH! He comes up laughing. See, Taylor? I tell myself. It’s easy. Fun. Four kids to go until my turn. At the front of the line, a girl in a pink suit giggles with her friend.
4
“Go!” my little brother, Travis, yells to them.
5
“Let’s jump together,” Pink Girl tells her friend.
6 7 8
9
The gigglers reach the sixth rung of the ladder before the lifeguard whistles. “Just one at a time!” she shouts. Pink Girl goes on alone, slowly. Will she change her mind, like I did last week? Will the lifeguard have to help her down the ladder while everyone stares? In front of me, Travis hops around like a monkey.
10
Pink Girl jumps, her hair shooting out like a parachute. SPLASH!
11
Three kids to go. Travis steps on my foot.
12
“Watch it!” I snap.
13
“Sorry.” He moves away, just as Pink Girl’s friend does a first-class belly flop.
14
My brother’s face lights up. “Did you see that?”
15
I don’t answer. Only two kids to go.
16
My stomach bubbles like a pot of oatmeal on the stove.
17
You don’t have to do this, I tell myself.
14
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
18
But next week is the pool party, my brain argues. You’ll be the only one who can’t go on the diving board.
19
The board clunks, and a girl dives gracefully into the pool. Life is so unfair.
20
Travis is next. He scampers up the ladder and waves his skinny arms. “Watch this!”
21
I close my eyes, then open them just in time to see him hop off the end of the board. He pops out of the water, grinning. I can’t help smiling, too. Nothing scares that kid.
22
The boy behind me taps my shoulder. It’s my turn.
23
I count the rungs as I climb.
24
One.
25
Two, three.
26
Four, five, six.
27
Seven, eight.
28
Nine.
29
Blue water stretches out in front of me. Kids are shooting off the waterslide at the other end of the pool. A boy runs across the concrete. A lifeguard blows her whistle at him. Everywhere, everyone is moving. Except me.
30
“What are you waiting for?” demands a kid on the ground.
31
I step forward. The water looks so far away.
32
Then I see Travis standing by the lifeguard’s chair, shivering. His eyes lock on mine. “You can do it!” he yells.
33
That’s what I’ve always told him: When he was learning to tie his shoes. Or write his name. Or ride his bike without training wheels. You can do it.
15
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
34
35 36
I take a deep breath and step out into nothing. My body drops, my stomach rises. Then my toes slice the water and I plunge deep. I flap my arms and pull myself to the surface, where my face finds the sun. I DID IT! Travis is doing a happy dance. I climb out, dripping. “Hey,” I say, like I’ve been doing this forever. “Let’s go again.”
16
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
As she waits her turn, how does Taylor feel about jumping off the diving board? Use two details from the story to support your answer.
17
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
D
irections
Read this story. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Thomas and his grandfather are fishing off a pier for trout. They have been fishing for quite awhile.
Go Fish by Mary Stolz 1
“How long do we have to be patient?” Thomas asked.
2
“As long as it takes,” said Grandfather.
3
This didn’t sound good. Thomas scowled, scratched his arm, his head, his ankle. He shifted from one leg to the other.
4
“Observe, Thomas, how quietly they wait—the pelicans and our friend the heron. They don’t wriggle and writhe, like some I could name.”
5
“They don’t have anything to do but wait.”
6
“Thomas, I’ve said it before and I say it again, you are a restless boy.”
7
“I know,” Thomas said. “Grandfather?”
8
“Yes, Thomas?”
9
“When you were a boy, were you restless?”
10
Grandfather tipped his head till his beard pointed at the sky. “I’ll cast my mind back.”
11
Thomas waited.
12
Grandfather lowered his chin, looked into Thomas’s eyes. “I was,” he said.
13
“Oh, good.”
14
Grandfather threw out their lines again, handed Thomas his pole. They went on being patient.
15
They’d had a few strikes, but each time the fish got the bait and Thomas and Grandfather got nothing.
16
“All part of the game,” Grandfather would say, calmly rebaiting.
23
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
17
18 19
20
Thomas landed a blowfish. It came out of the water already starting on its defense. Breathing deeply, it began to puff up, swelling until it looked like a bubblegum bubble with spines. “Thinks he looks pretty fierce, doesn’t he, Grandfather?” “He does look fierce, for a fellow his size.” Grandfather dropped the stiff little blown-up blowfish into the water, where it slimmed down and swam off as if nothing unusual had happened. They caught a flounder.
21
Flounders are bottom fish, and mostly spend their lives buried in sand. Their eyes are on top of their heads, they are flat as plates, and the one they caught was too small to keep. Carefully, Grandfather slid it back into the water. Too bad. Flounder were good eating. Especially the way Grandfather prepared them.
22
Thinking about Grandfather’s cooking made Thomas’s mouth water.
23
“You’re a very good cook, Grandfather,” he said.
24
“True.”
25
“I’m getting kind of hungry.”
26
“So am I,” said Grandfather. He did not sound ready to quit.
27
Thomas sighed and moved his rod gently up and down.
28
They caught a ladyfish. These are not good eating.
29
Grandfather was about to toss it back when the heron darted forward and took it right from his hand, then tossed his head up and set about swallowing.
30
Thomas watched as the bony fish went down the bird’s long neck.
31
“I’m glad we don’t have to swallow whole fish that way,” he said.
32
“So am I,” said Grandfather.
33
Suddenly Thomas’s rod dipped. A fish flipped out of the water a long way off.
34
“Speckled trout,” said Grandfather. “A big one. Gently, now, Thomas. You don’t want him to throw the hook.”
35
“I’m trying,” Thomas said, turning the reel as slowly as he could. He
24
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
wished Grandfather would take over, but didn’t ask. 36 37 38 39
Grandfather believed it was every man to his own fish. Slowly, slowly, he reeled in his trout until it was close enough for Grandfather to scoop up with the net. He was willing to do that. “By golly, Thomas!” he shouted. “Look at the size of him!” Thomas, swelling like a blowfish, regarded his catch proudly. “He’ll have to go in the book, won’t he, Grandfather?”
40
“He certainly will. A page to himself, like the snook we caught.”
41
“You caught.”
42 43 44 45
“All right. I caught. But this is your fish, and you are the one to write him in the book.” “Oh, good,” Thomas said happily. “Now—let’s go to it,” said Grandfather. “This crowd of trout is here, and we have to strike before they take off….” In the excitement, Thomas forgot to be tired.
46
Side by side, he and his grandfather caught fifteen trout and had to send only three of them back to sea—to grow bigger and maybe be caught another day.
47
Twelve good-sized fish. Grandfather would keep out enough for tonight and tomorrow’s dinner, and freeze the rest for later eating.
48
Thomas swallowed hungrily, thinking about dinner.
49
“All right,” Grandfather said at last. “Let’s go home.”
50
Collecting their gear, richer by twelve speckled trout, they clanked back up the beach.
25
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Why is Thomas “swelling like a blowfish” in paragraph 39? Use two details from the story to support your response.
26
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
Thomas’s mood changes from the beginning of the story to the end. How does Thomas feel at the beginning of the story? How does he feel at the end? Why does his mood change? Use details from the story to support your response. In your response, be sure to • explain how Thomas feels at the beginning of the story • explain how Thomas feels at the end of the story • explain why his mood changes • use details from the story to support your response Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
33
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 ELA)
34
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
Which measure best represents the distance from 0 to point N on the number line below?
N 0 A
1 unit 6
B
1 unit 5
C
1 unit 4
D
1 unit 3
1
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
What number sentence is another way to represent the missing number in the equation 36 ÷ 4 =
A
×4 = 36
B
36 × 4 =
C
36 + 4 =
D
?
÷4= 36
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
What is another way of expressing 8 × 12?
A
(8 × 10) + (8 × 2)
B
(8 × 1) + (8 × 2)
C
(8 × 10) + 2
D
8 + (10 × 2)
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
Which fraction goes in the blank to make a true number sentence? 4 > 8
A
4 6
B
2 8
C
7 8
D
4 4
?
4
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
Sue is going to cover her kitchen floor with tiles that are each 1 square foot. The floor is in the shape of a rectangle that is 6 feet wide and 8 feet long. How many tiles are needed to cover the floor?
KEY = 1 square foot
A
14
B
24
C
28
D
48
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
What is the area, in square units, of the shaded part of the figure?
KEY = 1 square unit
A
18
B
20
C
22
D
42
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
The number of objects described in which situation can be represented by 24 ÷ 4?
A
There are 24 boxes with 4 pencils in each box.
B
There are 24 people on a bus, and 4 people get off the bus.
C
There are 24 marbles that need to be sorted into 4 equal groups.
D
There are 24 books on a shelf, and 4 more books are put on the shelf.
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
The garden below was divided into two regions—one for carrots and one for peas.
Carrots
Peas
KEY = 1 square unit
Which expression represents the area, in square units, of the whole garden?
A
(5 + 10) + (5 + 6)
B
(5 × 10) × (5 × 6)
C
(5 × 10) + (5 × 6)
D
(5 + 10) × (5 + 6)
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
Which number represents the location of point P on the number line below?
P 0 A
2 7
B
2 6
C
3 7
D
2 4
1
9
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
The Rogers family drove a total of 482 miles, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. They drove 138 miles on Friday and 225 miles on Saturday. How many miles did they drive on Sunday?
A
119
B
121
C
363
D
745
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
A bake sale had the 3 cakes, as shown below, for sale.
Each cake was cut into 6 slices. Each slice was sold for $5. What was the total amount earned for the sale of all the cakes? Show your work.
Answer $________________________
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
The diagram shows the size of 5 different rectangles.
A
C B
D
E
KEY = 1 square unit
Which 2 figures have the same area? Show your work or explain how you got your answer.
Answer _____________________ and _____________________
21
2013 Released Questions (Grade 3 Math)
On the grid below, join 3 of the rectangles together, without overlapping, to form one figure that has an area of 22 square units. Use the rectangles shown in the diagram on page X.
KEY = 1 square unit
22
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
D
irections
Read this story. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Greeting the Sun, A Maushop Story retold by Joseph Bruchac
1
Long ago, as the Sun traveled across the sky, one of the first places he came to each morning was the land of the Wampanoag people. He would shine down on them, giving them warmth and light. But instead of thanking him for what he gave them, the Wampanoag people would look up into the sky, squint their eyes, and cover their faces with their hands.
2
“I do not like those little people making faces at me,” said the Sun one day. “I will no longer visit their land. I will stay on the other side of the sky, where the people appreciate me.”
3
So, when the next day came, the Sun did not rise up in the sky. Everything in the land of the Wampanoag people stayed dark and cold. The people became afraid and began to cry out.
4
“Someone help us,” they cried. “Everything is dark. The Sun is missing. The world is going to end.”
5
Maushop, the giant, had been sleeping, but the sound of many frightened voices woke him.
6
“Hunh,” Maushop said. “It is dark.”
7
Maushop stood up from the place where he had been sleeping on the beach, just below the great cliffs at Gay Head. He saw the little fires burning in the village of the Wampanoag people. Walking very carefully, so that he would not step on anyone in the darkness, Maushop went into the village.
8
“Maushop,” the people cried. “You must help us. The Sun did not rise today. How can we survive without the Sun?”
9 10
“I will go and find the Sun,” Maushop said. Maushop turned and stepped into the ocean. He began to wade toward the east. His legs were so long that it took him only four steps to cross the
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
ocean and four more steps to come to the other side of the world. There Maushop saw the Sun sitting in the middle of the sky and not moving. 11
“Older Brother,” Maushop called up to the Sun, “why are you here? It is long past the time for you to bring the new day to the other side of the world. The people there are in darkness, and they are afraid.”
12
“I am glad to see you, Younger Brother,” said the Sun. “But as for those people on the other side of the world, I am not going there anymore. They never said thank you when I gave them light and warmth. All they did was squint their eyes and make ugly faces. I am going to stay here, where the people appreciate me.”
13
Maushop turned and walked back across the ocean to the land of the Wampanoag people. He told the people what the Sun had said.
14
“If the Sun returns,” the people promised, “we will greet him every morning. We will smile up at him and say thanks to him every day.”
15
Maushop turned and walked back to the other side of the world.
16
“Older Brother,” Maushop said to the Sun, “the people on my side of the world are sorry. They want you to return. They promise that they will greet you with smiles and words of thanks every morning.”
17
“No,” said the Sun. “I do not think they will remember what they promised. I will stay here. I will not move.”
18
Maushop decided that he would have to show the Sun that the people really meant what they said. Maushop went to the spiders.
19
“My friends,” said Maushop, “I need a big net. Will you weave it for me?”
20
“We will do as you ask,” the spiders answered. They wove a huge net that was very strong.
21
Maushop picked up the net and went back to the Sun.
22
“Older Brother,” Maushop said, “I want you to see that the people on the other side of the world meant what they said. You do not have to move. I will move you.”
23
Then Maushop threw that great net over the Sun. He grabbed the ends of the net in his hands, put it over his shoulder, and dragged the Sun back across the sky. Maushop was so strong that the Sun could not resist him.
24
As soon as they reached the land of the Wampanoags, the Sun heard voices calling up to him. 2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
25
“Thank you,” the voices called. “Thank you for bringing us light and warmth. Thank you for the gift of another day.”
26
The Sun looked down at all of the people. They were not making ugly faces anymore. They were smiling up at him.
27
“Younger Brother,” said the Sun to Maushop, “you were right. The people on this side of the world are happy to see me. From now on, as long as they greet me this way, I will come to their land every day.”
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
Which sentence suggests that the Sun feels it is a bad idea to trust the Wampanoag people?
A B C D
“ ‘I do not like those little people making faces at me,’ said the Sun one day.” (paragraph 2) “So, when the next day came, the Sun did not rise up in the sky.” (paragraph 3) “But as for those people on the other side of the world, I am not going there anymore.” (paragraph 12) “I do not think they will remember what they promised.” (paragraph 17)
4
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
Which is the best summary of this story?
A
Maushop lives near the Wampanoag people. He goes to talk to the Sun on the other side of the world. The Sun calls Maushop his younger brother. Maushop is also friends with the spiders. The spiders weave a net for Maushop to use.
B
The Sun leaves the land of the Wampanoag people because he is not happy with them. When the Sun does not come back, the people turn to Maushop for help. He finds the Sun on the other side of the world and finds out why the Sun will not come back. When the people say they will change their ways, Maushop finds a way to get the Sun to return.
C
The Sun and Maushop are friends. When the Sun leaves the land of the Wampanoag people, they ask Maushop to help get the Sun to come back. Maushop makes two trips to the other side of the world.
D
When the Sun leaves the land of the Wampanoag people, they want him to come back. They need help to find out where the Sun went. Maushop agrees to go look for the Sun and tell him that the people want him to come back. Maushop is able to do this because he is a giant and can travel around the world quickly.
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
Read these sentences from paragraph 23 of the story. He grabbed the ends of the net in his hands, put it over his shoulder, and dragged the Sun back across the sky. Maushop was so strong that the Sun could not resist him. What does the word “resist” mean in these lines?
A B C D
offer to protect shine back at fight against care for
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
The Sun gets angry with the Wampanoag people because he thinks they are being
A B C D
ungrateful childish unfair cruel
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
Which detail best supports the idea that Maushop cares for the Wampanoag?
A B C D
“Maushop, the giant, had been sleeping, but the sound of many frightened voices woke him.” (paragraph 5) “Maushop stood up from the place where he had been sleeping on the beach, just below the great cliffs at Gay Head.” (paragraph 7) “Walking very carefully, so that he would not step on anyone in the darkness, Maushop went into the village.” (paragraph 7) “ ‘Maushop,’ the people cried. ‘You must help us.’ ” (paragraph 8)
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
D
irections
Read this story. Then answer questions XX through XX.
There are several different groups of Miwok people, who ranged from the area of San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys into the Sierra Nevadas. This story is only one of many Miwok tales that describe how Yosemite’s spectacular geographic features came to be.
The Story of Tu-tok-a-nu-la Retold by James Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac 1
Long, long ago, a mother bear and her two cubs were out walking around when they came to the river that flows through the valley of Yosemite. They waded in and the cubs began to play in the water until all three of them were soaking wet. When they climbed out, they lay down in the sun on a great flat stone to dry their fur. Soon they fell asleep in the warm sunlight.
2
While they were sleeping, a strange thing happened. The earth moved beneath them, and the stone they were sleeping upon was raised up so high that it almost reached the moon. When the mother bear and her cubs woke, they found themselves trapped on the top of the great steep-sided stone. They began to call for help.
3
In the valley below, the other animals heard their cries. A council was held and it was decided that someone should climb up to help them.
4
“I will rescue them,” Meadow Mouse said. But Meadow Mouse was only able to crawl a short way up before sliding back down.
5
“I will be the one to do this,” Pack Rat said. But he, too, slipped back down to the bottom.
6
“Hah! None of you can climb like I can,” Raccoon bragged. But he got no further than the others before he slid back to the valley floor.
7
“Climbing will not do it,” Grizzly Bear roared. Then Grizzly Bear tried to leap up to the top of the great rock. But even though he jumped very high and grabbed the side of the rock with his sharp claws, he could not pull
13
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
himself up. Grizzly Bear slipped back down to the ground, his claws leaving long scrapes in the side of the great rock. 8
“Watch me. I will do this thing,” Mountain Lion growled. He leaped higher than Grizzly Bear, but Mountain Lion did not reach the top either, and his sharp claws left even more marks on the side of the rock.
9
While those other creatures were boasting about what they would do, little Measuring Worm was crawling toward the great rock. Without saying a word, she began to climb. Measuring Worm could move only a little at a time—no more than the length of a finger. But even though she climbed slowly, she did not slip back at all. The sun moved across the sky, and then the moon appeared, and still Measuring Worm kept on climbing. One day passed and then another, but she never stopped.
10
Finally, Measuring Worm reached the top of the great rock. She spun a rope and used it to lower the mother bear and her two cubs back down to the bottom.
11
That great stone still rises above the valley of the Yosemite. Although today most call it El Capitan, the name by which the old people knew it is Tu-tok-a-nu-la, Measuring Worm’s Rock.
14
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
What did Measuring Worm do differently from the others that made her able to save the three bears? Use two details from the story to support your response.
15
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
D
irections
Read this story. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Sitti’s Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye
1
Once I went to visit my grandmother. My grandmother and I do not speak the same language. We talked through my father, as if he were a telephone, because he spoke both our languages and could translate what we said.
2
I called her Sitti, which means Grandma in Arabic. She called me habibi, which means darling. Her voice danced as high as the whistles of birds. Her voice giggled and whooshed like wind going around corners. She had a thousand rivers in her voice.
3
A few curls of dark hair peeked out of her scarf on one side, and a white curl peeked out on the other side. I wanted her to take off the scarf so I could see if her hair was striped.
4
Soon we had invented our own language together. Sitti pointed at my stomach to ask if I was hungry. I pointed to the door to ask if she wanted to go outside. We walked to the fields to watch men picking lentils. We admired the sky with hums and claps.
5
We crossed the road to buy milk from a family that kept one spotted cow. I called the cow habibi, and it winked at me. We thanked the cow, with whistles and clicks, for the fresh milk that we carried home in Sitti’s little teapot.
6
Every day I played with my cousins, Fowzi, Sami, Hani, and Hendia from next door. We played marbles together in their courtyard. Their marbles were blue and green and spun through the dust like planets. We didn’t need words to play marbles.
7
My grandmother lives on the other side of the earth. She eats cucumbers for breakfast, with yogurt and bread. She bakes the big, flat bread in a round, old oven next to her house. A fire burns in the middle.
21
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
8
She pats the dough between her hands and presses it out to bake on a flat black rock in the center of the oven. My father says she has been baking that bread for a hundred years.
9
My grandmother and I sat under her lemon tree in the afternoons, drinking lemonade with mint in it. She liked me to pick bunches of mint for her. She liked to press her nose into the mint and sniff.
10
Some days we stuffed little zucchini squash with rice for dinner. We sang habibi, habibi as we stacked them in a pan. We cracked almonds and ate apricots, called mish-mish, while we worked.
11
One day Sitti took off her scarf and shook out her hair. She washed her hair in a tub right there under the sun. Her hair surprised me by being very long. And it was striped! She said it got that way all by itself. I helped her brush it out while it dried. She braided it and pinned the braid up before putting on the scarf again.
12
I felt as if I knew a secret.
13
In the evenings we climbed the stairs to the roof of Sitti’s house to look at the sky, smell the air, and take down the laundry. My grandmother likes to unpin the laundry in the evening so she can watch the women of the village walking back from the spring with jugs of water on their heads. She used to do that, too. My father says the women don’t really need to get water from the spring anymore, but they like to. It is something from the old days they don’t want to forget.
14
On the day my father and I had to leave, everyone cried and cried. Even my father kept blowing his nose and walking outside. I cried hard when Sitti held my head against her shoulder. My cousins gave me a sack of almonds to eat on the plane. Sitti gave me a small purse she had made. She had stitched a picture of her lemon tree onto the purse with shiny thread. She popped the almonds into my purse and pulled the drawstrings tight.
22
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
Why is the setting important to this story? Use two details from the story to support your response.
23
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
The narrator’s relationship with her grandmother develops during her visit. How does their relationship develop? How do they communicate even though they do not speak the same language? Use details from the story to support your response. In your response, be sure to • explain how their relationship develops • explain how they communicate • use details from the story to support your response Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
29
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 ELA)
30
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Which number is sixteen thousand four hundred seventy-two in standard form?
A
16,472
B
16,702
C
160,472
D
164,702
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Which figure appears to show two parallel lines?
A
B
C
D
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Tom shaded the figure below to model a fraction.
Which figure models an equivalent fraction?
A
B
C
D
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
There are 5,280 feet in a mile. What is the total number of feet in 6 miles?
A
31,280
B
31,680
C
33,680
D
35,280
4
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Which number sentence is true?
A
3 < 1 8 4
B
1 < 3 2 6
C
3 = 8 5 10
D
2 = 4 3 6
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Bradley saw 3 dinosaur skeletons at the museum. To measure the length of each skeleton, he counted the number of his shoe lengths from the head to the tail, as shown in the picture below.
Dinosaur X
Dinosaur Y
18 Steps
23 Steps Dinosaur Z
21 Steps KEY = 1 shoe length Bradley’s shoe length is 17 cm long. Which list shows the dinosaur skeletons that were more than 320 centimeters long?
A
Dinosaur X and Dinosaur Y
B
Dinosaur X and Dinosaur Z
C
Dinosaur Y and Dinosaur Z
D
Dinosaur X, Dinosaur Y, and Dinosaur Z
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Which multiplication sentence can be used to calculate the total shaded area shown in the model below?
A
4 × 1 =? 8
B
8 × 1 =? 4
C
4 × 1 =? 6
D
6 × 1 =? 4
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Rosa wrote a pattern using the rule “subtract 7.” The first two numbers in her pattern were 83 and 76. Which number below is part of Rosa’s pattern?
A
41
B
49
C
57
D
61
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
A club’s first meeting was attended by 28 people. The first meeting was attended by 4 times as many people as the second meeting. How many people attended the second meeting?
A
7
B
24
C
32
D
112
9
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
In the number below, how many times greater is the number represented by the digit in the thousands place than the number represented by the digit in the hundreds place? 57,762
A
1
B
10
C
100
D
1,000
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Ms. Turner drove 825 miles in March. She drove 3 times as many miles in March as she did in January. She drove 4 times as many miles in February as she did in January. What was the total number of miles Ms. Turner drove in February?
A
1,100
B
1,925
C
5,775
D
9,900
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
A group of 6 people at an elementary school gave a total of $1,890 to a town to fix up a playground. Each person gave the same amount. At a middle school, 5 people each gave $280 to the same town. How much more did each person at the elementary school give than each person at the middle school? Show your work.
Answer $________________________________
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
A builder planned to build houses. Each house will be built on 5 of an acre. 6 How much land would be needed for 7 houses? Show your work.
Answer________________acres
The builder began with 10 acres of land. After 7 houses were built, how much land was left unused?
Answer________________acres
22
2013 Released Questions (Grade 4 Math)
Pete painted 4 of a rectangle green. He painted 1 of the same rectangle blue. 8 8 Pete painted the rest of the rectangle red. What fraction of the rectangle did Pete paint red?
Answer__________
Show or explain how you got your answer.
Draw a rectangle to model the amount of each color Pete used. Divide the rectangle into equal parts, and label the parts G for green, B for blue, and R for red.
31
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
D
irections Read this passage. Then answer questions XX through XX.
What Are Wind Tunnels? by David Hitt
1
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air moving inside. The tunnels are used to copy the actions of an object in flight. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly. NASA uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are big enough to hold full-size versions of vehicles. The wind tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem like the object is really flying. How do Wind Tunnels Work?
2
Most of the time, powerful fans move air through the tube. The object to be tested is fastened in the tunnel so that it will not move. The object can be a small model of a vehicle. It can be just a piece of a vehicle. It can be a full-size aircraft or spacecraft. It can even be a common object like a tennis ball. The air moving around the still object shows what would happen if the object were moving through the air. How the air moves can be studied in different ways. Smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves. Threads can be attached to the object to show how the air is moving. Special instruments are often used to measure the force of the air on the object. How Does NASA Use Wind Tunnels for Aircraft?
3
NASA has more wind tunnels than any other group. The agency uses the wind tunnels in a lot of ways. One of the main ways NASA uses wind tunnels is to learn more about airplanes and how things move through the air. One of NASA’s jobs is to improve air transportation. Wind tunnels help NASA test ideas for ways to make aircraft better and safer. Engineers can test new materials or shapes for airplane parts. Then, before flying a new airplane, NASA will test it in a wind tunnel to make sure it will fly as it should.
4
NASA also works with others that need to use wind tunnels. That way, companies that are building new airplanes can test how the planes will fly. By letting these companies use the wind tunnels, NASA helps to make air travel safer.
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
How Can Wind Tunnels Help Spacecraft? 5
NASA also uses wind tunnels to test spacecraft and rockets. These vehicles are made to operate in space. Space has no atmosphere. Spacecraft and rockets have to travel through the atmosphere to get to space. Vehicles that take humans into space also must come back through the atmosphere to Earth.
6
Wind tunnels have been important in making the Ares rockets and Orion spacecraft. Ares and Orion are vehicles that will take astronauts into space. NASA engineers tested ideas for the design of Ares in wind tunnels. They needed to see how well Ares would fly. Engineers tested Orion models. They needed to know what would happen to different designs when the spacecraft came back through the atmosphere.
7
Long after the first design work is finished, NASA can still use wind tunnels. Wind tunnel tests have helped NASA change the space shuttle to make it safer. Wind tunnels will keep helping make all spacecraft and rockets better.
8
Wind tunnels can even help engineers design spacecraft to work on other worlds. Mars has a thin atmosphere. It is important to know what the Martian atmosphere will do to vehicles that are landing there. Spacecraft designs and parachutes are tested in wind tunnels set up to be like the Martian atmosphere.
9
NASA has many different types of wind tunnels. They are located at NASA centers all around the country. The wind tunnels come in a lot of sizes. Some are only a few inches square, and some are large enough to test a full-size airplane. Some wind tunnels test aircraft at very slow speeds. But some wind tunnels are made to test at hypersonic speeds. That is more than 4,000 miles per hour!
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
A B C D
“Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly.” (paragraph 1) “Special instruments are often used to measure the force of the air on the object.” (paragraph 2) “NASA engineers tested ideas for the design of Ares in wind tunnels.” (paragraph 6) “Long after the first design work is finished, NASA can still use wind tunnels.” (paragraph 7)
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
Which key detail helps the reader understand the importance of using wind tunnels?
A B C D
Wind tunnels can move air more than 4,000 miles per hour. Wind tunnels are design tools that help make safer aircraft vehicles. Wind tunnels can create different atmospheres. Wind tunnels are large tubes that show how air moves.
4
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
The statement that “NASA also works with others that need to use wind tunnels” most strongly suggests that
A B C D
many different groups are developing space shuttles NASA hopes to buy vehicles made by other agencies NASA has the largest wind tunnels in existence many companies do not have their own wind tunnels
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
The most important feature of a wind tunnel used to test vehicles that can land on Mars is the ability to test how
A B C D
gravity affects vehicles a thin atmosphere affects vehicles high-speed winds affect vehicles freezing temperatures affect vehicles
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
Which sentence from the passage best explains why NASA uses wind tunnels to test spacecraft models?
A B
“These vehicles are made to operate in space.” (paragraph 5) “Spacecraft and rockets have to travel through the atmosphere to get to space.” (paragraph 5)
C
“They needed to know what would happen to different designs when the spacecraft came back through the atmosphere." (paragraph 6)
D
“Some are only a few inches square, and some are large enough to test a full-size airplane.” (paragraph 9)
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
Which sentence from the passage best explains how a wind tunnel works?
A B C
“NASA uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft.” (paragraph 1) “The object to be tested is fastened in the tunnel so that it will not move.” (paragraph 2)
D
“Smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves.” (paragraph 2)
“The air moving around the still object shows what would happen if the object were moving through the air.” (paragraph 2)
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
D
irections Read this passage. Then answer questions XX through XX.
The Discontented Rock an Iroquois tale by Frances Jenkins Olcott
1
FROM the beginning of the Earth, Gustahote, the great Rock, had overhung the valley. He watched and guarded the land, but he was not content, and longed to be something mightier and stronger than he was.
2
“If I could be the wide river that flows through the valley,” he thought, “then surely I should be mighty and strong! The river winds happy and free through its broad lands; and green grass and flowers follow its course. If I could only be that river!”
3
And instantly Gustahote the Rock became the river. Down the valley he sped, leaping with joy, and the singing brooks from the hills ran into his stream. Through rocky gorges he tossed his foaming waves toward the Sky, and they returned to him in a rainbow spray. He wound around the bases of lofty mountains, and leaped down precipices. Then through the silent forest he glided, and the trees dipped their branches in his cool waters.
4
On and on he hastened, faster and faster, growing wider as he went, until at last he plunged into the billowing ocean. It encircled him with its broad, hungry arms, and drew him down and mingled his waters with the deep, so that he was the river no longer.
5
Then suddenly Gustahote found himself again the Rock, overhanging and guarding the valley. And he rejoiced to have escaped from the hungry deep.
6
But he was not content. He still longed to be something mightier and stronger than he was.
7
“If I could have wings, and live in the Sky,” he thought, “then surely I should be mighty and strong! The Sky is open and pathless, and leads to unseen heights. It has no billowing deep to swallow the unfortunate.”
8
And even as he thought thus, Gustahote the Rock became a bird, and the air was caressing and delicious as he tried his wings. He plumed them, and fluttered them, and spreading them wide, soared into the Sky. Beneath him were the valleys and the forests and the mountains, growing smaller and smaller as he flew upward.
9
The air became cold, as he rose above the clouds and entered the Land of Mists. A whirling wind rushed past him, breaking his wings. They drooped at his sides, and he fell heavily toward the Earth. But a fiercer blast caught him, and tore his body to fragments, and whirled the pieces over and over through the endless grey Sky.
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
10
Then suddenly Gustahote found himself again the Rock, overhanging and guarding the valley. And he rejoiced that he had escaped from the pathless Sky.
11
But still he was not content. He longed to be something mightier and stronger than he was.
12
“If I could be a creature, and wander about on the Earth,” thought he, “then surely I should be mighty and strong. Fair are the valleys of the Earth, and wide its green forests, and beautiful and fruitful its meadows. It has no fierce rushing wind to rend in pieces the unfortunate.”
13
And even as he thought thus, Gustahote the Rock became a creature walking upon the Earth. He wandered up and down the world, so strange to him, and soon grew lonely and desired a companion.
14
First he sought the beasts, but they were too busy getting their food to stop and talk to a strange creature. After that he went to the birds, but they were nesting, and could not stop to talk to a strange creature. Weary, lonely, and despairing, he wandered about.
15
Then suddenly Gustahote found himself again the Rock overhanging and guarding the valley. And he rejoiced that he was a Rock once more. And he heard a voice whisper:—
16
“Be content, O Gustahote the Rock! The waters may overflow you, but they cannot drown you. The Sun may look upon you with its hottest rays, but he cannot burn you. The tempest may strike you, but it cannot rend you. Old age cannot wrinkle you. The rivers may dry up in their beds, the forests may fall into dust, but you will stand stanch and true, and always watching, and forever remain unchanged and changeless.”
17
So Gustahote the Rock rejoiced exceedingly; and he still overhangs and guards the valley. The river flows from him, and the Sky smiles or frowns, and the Earth heeds him not. But he is content.
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
What makes Gustahote lonely while he’s an Earth creature? Use two details or examples from the passage to support why Gustahote is lonely.
13
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
D
irections Read this passage. Then answer questions XX through XX.
The Unfortunate Fireflies by Clara Dillingham Pierson
1
SEVERAL very large families of Fireflies lived in the marsh and were much admired by their friends who were awake at night. The older Fireflies told the younger ones that they should get all the sleep they could during the daytime if they were to flutter and frisk all night. Most of them did this, but two young Fireflies, who cared more about seeing the world than they did about minding their elders, used to run away while the rest were dreaming. Each thought herself very important, and was sure that if the others missed her they wouldn’t sleep a wink all day.
2
One night they planned to go by daylight to the farthest corner of the marsh. They went to bed when the rest did and pretended to fall asleep. When she was sure that the older Fireflies were dreaming, one of them reached over with her right hind leg and touched the other just below the edge of her left wing-cover. “Are you ready?” she whispered.
3 4
“Yes,” answered the friend, who happened to be the smaller of the two. When well away from their sleeping relatives, they lifted their wing-covers, spread their wings, and flew.
5
“Oh, wouldn’t they make a fuss if they knew!” exclaimed the Larger Firefly.
6
“They think we need to be told every single thing,” said the Smaller Firefly.
7
8 9
10
Just then a Flycatcher darted toward them and they had to hide. He had come so near that they could look down his throat as he flew along with his beak open. The Fireflies were so scared that their feelers shook. “I wish that bird would mind his own business,” grumbled the Larger Firefly. “That’s just what he was doing,” said a voice beside them, as a Garter Snake drew himself through the grass. Then their feelers shook again, for they knew that snakes do not breakfast on grass and berries. “Did you ever see such luck?” said the Smaller Firefly. “If it isn’t birds it is snakes.”
11
“Perfectly dreadful!” answered the other. “I never knew the marsh to be so full of horrid people.”
12
Then they reached the farther corner of the marsh and crawled around to see what they could find. Their eyes bothered them so that they could not see unless they were
20
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
close to things, so it was useless to fly. They peeped into the cool dark corners under the skunk cabbage leaves, and lay down to rest on a bed of soft moss. 13
While they were resting, they noticed a plant growing near. It had a flower of green and dark red which was unlike any other blossom they had ever seen. Each [leaf] was stiff and hollow and grew right out of the ground instead of coming from a stalk.
14
“I’m going to crawl into one of them,” said the Larger Firefly. She balanced herself on the top of a fresh green leaf.
15
“I’m going into this one,” said the other Firefly, as she alighted on the edge of a browntipped leaf. “It looks nice and dark inside.” Each dropped quickly into her own leaf.
16
Then there was a queer sputtering, choking voice in the fresh green leaf and exactly the same in the brown-tipped one. After that a weak little voice in the green leaf said, “I fell into water.”
17
Another weak voice from the brown-tipped one replied, “So did I.”
18
On the inside of each leaf were many stiff hairs, all pointing downward. Now that they wanted to get out, these same hairs stuck into their eyes and pushed against their legs and made them exceedingly uncomfortable.
19
After a while they gave up trying to get out until they should be rested. It was after sunset when they tried the last time, and the light that shone from their bellies brightened the little green rooms where they were. They went at it carefully. Slowly, one foot at a time, they managed to climb out of the doorway at the top. As they came out, they heard the squeaky voice of a young Mouse say, “Oh, where did those bright things come from?”
20
They also heard his mother answer, “Those are only a couple of foolish Fireflies who have been in the leaves of the pitcher-plant all day.”
21
They flew toward home. “I’m dreadfully tired,” said one, “but I suppose we shall have to dance in the air with the rest or they will make a fuss.”
22
“Yes,” said the other. “It spoils everything if we are not there.”
23
As they came near the middle of the marsh they were surprised to see the mild summer air twinkling with hundreds of tiny lights as their friends and relatives flew to and fro in the dusk. “Well,” said the Larger Firefly, “I think they might have waited for us!”
24
“Humph!” said the Smaller Firefly. “If they can’t be more polite than that, I won’t play.”
25
So two very tired and cross young Fireflies sat on a last year’s cat-tail and sulked. “We were not even missed!” they cried.
26
They were much wiser after that, for they had learned that two young Fireflies were not so wonderfully important after all. And that if they chose to do things which it was never meant young Fireflies should do, they would be likely to have a very disagreeable time, but that other Fireflies would go on eating and dancing and living their own lives. To be happy, they must keep the Firefly laws.
21
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
Explain why the young fireflies complain about the older fireflies. Use two details from the passage to support your answer.
22
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
In the beginning of each passage, both Gustahote and the Fireflies believe something about themselves that is not true. Write a response comparing and contrasting what the characters believe at the beginning of the passages. Explain when the lessons are learned and how the characters have changed. Use details from both passages to support your answer. In your response, be sure to • compare and contrast what the characters believe at the beginning of passages • explain when the lessons are learned • describe how the characters change • use details from both passages to support your answer
Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
29
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 ELA)
30
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
The shaded part of the square below has a length of 3 foot and a width of 1 foot. 4 2
1 foot
1 foot
What is the area, in square feet, of the shaded part of the square?
A
1 8
B
3 8
C
4 8
D
5 8
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
What is the value of the expression below? 24.5 − 15.75
A
8.75
B
8.85
C
9.25
D
9.75
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Mr. Morris built a fence to enclose his yard. He put up 3 of the fence on Monday. On 4 1 Tuesday, he put up of the fence, and on Wednesday, he put up the rest of the fence. 6 What portion of the fence did he put up on Wednesday?
A
11 12
B
3 5
C
2 5
D
1 12
4
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Which statement is true about the product of 5 × 7 ? 12
A
The product is greater than each factor.
B
The product is less than each factor.
C
The product is greater than
D
The product is equal to one of the factors.
6
5 but less than 7. 12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Which term can be put in the blank to make the statement below true? 3, 000, 000 = 30
A
thousands
B
ten-thousands
C
hundred-thousands
D
millions
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
What is the value of the expression below? 738 ÷ 18
A
40
B
41
C
401
D
410
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Four hundred sixty-nine and eight hundredths can also be written as
A
460.908
B
460.98
C
469.08
D
469.800
9
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Rich’s fish tank is in the shape of a right rectangular prism. It has a length of 6 feet, a width of 2 feet, and a height of 4 feet. What is the volume, in cubic feet, of Rich’s fish tank?
A
12
B
32
C
36
D
48
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Penelope made a paper chain that was 6 feet 10 inches long. What was the length, in inches, of the paper chain?
A
82
B
72
C
60
D
28
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Each lap around Eastern Park is 3 3 miles. Janet rode her bike 2 of a lap before one of 4 3 the tires on her bike went flat. How many miles did Janet ride before one of the tires on her bike went flat?
A
21 2
B
23 4
C
31 2
D
35 7
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Which expression shows 40.54 in expanded form?
(
) (
A
( 4 × 10 ) + 5 × 1 + 4 × 1 10 100
B
( 4 × 1) + 5 × 1 + 4 × 1 10 100
C
( 4 × 10 ) + (5 × 1) + 4 × 1 100
D
( 4 × 10 ) + (5 × 1) + 4 × 1 10
(
) (
)
(
)
(
13
)
)
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
What is the value of the expression below? [24 + 9 − ( 4 × 2) + 11] ÷ 2
Show your work.
Answer__________
14
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Sophia asked the students in her class to name their favorite sport. She made this list to display the results. •
1 of the students named basketball 3
•
1 of the students named soccer 8
•
5 of the students named football 12
• The rest of the students in the class named baseball. What fraction of the students in the class named baseball as their favorite sport? Show your work.
Answer______________________
24
2013 Released Questions (Grade 5 Math)
Mr. Chang needs to ship 8 boxes of cookies in a packing carton. Each box is a right rectangular prism 8 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 3 inches high. What is the volume, in cubic inches, of each box? Show your work.
Answer_________cubic inches
Mr. Chang wants to ship all 8 boxes in one packing carton. He has a choice of three different sizes of packing cartons that are right rectangular prisms of the following sizes. • packing carton A: 11 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 8 inches high • packing carton B: 16 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 5 inches high • packing carton C: 17 inches long, 11 inches wide, and 7 inches high Which packing carton can Mr. Chang use? Show your work.
Answer packing carton _________
33
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
D
irections Read this article. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Snow Way by Beth Geiger
Where will you find the world’s best spot for stargazing? Many astronomers would say the South Pole. The sky is always clear there, and during the winter it’s always dark.
5
Astronomers flock to the South Pole, as do scientists who study climate, the atmosphere, and polar ice. To accommodate them, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) built an outpost, called the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Getting people and supplies to the station is not easy. Military transport planes do it when weather permits. Therefore, the NSF is building a “highway” to the pole. The project is one of the most unusual road-construction projects ever undertaken. Top of the Bottom
10
The Antarctic highway, called the South Pole Traverse, will not be a typical thoroughfare. “Everyone knows what a road looks like,” said Peter West, an NSF spokesman. “What we are working on is not that at all, by any stretch of the imagination.” When completed, the traverse will be a 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) path of groomed snow and ice, marked by green flags. It will cross floating ice, gaping crevasses (cracks in the ice), deep snow, treacherous mountains, and frozen nothingness.
15
20
25
30
The traverse is not a typical road, because Antarctica is not a typical continent. Ice— 4,570 meters (15,000 feet) thick in some places— covers 98 percent of the continent. Antarctica is the world’s coldest desert and receives only about 5 centimeters (2 inches) of precipitation (rain or snow) annually. The thick ice is the buildup of millions of years’ worth of snowfall. A few high peaks in the Transantarctic Mountains poke through the ice to form islands of rock called nunataks. East of the Transantarctic chain is the polar plateau—the flat top of the bottom of the world. On the plateau lies the Amundsen-Scott Station.
South Pole
McMurdo Station
= Antarctic highway
Antarctica’s ice doesn’t stop at the edge of the continent. Thick slabs of floating, slowly shifting ice, called ice shelves, fringe the continent. The biggest, the Ross Ice Shelf, is the size of France and is hundreds of feet thick.
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
Ice Route The traverse begins at McMurdo Station, the main U.S. base on the continent. From there, it heads across the Ross Ice Shelf. 35
Floating, shifting ice might seem like dangerous ground for heavy truck traffic. Why not go straight over the land instead? Traveling across the Ross Ice Shelf keeps the journey at the relative warmth of sea level for as long as possible. At higher elevations on land, temperatures can get so cold that they cause machinery to malfunction. The shelf also makes for relatively easy cruising. “It’s really smooth and flat,” said Erin Pettit, a University of Washington geologist who works in Antarctica. Frigid Summers
40
45
50
55
60
Building the traverse has been a daunting job. A hardy five-man crew works only during the Antarctic summer (December to March). Even then, temperatures remain well below freezing. “At first, it is strange for anybody to work in the cold-cold like that,” said project manager John Wright. “But you learn to deal.” The first summer, the crew members tackled their most chilling challenge: yawning crevasses in the Ross Ice Shelf that can swallow a tractor in the blink of a frozen eyelash. The crevasses, which can be 30 meters (100 feet) deep, might not be so dangerous if they were visible. But most of them lurk under covers of snow called snow bridges. Many people have fallen through snow bridges to icy deaths. The nastiest crevasses on the route are in a shear zone about 48 kilometers (30 miles) from McMurdo. There, ice within the shelf moves at different rates, stretching and cracking into a maze of crevasses. To cross that area safely, the team members probed the ice ahead with radar. Whenever they found a crevasse, they used a bulldozer to fill it in with snow. Then they inched across. During the last construction phase, the crew worked for 66 straight days. After filling crevasses in the shear zone, the team bogged1 down in a 260-kilometer (160-mile) stretch of deep snow on the shelf. The biggest surprise, remembers Wright, was any good day. “We had two last year,” he said. 1bogged:
to sink or get stuck
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
How does the author show that the Ross Ice Shelf is dangerous?
A B C D
by explaining that some crevasses are hidden by giving the locations of the worst crevasses by telling about a truck getting stuck in the snow by describing how the crew used bulldozers
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
Which sentence would be most important to include in a summary of the article?
A B C D
Many scientists perform research at the South Pole because the skies are always clear and in the winter, always dark, making the South Pole ideal for stargazing. Scientists set up a station at the South Pole for studying the climate, stars, atmosphere, and polar ice. Building a road to a scientific station at the South Pole was a difficult task with many dangers, like cold weather and deep crevasses. Construction of a road for travel to the South Pole could only be done in the summer months.
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
Read this sentence from lines 12 and 13. When completed, the traverse will be a 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) path of groomed snow and ice, marked by green flags. Which claim from the article is best supported by this sentence?
A B C D
“Astronomers flock to the South Pole...” (line 3) “The project is one of the most unusual road-construction projects ever undertaken.” (lines 7 and 8) “Antarctica’s ice doesn’t stop at the edge of the continent.” (line 29) “…temperatures can get so cold that they cause machinery to malfunction.” (line 37)
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
In line 53, the word “inched” means the builders of the highway
A B C D
tiptoed hastily glided casually stepped boldly crept slowly
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
Why are lines 9 through 14 important to the article?
A B C D
They establish the danger involved in the project. They explain how the project will be completed. They introduce the unique nature of the project. They provide a brief history of the project.
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
D
irections Read this passage. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Sweet Science Comes Baked In by Dan Risch
5
Some students dream that one day their picture will appear on boxes of breakfast cereal, because they are a star athlete or a celebrity. As a middle school student, Morgan Goodall dreamed of inventing the food filling those boxes. This spring, Morgan will take a giant step toward making her dream real. In May, Purdue University will award a Master’s of Science degree to Morgan, in food science.
10
Morgan grew up surrounded by delicious food, like warm oatmeal cookies tucked full of raisins. Her great-grandfather was a baker. Her grandfather, David, ran a storefront bakery for 40 years. He then invented frozen bagel dough and built a production plant to make it. Even Morgan’s father is a foodie. He sells specialized food ingredients to food makers around the country. “When I was 10,” recalls Morgan, “I’d go into the back of my grandfather’s bakery and play with the dough. My favorite thing was the maraschino cherries. I’d stick my hand into a tub and take home as many cherries as I wanted.”
15
Over time, much more than cherry juice stained Morgan’s fingers. A zest to learn about food colored her ambitions.
20
“Learning about and working with food is absolutely fun,” Morgan says with enthusiasm. “Every food acts different, looks different, and tastes different. People have differing opinions about food, and you make food choices based on more than just basic need. For me, who always wants to work on and learn about different things, food [as a career] is perfect.” Morgan saw a career in food science as a way to link everything she had learned from her family. It would also allow her to make her own unique contribution to the family’s history. As a food scientist, she says, “I could shine as an individual.”
25
30
Purdue University put the polish on Morgan’s dream. But as she started the four-year food science program, she had to confront a fear faced by many students. “When I first went into the program,” Morgan admits, “I was apprehensive about the science I had to take. It’s definitely science heavy—chemistry, biology, and microbiology. In those three areas, you take basic-level courses and then food-specific classes.” “You study food from a biological standpoint: food microbiology and food chemistry. You take sensory science. You learn how consumers react to how food tastes and feels, and you learn how to create a food product from an idea.”
9
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
35
“BUT,” Morgan stresses, “the fact that you’re majoring in food science gives you an edge because you learn everything in the context of FOOD. I’m the type of person that needs to see it and feel it to understand it. So, to put chemistry in terms of food, I go into my kitchen and try something to understand the basic chemistry. That helps me.”
40
It also helped that Purdue’s program encouraged Morgan to participate in summer internships provided by General Mills. For two summers, Morgan was up to her elbows applying—in a real job—the science she was learning at school. In the cereal maker’s food labs, Morgan whipped up new kinds of cakes and cookies. You have to wonder if she knew that she was also stirring up a recipe for reaching her childhood dream. First, though, she needed to add a final ingredient. For that, Morgan traveled to West Africa.
45
According to Morgan, West Africans eat bread every day. It’s a big part of their diet. Yet the daily staple sops up much of their money. Wheat doesn’t grow well in parts of Africa. It must be bought from other countries. Importing, or transporting wheat into Africa, is expensive. As part of her graduate school research, Morgan looked for other grains that could replace wheat in West African bread. But it’s no cinch to throw out wheat, mix in rice or corn, and expect to bake golden loaves of bread. The problem is proteins.
50
55
Bread making is a science and an art, says Morgan, in part, because of the proteins in wheat. “Mixing wheat flour and water,” she says, “gets you something so extraordinary compared to any other flour. Wheat flour and water together create a viscoelastic dough. That’s a term we use to describe the unique properties of wheat-flour dough. If you try to make bread out of corn, out of rice, out of any other grain, you’re not going to get the same thing as you would with wheat.”
60
But that didn’t mean Morgan wasn’t going to try to help West Africa’s people. With creative flare just like her grandfather’s, she experimented with sorghum. “There’s a certain variety of sorghum developed at Purdue that caught my interest,” says Morgan. “We found that the proteins in that sorghum were different than any other sorghum proteins. I thought maybe it would act different when tried in bread.” Morgan mixed batches of bread dough using the special variety of sorghum. By tinkering with different amounts of water and salt and mixing the dough at different temperatures, she found that “we could make the sorghum dough act a little bit more like wheat dough.”
65
The discovery may someday lead to big savings for West Africans. For right now, Morgan’s inventiveness has boosted her to the brink of realizing her childhood dream. After graduation, she’ll go to work for General Mills. From there it won’t be long before Morgan’s food creations find their way to grocery store shelves. And that will be the sweetest cherry of all.
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
Why does the author choose to end the passage with “And that will be the sweetest cherry of all”? Use two details from the passage to support your response.
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
D
irections Read this story. Then answer questions XX through XX.
As Amy will discover, her first day exploring a cave without her parents will demand using her experience in a way she had never imagined.
Beyond the Twilight Zone by Nikki McCormack Our first rope drop was into a large, dark room. I could hear water splashing noisily down into the bottom from the other side of the huge chamber. “Tight squeezes, huh?” I muttered. 5
10
Jake winked at me and returned to his work. His crooked grin made it hard to be annoyed, so I dug into my pack and pulled out my seat harness with the rappel device1 and climbing gear attached. After checking the rope, Jake slipped into his harness with remarkable speed and finesse, then watched me finish. I felt a surge of irritation as he rechecked all the connection points on my harness. It was silly, since he also checked Sean’s and Sean checked his, but I felt as if he had expected a mistake. “You comfortable with this? It’s a ninety-five-foot drop,” Jake said, his expression serious now. “There’s never any shame in turning around.” Turn around! What would my parents think? “No problem,” I replied quickly.
15
Jake raised an eyebrow, but he nodded and turned to the rope. “On rope,” he called, taking hold of it and winding it into his rappel device. He checked the device, then eased himself over the edge. I heard him zipping down the rope from where I stood, well away from the edge to avoid knocking down loose rock. After a moment, his voice rose from the bottom. “Off rope!”
20
I glanced at Sean, who met my gaze with an almost fatherly expression of patience. He nodded. I stepped up and took hold of the rope. “On rope!” I wound the rope through my rappel device, checked it, and eased myself over the edge. Up to that moment, I had been nervous, but once I was actually hanging on the rope, a familiar comfort washed over me. I enjoyed rope work, and my nerves relaxed as I 1rappel
device: a system of ropes and levers used to descend in a controlled way down a cliff
18
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
25
30
35
settled into the process of letting myself down. I watched the growing speck of Jake’s headlamp, glancing occasionally at the marble wall in front of me to admire its water-washed surface. When my feet hit solid ground, I detached from the rope and crawled out of the rock fall zone before hollering up, “Off rope!” Sean joined us quickly, and we continued without removing our vertical gear, which meant another rope was coming up. We were in walking passage now with blue-and-white marble walls and a stream down the center. We straddled the stream to keep dry and to avoid contaminating the water.
40
A collection of limestone draperies cascaded down the walls of the passage like magnificent waterfalls of transformed stone. I focused my light on the breathtaking formations. Minerals in the water had given some of the flowstone a dark orange color that contrasted with the brilliant white of the rest. It was moist, living formation, beautiful in a way so different from the rugged, imposing beauty I had seen to this point.
45
The passage opened into a large room with a big rope ascent. We stopped at the bottom, the cold creeping in on us like a deadly virus. We ate quickly and shared our extras—cheese chunks, jerky, and bite-sized carrots—then packed up. Jake sent Sean up the rope first as we sat at the bottom and turned off our head-lamps to conserve batteries.
50
“How long have you been caving?” Jake asked. “Most of my life,” I boasted. “Me too,” he replied with a chuckle. Silence followed, and we heard Sean breathing hard with the effort of the climb. “Off rope!”
55
60
“Your turn,” Jake said. I clipped on to the rope and started my climb. Climbing requires a harness and a series of small devices that you slide up the rope with your hands and feet. These lock into place when you put weight on them, allowing you to ascend. There is something exhilarating and frightening about climbing rope in the dark, especially on a long climb where you get halfway and can see neither the top nor the bottom. Jake and Sean had
19
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
turned off their lights to conserve batteries, and the dramatic effect sent a chill down my spine. I continued climbing, listening to my labored breathing over the sounds of running water in the cave. I was eager to get to the top where I could sit down and have a much-needed drink of water. 65
70
I moved my hand ascender up, then stood in the foot loop, but suddenly there was no resistance. I was falling! As it turns out, there really isn’t enough time for a person’s life to flash before their eyes in one of these moments. The only thing flashing before my eyes was a cave wall lit by a circle of light from my headlamp. My chest constricted with fear so quickly that I could not even scream. Something large zoomed past in the darkness, followed by a loud crash. I jerked abruptly to a halt. A moment of silence ensued, followed by several exclamations from above. “What happened?” Jake called up, and I heard the waver in his voice. He must have been out of the fall zone when the rock hit, but he was clearly shaken.
75
“The main rig point broke,” Sean hollered back. “Amy, are you all right?” I remembered to breathe then. “I guess,” I called back, my voice trembling. “You’re close to the top. Can you finish the climb?”
80
I wanted to scream that I couldn’t, that someone needed to save me, but I knew better. If the backup rig point was at all unstable, I had a better chance of making the top than I did of switching to my rappel device and descending before it gave. I didn’t respond. Fear clenched my throat too tightly as I resumed my climb. “She’s heading up,” Sean called.
85
90
The breath was rasping in my throat, and I felt as if I couldn’t get enough air, but I kept moving. Slide the hand ascender up the rope, stand in the loop to move the chest ascender up, sit down in the harness, and repeat. I was so intent that I started with surprise when my hand ascender contacted the lip of the drop. My legs trembled as I pushed away from the wall to get enough clearance to move the ascender over the lip. With a desperate heave, I pulled myself over and moved as far as I could from the edge before disconnecting. “Off rope!” The wavering cry was a female voice, so I knew it was mine. Sean patted me on the back.
95
“Good job.”
20
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
What is Amy trying to prove? Use two details from the story to support your response.
21
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
How does the author build suspense throughout the story? Why are lines 62 through 71 important in building suspense? Use details from the story to support your response. In your response, be sure to • explain how the author builds suspense throughout the story • explain the importance of lines 62 through 71 in building suspense • use details from the story to support your response
Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
28
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 ELA)
29
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Evaluate: 63 + 7 × 4
A
100
B
244
C
757
D
892
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Which pair of expressions is equivalent?
A
4(6x) and 10x
B
4(6x) and 24x
C
4x + 6x and 10x 2
D
4x + 6x and 24x
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
The length of a rectangular parking lot at the airport is 2 mile. If the area is 3 1 square mile, what is the width of the parking lot? 2
A
1 mile 3
B
3 mile 4
C
1 1 miles 6
D
1 1 miles 3
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
What is the area of the isosceles trapezoid shown?
9 cm
6 cm
4.5 cm A
27 cm2
B
33.8 cm2
C
40.5 cm2
D
54 cm2
4
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
The table below shows the number of tea bags needed to make different amounts of iced tea.
Number of Tea Bags
Total Quarts of Iced Tea
8
2
16
4
24
?
36
9
What is the total number of quarts of iced tea that can be made with 24 tea bags?
A
5
B
6
C
7
D
8
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
A printer makes more than 3 copies of a book every hour. Which graph represents the number of books made in 4 hours?
A
B
C
D
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
What is the solution to the equation below?
4w = 2 3
A
w = 2 12
B
w = 2 7
C
w = 8 3
D
w = 31 3
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Which number best represents the location of point E on the number line below?
E –2 A
−1.8
B
−1.6
C
−1.5
D
−1.3
–1
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Which pair of expressions below is equivalent?
A
x + y + x + y and 2( x + y )
B
5( 2x − 3y ) and 10x − 3y
C
4x − 5y and 5y − 4x
D
9x + 2y and 11xy
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
The coordinates of point A are (− 6, 4 ). The coordinates of point B are ( 3, 4 ). Which expression represents the distance, in units, between points A and B?
A
−6 + 3
B
3 − −6
C
−6 + − 4
D
4 − −6
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Which expression represents the phrase below? 8 less than the product of 6 and a number, x
A
8 − 6x
B
6x − 8
C
(6 + x ) − 8
D
8 − (6 + x )
13
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Point G is the point ( 3, −1). y
5 4
C
3
D
2 1 –5 –4 –3
–2 –1
B A
–1 –2 –3 –4 –5
Which point is 5 units from point G ?
A
point A
B
point B
C
point C
D
point D
14
1
2
3
4
5
x
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
In the diagram of a quadrilateral below, the variables represent the lengths of the sides, in inches.
c
b
c−b b−2 [not drawn to scale] Write an expression using the variables b and c that could be used to find the perimeter of the quadrilateral. Answer ___________________
If b = 11 and c = 16, what is the perimeter of the quadrilateral? Show your work.
Answer ______________ inches
15
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
The area of a rectangular park is 3 square mile. The length of the park is 7 mile. What 5 8 is the width of the park? Show your work.
Answer_____________mile
25
2013 Released Questions (Grade 6 Math)
Jodi’s car used 12 gallons of gas to travel 456 miles. How many miles did her car travel per gallon of gas? Show your work.
Answer_____________miles per gallon
It cost Jodi $44.88 to buy 12 gallons of gas. What was the cost per gallon of gas? Show your work.
Answer $ _____________
33
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
D
irections Read this passage. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Earth and Water and Sky by Brian Bushemi
It was a long hike through the woods to the Thinking Pond, but David Brenner didn’t mind. He’d been going there for three years, ever since he was ten and had found the lonely, stream-fed pool while exploring one summer afternoon. He liked to spend time there more than he liked doing almost anything else. 5
The other kids thought he was kind of weird for going off into the woods by himself so often. David couldn’t understand why he seemed to be the only one who saw how amazing it was for a squirrel to run down a tree head first, or how unique each day’s sky full of clouds was. His mom said he was more sensitive and thoughtful than other kids his age, but David just felt lonely and left out most of the time.
10
About a quarter of a mile from the pond, David caught sight of the huge, gnarled oak tree he’d nicknamed the Old Giant for its rough, craggy bark and tall, thick trunk.
15
When he reached the giant tree, David sat down and shrugged off his backpack. He unscrewed the lid from his thermos and thirstily drank the cool, tart juice inside. Then he leaned back against the wide trunk to rest for a few minutes.
20
Today David planned to sketch some interesting fallen trees near the Thinking Pond. 25
30
David stood up and continued toward the Thinking Pond. Suddenly, he heard a sharp, whining sound like the engine of a high-flying jet airplane. It was followed by a crack! like a whip being snapped, only a thousand times louder. Then a ball of fire roared overhead, followed by a searing gust of wind. The shock wave knocked David to the ground, his ears ringing. A second later, he heard an explosive, hissing crash up ahead. A rush of air and hot steam billowed through the trees, and he covered his head as it washed over him.
1
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
After several minutes, David looked up. The warm, wet mist had dispersed, leaving the woods damp and sparkling with little droplets of water. 35
40
45
What the heck just happened?! he wondered as he got to his feet. Cautiously but curiously, he headed in the direction of the Thinking Pond. By now David could usually see the shine of sunlight on the gently rippling water, but today something was different. Covering the last hundred yards quickly, David stopped at the edge of the meadow where the pond lay. “Whoa!” he said in amazement. Before him stretched a dry, cracked-mud crater, all that was left of the Thinking Pond. The water in the fifty-foot-diameter pool had evaporated, leaving a huge hole in the forest floor. The baked mud rippled out from the center in wide, shallow waves. In the middle of the crater, half buried in the ground, was a rounded, melted lump of something that looked like rock. It was a little larger than a basketball. “I can’t believe it!” David whispered, awe-struck. “It’s a meteorite!” It was indeed a meteorite. Amazingly, the extraterrestrial rock had landed almost exactly in the center of the Thinking Pond, its immense heat and force evaporating the water within a split second. But the water had slowed the meteorite down just enough so it hadn’t smashed to pieces when it hit the ground.
50
The wet dirt hissed and popped, then dried and stuck. The meteorite was definitely too hot to touch. While he waited for it to cool down, David crouched and took his sketch pad out of his backpack. With quick, sure lines, he made an accurate drawing of the rock.
55
Even as he was drawing, David could hardly believe he was looking at something that had been flying through space only a few minutes before. He wondered where the meteorite had come from. Maybe an asteroid or a comet had passed too close to a planet or the Sun, and a chunk of it had been pulled off by gravity. Maybe it had been floating through space for millions of years before Earth’s gravitational field had caught it and dragged it in.
60
David sat on the ground beside the Thinking Pond and watched as the water slowly refilled the hole. It was getting dark when he finally got up to head back home. He could faintly see the meteorite in the darkening water, which was still rising. When he’d come here tomorrow, the rock would be under ten feet of water, and he probably wouldn’t be able to see it at all.
65
As he walked home through the woods, David hoped that nobody would come looking for the meteorite. Probably no one knew that part of it had survived its fiery journey through the earth’s atmosphere. He hoped that the meteorite would stay at the bottom of the Thinking Pond forever, in a place where the earth, the water, and a piece of the sky all touched each other.
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Which sentence from the passage best shows how powerful the meteorite was?
A B C D
“Suddenly, he heard a sharp, whining sound like the engine of a high-flying jet airplane.” (lines 25 and 26) “Then a ball of fire roared overhead, followed by a searing gust of wind.” (lines 27 and 28) “The shock wave knocked David to the ground, his ears ringing.” (line 29) “A second later, he heard an explosive, hissing crash up ahead.” (lines 29 and 30)
3
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
What does the meteorite event mainly represent to David?
A B C D
the wonder of nature the vastness of the universe the beauty of the landscape the violence of natural events
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
What does the author mean by the phrase “a piece of the sky” in lines 68 and 69?
A B C D
a cloud reflected in the pond an asteroid half-buried in a muddy crater a comet orbiting the Earth a meteorite under the water
6
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
How is David’s view of himself different from his mother’s view of him?
A B C D
David feels left out, but his mother thinks he’s sensitive. David feels most comfortable alone, but his mother thinks he’s lonely. David thinks of himself as thoughtful, but his mother thinks he’s too serious. David thinks of himself as odd, but his mother thinks he’s just more mature than other kids.
7
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Which lines from the passage best support the idea that David thinks like a scientist?
A B C D
lines 15 through 20 lines 29 through 31 lines 54 through 59 lines 65 through 69
8
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Read the last sentence of the passage. He hoped that the meteorite would stay at the bottom of the Thinking Pond forever, in a place where the earth, the water, and a piece of the sky all touched each other. Which sentence from the passage best matches this characterization of David?
A
“David couldn’t understand why he seemed to be the only one who saw how amazing it was for a squirrel to run down a tree head first, or how unique each day’s sky full of clouds was.” (lines 6 through 8)
B
“His mom said he was more sensitive and thoughtful than other kids his age, but David just felt lonely and left out most of the time.” (lines 8 and 9)
C
“About a quarter of a mile from the pond, David caught sight of the huge, gnarled oak tree he’d nicknamed the Old Giant for its rough, craggy bark and tall, thick trunk.” (lines 10 through 14)
D
“By now David could usually see the shine of sunlight on the gently rippling water, but today something was different.” (lines 35 and 36)
9
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Read this sentence from lines 30 and 31 of the passage. A rush of air and hot steam billowed through the trees, and he covered his head as it washed over him. What do the words “billowed” and “washed” suggest about the steam?
A B C D
that it shrunk in size and speed that it thinned out and disappeared that it spread quickly and in waves that it was lightweight and remained close to the ground
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
D
irections Read this article. Then answer question X.
Race to the Klondike by Lester David
Robert Henderson had searched for it all his life, all over the world. Now, in 1896, he could hardly believe what he saw shining in the bottom of his miner’s pan. Gold! 5
Henderson scrambled back to the nearest settlement in the remote Klondike region of northwest Canada and staked a claim. He called the site Gold Bottom. The Great Rush Begins Henderson may have been the first to find gold. But soon, George Washington Carmack made a strike at nearby Rabbit Creek and found enough gold to make him wealthy.
10
The discoveries triggered history’s greatest gold rush. People caught gold fever, then joined what became known as the “great stampede.” There probably will never be another like it. Lure of Quick Riches The stunning news of gold flashed across the United States and Canada. Men left their homes and families, lured northward by dreams of quick riches. Never mind that the journey was dangerous, as was the Klondike itself.
15
20
Gold-seekers jammed ships from around the world. Thousands made the grueling trip around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and sailed up to the Gulf of Alaska. An endless line of stampeders trudged over Alaska’s rugged Chilkoot Pass and the somewhat easier White Pass. From Skagway and Dyea, in southeastern Alaska, they struggled inland more than 30 miles, then had to build boats that would take them to the goldfields near Dawson, more than 500 miles away. Today, a historic park and hiking trail mark the location of the Chilkoot Pass. World’s Roughest Place Skagway was dubbed “the roughest place in the world” by Canadian North West Mounted Police. Thieves, pickpockets, gamblers and swindlers packed the town.
25
Within days of the first gold find, the area was in chaos. Towns sprung up. In six months, 500 new houses were built in Dawson, the Klondike’s capital. Food and supplies became scarce, and prices shot sky high.
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Sled dogs cost $350 each and soon were unavailable. Miners were lucky to buy tired old horses. A breakfast of ham and eggs cost $10, enough in those days to buy a fine dinner for eight back East. Battling the Numbing Cold 30
35
With the risk of starvation increasing, Mounted Police ordered that every man heading for the trails must have a year’s supply of provisions. This meant each had to carry hundreds of pounds of food and gear. A gold-seeker who lacked a horse or sled would haul about 65 of pounds of supplies, set it down and go back for the rest. Then he’d have to dig out his first load from under the drifting snow. He’d eventually walk more than 2,500 miles to get his gear over the Chilkoot Pass. Sometimes, the temperature plunged to 50 below, but the prospectors forged ahead. They huddled in caves during blizzards. They Struck It Rich Plenty of folks found pay dirt.
40
Louis Rhodes, a quiet, soft-spoken miner, recovered enough gold in just one year to enable him to live in luxury for the rest of his long life. Charley Anderson did even better. A clever swindler convinced him to pay $800 for a claim he said would be worth a fortune. Actually, it was considered to be a total dud. In a few months, though, Charley discovered his “worthless” claim was worth millions.
45
Then there was Alex McDonald, who took pity on a starving miner and traded a sack of flour for a claim neither thought was worth a cent. McDonald bought up several more claims like these and wound up with a bonanza of $20 million. Historians estimate that more than 100,000 men, as well as a large number of women, set out to find Klondike gold. Between 30,000 and 40,000 eventually got there.
50
55
Just two months after the first strikes, about $5 million in gold was recovered. But by 1899, three years after it had started, the great stampede was over. All the streams had been claimed. People began leaving. Twenty years later, hastily built buildings were empty and crumbling, and machinery was rusting in the streets and canyons. By 1904, $100 million in gold had been wrested from the region. All that remains today is the memory of the last great rush for the elusive yellow metal.
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
A HEAVY LOAD A gold prospector had to be well armed before heading into the Klondike. Harsh winters and scarce supplies made extra provisions valuable. Some miners carried up to 2,500 pounds of goods over the rugged trails. A typical year’s supply of goods a Klondike miner might have carried: Food
Equipment
Clothing
Bacon, 100 to 200 lbs. Flour, 400 lbs. Dried fruits, 75 to 100 lbs. Cornmeal, 50 lbs. Rice, 20 to 40 lbs. Coffee, 10 to 25 lbs. Tea, 5 to 10 lbs. Sugar, 25 to 100 lbs. Beans, 100 lbs. Condensed milk, 1 case Salt, 10 to 15 lbs. Pepper, 1 lb. Rolled oats, 25 to 50 lbs. Potatoes, 25 to 100 lbs. Butter, 25 cans Evaporated meats Evaporated vegetables
Stove Miner’s pan Granite buckets Tin cups and plates Knifes, forks and spoons Coffee pot Picks Handles Saws Chisels Hatchet Shovels Drawknife Compass Frying pan Matches Medicines
1 heavy mackinaw coat 3 suits heavy underwear 2 pairs heavy mackinaw trousers 12 pairs heavy wool socks 6 pairs heavy wool mittens 2 heavy overshirts 2 pairs rubber boots 2 pairs heavy shoes 6 heavy blankets 2 rubber blankets 4 towels 2 pairs overalls 1 suit of oil clothing Assorted summer clothing
13
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Explain why the author of the article “Race to the Klondike” included the section entitled “A HEAVY LOAD.” Use two details from the article to support your answer.
14
2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
D
irections Read this article. Then answer questions XX through XX.
All About the Klondyke Gold Mines by J. Armoy Knox and J. G. Pratt
“The man who wants the Yukon gold should know what he is going to tackle before he starts. If there is an easy part of the trip I haven’t struck it yet.
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“Eight of us made the trip from Juneau to Dyea, 100 miles, on the little steam launch Alert. The steamer Mexico reached Dyea the same morning with 423 men. As she drew so much water she had to stay about three miles off shore and land her passengers and freight as best she might in more or less inaccessible places on the rocky shores. Then up came the twenty-two foot tide and many poor fellows saw their entire outfits swept into the sea. “We camped the first night at Dyea. It is a most enjoyable thing, this making camp in the snow. First you must shovel down from three to six feet to find a solid crust. Then you must go out in the snow up to your neck to find branches with which to make a bed, and then comes the hunt for a dead tree for firewood. Dinner is cooked on a small sheet-iron stove. “Always keep an eye on the ‘grub,’ especially the bacon, for the dogs are like so many ravenous wolves, and it is not considered just the proper thing to be left without anything to eat in this frostbitten land. At night it is necessary to tie up the sacks of bacon in the trees or build trestles1 for them. But to the trip. “The second day we went up Dyea canon. It is only three miles long, but seems fully thirty. This is true of all distances in this country. About one hundred pounds is about all a man wants to pull in this canon, as the way is steep and the ice slippery. So camps must be made short distances apart, as you have to go over the trail several times in bringing up your outfit. Remember an ordinary outfit weighs from 500 to 800 pounds, and some of them much more. 1trestles:
a framework of horizontal and vertical bars used to raise something off the ground
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
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“But the summit of Chilcoot Pass—that’s the place that puts the yellow fear into many a man’s heart. Some took one look at it, sold their outfits for what they would bring and turned back. This pass is over the ridge which skirts the coast. It is only about 1,200 feet from base to tip, but it is almost straight up and down—a sheer steep of snow and ice. There is a blizzard blowing there most of the time, and when it is at its height, no man may cross. For days at a time the summit is impassable. An enterprising man named Burns has rigged a windlass2 and cable there, and with this he hoists up some freight at a cent a pound.”
Map of the Yukon Gold Diggings
2windlass:
a machine used for hoisting or hauling
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Explain which part of the journey to the Klondyke the authors of both articles would most likely agree was the most dangerous to make. Use one detail from each article to support your answer.
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
Both articles, “Race to the Klondike” and “All About the Klondyke Gold Mines,” discuss the challenges faced during the Gold Rush. Compare the challenges portrayed in both articles. What were the causes of the challenges? What resulted from these challenges? Use details from both articles to support your answer. In your response, be sure to • discuss the challenges faced during the Gold Rush as portrayed in both articles • explain the causes of these challenges • explain the results of these challenges • use details from both articles to support your answer
Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 ELA)
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Cassie rolls a fair number cube with 6 faces labeled 1 through 6. She rolls the number cube 300 times. Which result is most likely?
A
Cassie will roll a 1 or a 2 about 50 times.
B
Cassie will roll a 1 or a 2 exactly 50 times.
C
Cassie will roll an even number about 150 times.
D
Cassie will roll an even number exactly 150 times.
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
What is the value of the expression below?
( ) ( )
3 + −4 + −3 + 5 8 5 8 4
A
0
B
1 20
C
9 20
D
24 5
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Carmine paid an electrician x dollars per hour for a 5-hour job plus $70 for parts. The total charge was $320. Which equation can be used to determine how much the electrician charged per hour?
A
= 5x
B
5x = 320 − 70
C
( 70 + 5)x = 320
D
( 70 − 5)x = 320
320 + 70
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
The relationship between the length of one side of a square, x, and the perimeter of the square, y, can be represented in an xy-plane by a straight line. Which of the points with coordinates ( x, y ) lie on the line?
A
( 2, 6)
B
( 2, 8 )
C
( 6, 2)
D
( 8, 2)
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
A crew of highway workers paved 2 mile in 20 minutes. If they work at the same 15 rate, what portion of a mile will they pave in one hour?
A
1 150
B
2 45
C
2 5
D
5 2
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Which expression represents the sum of ( 2x − 5y ) and ( x + y )?
A
3x − 4y
B
3x − 6y
C
x − 4y
D
x − 6y
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Which steps can be used to solve for the value of y ?
2 ( y + 57) = 178 3
A
divide both sides by 2 , then subtract 57 from both sides 3
B
subtract 57 from both sides, then divide both sides by 2 3
C
multiply both sides by 2 , then subtract 57 from both sides 3
D
subtract 2 from both sides, then subtract 57 from both sides 3
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
David bought a computer that was 20% off the regular price of $1,080. If an 8% sales tax was added to the cost of the computer, what was the total price David paid for it?
A
$302.40
B
$864.00
C
$933.12
D
$1,382.40
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Suzanne bought a sweater at the sale price of $25. The original cost of the sweater was $40. What percent represents the discount that Suzanne received when buying the sweater?
A
15%
B
37.5%
C
60%
D
62.5%
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Leo bought a used car for x dollars. One year later the value of the car was 0.88x. Which expression is another way to describe the change in the value of the car?
A
0.12% decrease
B
0.88% decrease
C
12% decrease
D
88% decrease
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Last week Len spent $18 to bowl 4 games. This week he spent $27 to bowl 6 games. Len owns his bowling ball and shoes, so he only has to pay for each game that he bowls. If each of these bowling games costs the same amount of money, what is the constant of proportionality between the money spent and the number of games played?
A
1.5
B
2.0
C
4.5
D
9.0
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Julia’s service charge at a beauty salon was $72.60, before tax. The sales tax rate was 8%. If she added 20% of the amount before tax as a tip, how much did she pay for the service at the salon?
A
$87.12
B
$92.93
C
$100.60
D
$145.20
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
A group of friends went to lunch. The bill, before sales tax and tip, was $37.50. A sales tax of 8% was added. The group then tipped 18% on the amount after the sales tax was added. What was the amount, in dollars, of the sales tax? Show your work.
Answer $_________
What was the total amount the group paid, including tax and tip? Show your work.
Answer $_________
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
A pine tree measured 40 1 feet tall. Over the next 7 1 years, it grew to a height of 2 2 1 57 feet. During the 7 years, what was the average yearly growth rate of the height 2 of the tree? Show your work.
Answer__________feet per year
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 7 Math)
Patel bought a model rocket kit from a catalog. The price of the kit was $124.95. The state sales tax of 7% was added, and then a $10 charge for shipping was added after the sales tax. What was the total amount Patel paid, including tax and shipping cost? Show your work.
Answer $______________
Patel received an allowance of $15 per week. How many weeks will it take him to purchase the kit? Show your work.
Answer _______________ weeks
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
D
irections Read this passage. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs
day.
When the story broke on the streets of New York, it took off like a wildfire on a windy
“Gold!” Jason shouted at the top of his lungs. “Read all about it! Gold discovered in Alaska!” 5
The sturdy fifteen-year-old newsboy waving the paper in front of Grand Central Depot had arrived in New York only five days before, after nearly a year spent working his way across the continent. “Gold ship arrives in Seattle!” Jason yelled. “EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! Prospectors from Alaska. Two tons of gold!”
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The headline, GOLD IN ALASKA, spanned the width of the entire page, the letters were so enormous. People were running toward him like iron filings to a magnet. He was selling the New York Herald hand over fist. His sack was emptying so fast, it was going to be only a matter of minutes before he was sold out.
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“Prospectors from Alaska arrive in Seattle! Two tons of gold!” Jason wanted to shout, Seattle is where I’m from! but instead he repeated the cry “Gold ship arrives in Seattle,” all the while burning with curiosity. Beyond the fact that the ship had arrived this very day—this momentous seventeenth of July, 1897—he knew nothing except what was in the headlines. He hadn’t even had a chance to read the story yet. It was unbelievable, all this pushing and shoving. A woman was giving a man a pursebeating over his head for knocking her aside. “Skip the change!” a man in a dark suit cried amid the crush, pressing a silver dollar into Jason’s hand for the five-cent newspaper. “Just give me the paper!”
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When there was only one left, Jason took off running with it like a dog with a prize bone. In the nearest alley, he threw himself down and began to devour the story. At six o’clock this morning a steamship sailed into Seattle harbor from Alaska with two tons of gold aboard. Five thousand people streamed from the streets of Seattle onto Schwabacher’s Dock to meet the gold ship, the Portland.
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Five thousand people at Schwabacher’s Dock! He knew Schwabacher’s like the back of his hand. Mrs. Beal’s rooming house was only six blocks away! Were his brothers,
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
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Abraham and Ethan, among the five thousand? Maybe, but probably not. At that hour they would have been on their way to work at the sawmill. Would they have risked being fired for arriving late? He didn’t think so. His older brothers were such cautious sorts. Hurriedly, Jason read on: “Show us your gold!” shouted the crowd as the steamer nosed into the dock. The prospectors thronging the bow obliged by holding up their riches in canvas and buckskin sacks, in jars, in a five-gallon milk can, all manner of satchels and suitcases. One of the sixty-eight, Frank Phiscator, yelled, ‘‘We’ve got millions!”
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Jason closed his eyes. He could picture this just as surely as if he were there. He’d only been gone for ten months. Suddenly he could even smell the salt water and hear the screaming of the gulls above the crowd. Imagine, he told himself, millions in gold. His eyes raced back to the newsprint: Another of the grizzled prospectors bellowed, “The Klondike is the richest goldfield in the world!” “Hurrah for the Klondike!” the crowd cheered. “Ho for the Klondike!”
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Klondike. Jason paused to savor the word. “Klondike,” he said aloud. The name had a magical ring to it, a spellbinding power. The word itself was heavy and solid and dazzling, like a bar of shiny gold. One of the newly rich disembarking the ship was a young man from Michigan who’d left a small farm two years before with almost nothing to his name. As he wrestled a suitcase weighing over two hundred pounds down the gangplank, the handle broke, to a roar from the crowd.
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It almost hurt reading this, it was so stupendous. Two hundred pounds of gold! 55
60
That man had left home with almost nothing to his name, Jason thought, just like I did. That could have been me if only I’d heard about Alaska ten months ago, when I first took off.... It could have been Jason Hawthorn dragging a fortune in gold off that ship. Jason could imagine himself disembarking, spotting his brothers in the crowd, seeing the astonishment in their eyes...their sandy-haired little brother returning home, a conquering hero! off:
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“Dreams of grandeur,” he whispered self-mockingly, and found the spot where he’d left A nation unrecovered from the panic of ’93 and four years of depression now casts its hopeful eyes upon Alaska. Today’s events, in a lightning stroke, point north from Seattle toward that vast and ultimate frontier whose riches have only begun to be plumbed. It may well be that a gold rush to dwarf the great California rush of ’49 may already be under way as these lines are penned, as untold numbers of argonauts, like modern Jasons, make ready to pursue their Golden Fleeces. Klondike or Bust!
2
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Based on the entire passage, what is the meaning of the word “momentous” in line 18?
A B C D
causes much happiness creates a great disturbance occurs simply by chance becomes historically important
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Read the sentence from line 12 of the passage. People were running toward him like iron filings to a magnet. The author uses this simile to emphasize that the people
A B C D
were interested in the news about the gold were curious about the ship’s arrival wanted to become gold prospectors were unable to resist reading about the gold
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Why does the author alternate between sharing information from the newspaper and showing Jason’s response?
A B C D
to suggest why Jason misses his brothers to show Jason’s feelings at the moment they occur to portray Jason’s interest in reading to show why Jason might want to return home
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Which sentence from the passage best supports the conclusion that Jason is fascinated by the story of the discovery?
A B
“It was unbelievable, all this pushing and shoving.” (line 21) “When there was only one left, Jason took off running with it like a dog with a prize bone.” (lines 25 and 26)
C
“That man had left home with almost nothing to his name, Jason thought, just like I did.” (lines 55 and 56) “It could have been Jason Hawthorn dragging a fortune in gold off that ship.” (line 57)
D
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Which detail would be most important to include in a summary of the passage?
A B C D
Jason had gone to New York instead of Alaska. The headline in the newspaper is written in large print. A boarding house is near the dock in Seattle. Jason’s brothers work at a sawmill.
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
As mentioned in line 16, Jason wants to shout “Seattle is where I’m from” to show that
A B C D
he has already heard this news he knows why the crowd is excited he knows the prospectors on the ship he has a personal connection to the events
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Read the excerpt from lines 63 through 65 of the passage. A nation unrecovered from the panic of ’93 and four years of depression now casts its hopeful eyes upon Alaska. Today’s events, in a lightning stroke, point north from Seattle toward that vast and ultimate frontier whose riches have only begun to be plumbed. What do these sentences mainly suggest?
A B C D
that Alaska was an exciting state that many Americans desired great wealth that the country was still a developing nation that a great discovery was inspiring the country
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
D
irections Read this article. Then answer questions XX through XX.
Brain Birds: Amazing Crows and Ravens by Terry Krautwurst
No matter where you live, they’re your neighbors. You might want to watch them—carefully.
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Let me introduce you to the Corvid family. Like all families, they have their faults. But I think you’ll like them anyway, once you get to know them. They’re sociable—if a bit loud, especially at gatherings. They’re smart and perceptive—though some might say cunning and deceptive. And they’re exceedingly resourceful—come to think of it, you might keep a close eye on your possessions. They’ve been known to steal—food, trinkets, baby animals. Don’t worry. I’m speaking not of any human family, but of the bird family Corvidae, and particularly the crows and ravens in the clan Corvus. Like most members of that genus—which in North America also includes magpies, nutcrackers and jays—crows and ravens are sturdy, stout-beaked, long-legged birds with powerful wings. They also have something of an attitude, which can vary from aloof to in-your-face. You can forgive them for their superior airs1 though, when you consider their resumes. Crows and ravens are the stuff of legend; for centuries, they have been revered and reviled, fawned over and feared by humans. Shakespeare wrote them into his plays, Thoreau into his musings2, Poe into his horror tales. Shrines have been built to them; songs sung; chants chanted. Oh—and one more thing: Crows and ravens are the eggheads of the bird world and thus the darlings of avian science. With the arguable exception of parrots, they’re the smartest winged species on the planet. They’ve even outperformed monkeys in some psychological tests. Truth be told, they’ve outsmarted many a human, too. 1superior
2musings:
airs: showing an attitude of self-importance or overconfidence thoughts
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
THEY’RE EVERYWHERE
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Some 40-plus species of crows and ravens inhabit the skies worldwide over virtually every terrain, from desert to tropics to tundra. In the contiguous United States, the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is easily the most common. Three other crows claim American territory: The slightly smaller fish crow (C. ossifragus) ranges along the East Coast and through the Gulf States east of Texas; the Northwestern crow (C. caurinus) occupies the Pacific Seacoast from upper British Columbia to the northwestern tip of Washington; and the Mexican or Tamaulipas crow (C. imparatus) calls southernmost Texas its home.
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Geographically, the crow’s larger cousin, the common raven (C. corax), is more broadly distributed. Its overall range encompasses almost all of Canada and Alaska; most of the western United States; and New England and the Appalachian mountains. In reality, though, the common raven is less common across its range as a whole, except in higher elevations. Like hawks and eagles, ravens prefer high places from which to search for food.
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45
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Although crows and ravens apparently have no trouble telling one another apart, humans have a harder time discerning the distinctions. Size would seem to matter, since an average raven is far larger (2 to 4 pounds, with a wingspan up to 4 feet) than a correspondingly average crow (1 to 1½ pounds, with a wingspan up to 3 feet). But if you judge strictly by size, you can easily mistake a small raven for a large crow or vice versa.
A raven steals a ski cap.
Finally, listen to the bird’s calls. The crow’s trademark caw caw doesn’t remotely resemble the raven’s characteristic utterance, a deep guttural crrroak or naaaaahk. SPEAKING OF INTELLIGENCE 55
That crows and ravens are classified as songbirds may come as a surprise, but it is the presence of a voice box, or syrinx, rather than talent for melody that qualifies them. They use their vocal equipment to communicate with a large vocabulary of expressive calls for courting, gathering, warning and more. Ornithologists3 have identified as many as 24 crow calls and up to 64 distinct raven vocalizations.
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But it’s brainpower, not bravado vocals, that really sets crows and ravens apart from other animals. They have the largest cerebral hemispheres, relative to body size, of any birds—the raven’s brain is the same size in relation to its body as a chimpanzee’s. More 3Ornithologists:
scientists who study birds
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
significantly, crows and ravens apply their brainpower; they learn quickly, solve problems and store knowledge in long-term memories. 65
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Furthermore, crows and ravens understand cause and effect. In the South Pacific, New Caledonian crows sculpt twigs into hooked probes that they use to pry out otherwise inaccessible grubs—they make their own “crowbars.” The same crows nip the edges of rigid leaves to create sawlike teeth, then shove barbed tools beneath leaf litter to spear prey. They also carry their tools with them on foraging4 expeditions, and store them for later use. Stories abound of crows or ravens dropping nuts or clam shells onto highways and other hard surfaces to break them open. In Japan, crows are reported to have taken the strategy a step further by placing nuts in front of the tires of cars stopped at red lights. Scientific research confirms much of the anecdotal5 evidence. In one study of captive birds, scientist Bernd Heinrich dangled bits of meat from the end of a 2-foot-long string tied to a perch. He then watched his test subjects—first a pair of American crows, and later five common ravens—attempt to bring home the bacon (in this case, it was actually salami). The crows tried flying at the food, then tugged at the string a few times, but gave up within 15 minutes. Time to study the situation didn’t help; after 30 days, they still hadn’t solved the problem. The ravens spent a few hours glancing at the puzzle, as if weighing the possibilities. Then one bird flew to the perch, hoisted a length of string up with its beak, stepped on the loop, pulled up another length, stepped on that loop, and so on until it had reeled in the food. Ultimately, three more ravens also solved the problem. Two improved on the technique by simply grabbing the string and side-stepping along the perch. None of this would surprise ice fishermen in Finland, where hooded crows use the same pull-step-pull-step method to haul in fish on abandoned baited lines. 4foraging:
wandering around to search for food something that is based on a personal account of an incident
5anecdotal:
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Explain how crows and ravens use their intelligence to help them find, capture, and eat food in the article “Brain Birds: Amazing Crows and Ravens.” Use two details from the article to support your answer.
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
D
irections Read this article. Then answer questions XX through XX.
A Soft Spot for Crows by David Shaw
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Crows are probably the most ignored bird species in North America. They are often viewed as pests, or at the very least as untrustworthy. Even the term for a group of crows, a “murder,” hardly creates positive associations. Yet these birds are everywhere. They are as common, and perhaps as despised, as pigeons. But there’s a lot more to the crow family than most people think. It Runs in the Family The United States has four resident species of crows. The most abundant and widespread is the American crow, which lives across most of the lower 48 and southern Canada.
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The slightly smaller northwestern crow has a nasal voice and occurs only along the coasts of the Pacific Northwest from Puget Sound to south central Alaska. The fish crow is similar in size and voice to the northwestern crow but lives on the Atlantic coast and in the lower Mississippi River region.
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And finally there is the Hawaiian crow, which, as the name implies, occurs only in Hawaii, and there only in a small area of forest. (A fifth species, the tamaulipas, dwells in northern Mexico and is sometimes seen in Texas’ lower Rio Grande valley. But it doesn’t appear to breed north of the border, so it’s not considered a true U.S. resident.) I don’t remember my first sighting of a crow, though I suspect I was very young. Even after I’d developed as a birder, I’m still not sure when I first put that tick on my list. Strange, because for almost every other species I’ve seen, I can remember where I was, what the weather was like and who was with me. The crow? Nothing. Despite its abundance—or, more likely, because of it—I overlooked the crow, just as most people do. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, crows were mercilessly pursued. Killed as farm pests, they declined and quickly became wary of people. But rather than flee to remote parts of the country as most hunted species did, crows found safety in cities and towns. It seems odd, but this is a perfect example of the species’ discerning intelligence. Humans, they learned, will not shoot guns in a city. And food? Well, it’s everywhere! Garbage bins, dumps, picnic areas, parks and backyards were all-you-can-eat buffets to the newly arrived crows. They thrived, and continue to thrive, in our most populous areas.
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2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
Secret Intelligence 30
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Now I have a greater appreciation for crows than ever, even though I live in one of the few parts of the country where there are no crows at all! Here in interior Alaska, crows are replaced entirely by their larger cousins, ravens. So crows are a novelty to me. When I travel to southern Alaska or to the lower 48, I look forward to watching them. Their antics are remarkable. Much like puppies, or even people, they are constantly at play—tussling in the air, feigning attacks and learning as they do. In recent studies of northwestern crows, researchers from the University of Washington have determined that the species is capable not just of recognizing humans individually, but also of teaching their offspring which humans are dangerous. The study went something like this. A biologist wearing a distinctive mask provided an unpleasant experience to adult crows by capturing, banding, and measuring them. Later, when the masked researcher walked below the nest, the banded adults gave alarm calls and dive-bombed the human.
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The chicks, while never experiencing the negative associations for themselves, carried the fear and aggression toward the masked human—but not other humans—into their own adulthood. In short, they were taught to beware not of humans in general, but of one human in particular. A Different Point of View
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This study, while fascinating, is only one example of how crows are capable of reasoning and solving problems in their environment. When I moved to Olympia, Washington, to attend college, I was intrigued by the many shells of clams and mussels along the roadsides and sidewalks of town. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how they had gotten from the beach, a few hundred yards away, to the pavement in such large numbers. Then, one day, birding1 along the Olympia waterfront, I paused to watch a pair of crows foraging2 on the gravel beach. They were probing around the rocks with their long black bills when one popped up holding a small mussel. The bird flew into the misty air and passed over my head toward a nearby parking lot. 1birding:
birdwatching wandering around to search for food
2foraging:
28
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
65
70
75
80
85
Through my binoculars I watched as the crow hovered 20 feet above the pavement and let go of the mussel. It fell onto the concrete and shattered. The crow settled to the ground and pulled the tasty morsel from inside the broken shell. A moment later the bird was back on the beach searching for more, and my mystery was solved.
• Crows are a prominent part of the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds. Animal trainer Ray Berwick used several crows in the film, in part because the birds were easy to train.
This kind of discovery makes birding in our own backyards—and city streets— fascinating. Even with our most common and unappreciated species, there are things to learn.
• Some scientific studies have indicated that crows know how to count.
The crow is much more than a noisy pest. Catch one perched in the sunlight, and its feather will glitter with an iridescent sheen. Then watch as it inspects the world through dark, intelligent eyes. There’s more going on behind those eyes than you might suspect. Observe for a few moments, or hours, and you’re sure to learn something. So, too, will the crow.
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Interesting Facts about Crows
• Jays and mockingbirds are not the only mimics in the birding world. Crows can mimic several animal sounds.
• Though they are related, crows and ravens are different birds. They look alike, but on average, ravens are several inches longer. • Crows can always be picked out by their familiar caw-caw. • Crows are very social birds and will congregate in large numbers to sleep. It’s common to find roosts with several hundred crows, or even thousands. • As omnivorous birds, crows will consume almost anything edible. The oldest recorded wild American crow was 16, and a captive one in New York lived to be 59.
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
According to the author of “A Soft Spot for Crows,” the fact that crows live in cities or towns is an example of their intelligence. Explain the author’s reasoning and tell whether or not it is sound. Use two details from the article to support your answer.
30
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
In “Brain Birds” and “A Soft Spot for Crows,” are the authors’ attitudes toward crows and ravens positive or negative? How do the authors convey their views? Use examples from both articles to support your response. In your response, be sure to • identify the authors’ attitudes toward crows and ravens • explain how each author supports his views • use examples from both articles to support your response
Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
37
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 ELA)
38
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Lucy graphed a system of linear equations. y 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 -1 -2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10
What is the solution to the system of equations?
A
(− 4, 2)
B
(−1, 3)
C
( 0, 2)
D
( 2, 4 )
1
x
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Which sequence of transformations takes
A to its image, B?
y 10 9 8 7
A
6 5 4
B
3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 -1 -2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10
A
reflection over the x-axis and translation 2 units down
B
reflection over the y-axis and translation 2 units down
C
translation 2 units down and 90° rotation about the origin
D
translation 12 units right and 90° rotation about the origin
3
x
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
What is the solution to the equation below? 2( x − 3= )
2x + 5
A
x = 23 4
B
x = −2 3 4
C
There is no solution.
D
There are infinitely many solutions.
5
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Which graph below does not represent a function of x? y
A
y
5 4 3 2 1 0
C
1 2 3 4 5
x
5 4 3 2 1 0
1 2 3 4 5
y
B
y
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
1 -5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 0 -1
x
1 2 3 4 5
D
x
1 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 -1
-2
-2
-3
-3
-4
-4
-5
-5
7
1 2 3 4 5
x
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Simplify: 48 − 4 4
A
4− 32
B
4− 2
C
44
D
412
9
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
3 Which expression is not equivalent to 66 ? 6
A
1 62
B
6− 3
C
1 216
D
1 63
10
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
A lab has two bacteria cultures. Culture A contains 8 × 10 4 bacteria, and culture B contains 4 × 106 bacteria. How do the two cultures compare in size?
A
Culture A contains twice as many bacteria as culture B.
B
Culture A contains
1 as many bacteria as culture B. 2
C
Culture A contains
1 as many bacteria as culture B. 25
D
Culture A contains
1 as many bacteria as culture B. 50
11
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Evaluate: ( 2.4 × 10 4 )( 4.5 × 103 )
A
1.08 × 107
B
1.08 × 108
C
1.08 × 1012
D
1.08 × 1013
12
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
A water tank is in the shape of a right circular cylinder with a height of 20 feet and a volume of 320π cubic feet. What is the diameter, in feet, of the water tank?
A
16
B
10
C
8
D
4
13
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Which equation does not represent a linear function of x?
A
y = −3 x 4
B
y = x 2
C
y = − 3 + 2x
D
y = 3x 2 − 2
14
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
If ABC is rotated 90° clockwise about the origin, what will be the new coordinates of vertex B? y
5 4
A
3 2
B -5
-4
C -3
-2
1
-1 0 -1
1
2
-2 -3 -4 -5
A
(−1, − 4 )
B
(1, 4 )
C
( 4, 1)
D
( 4, −1)
15
3
4
5
x
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Mr. Wallace surveyed 75 students at Poole Middle School to find out the students’ favorite place to eat lunch. The results are shown below.
FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT LUNCH Cafeteria Outside Total Boys
16
21
37
Girls
24
14
38
Total
40
35
75
Which table shows the approximate relative frequencies of Mr. Wallace’s data?
A
B
FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT LUNCH
FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT LUNCH
Cafeteria Outside Total
Cafeteria Outside Total
Boys
16%
21%
37%
Boys
40%
60%
49%
Girls
24%
14%
38%
Girls
60%
40%
51%
Total
40%
35%
75%
Total
100%
100%
100%
C
FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT LUNCH
FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT LUNCH
Cafeteria Outside Total
Cafeteria Outside Total
Boys
21%
28%
49%
Boys
43%
57%
100%
Girls
32%
19%
51%
Girls
63%
37%
100%
Total
53%
47%
100%
Total
53%
47%
100%
D
17
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Solve the equation below for d. 0.2( d −= 6)
0.3d + 5 − 3 + 0.1d
Show your work.
Answer d =
19
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Triangle ABC was rotated 90° clockwise. Then it underwent a dilation centered at the origin with a scale factor of 4. Triangle A’B’C’ is the resulting image.
What parts of A’B’C’ are congruent to the corresponding parts of the original triangle? Explain your reasoning.
Compare the perimeters of
ABC and A’B’C’. Explain your reasoning.
28
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
Students organized a 12-hour “dance-a-thon” as a fundraiser for their summer camp. The graph below represents the amount of money they raised during the first 8 hours.
Total Amount Raised (dollars)
y
DANCE-A-THON FUNDRAISER
540 480 420 360 300 240 180 120 60 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
x
Number of Hours What was the amount of money raised per hour during the first 8 hours? Show your work or explain how you determined your answer.
Answer $_____________ per hour
35
2013 Released Questions (Grade 8 Math)
During the next 4 hours of the dance-a-thon, the students raised money at twice the hourly rate of the first 8 hours. On the coordinate plane on the previous page, complete the graph for the next 4 hours to represent the total amount of money raised at the dance-a-thon. Use words and numbers on the following lines to explain how you knew where to draw the graph.
36
