AEPA Middle Grades General Science Exam

The Middle Grades General Science test measures your knowledge according to the Arizona Academic Standards. Success on the test indicates that you are qualified to teach this subject in Arizona public schools. The test content is drawn from four subareas based on AEPA learning objectives: Characteristics of Science (20% of the test); Life Science (25%); Physical Science (30%); and Earth and Space Science (25%). General content about science includes its history, principles, procedures, and relation to contemporary and historical issues. The test also measures knowledge of characteristics and processes of living organisms, such as cells, natural selection, adaptation, and interactions among populations and ecosystems. Test-takers should know the properties of matter and how it changes, in addition to knowing about force, mass, motion, energy and energy transformation, sound and light, and the principles of electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetism. The final section regards geology (e.g., geologic history and processes), the hydrosphere and atmosphere (including weather), and characteristics of the solar system and universe.

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AEPA Middle Grades General Science Practice Questions

1. Which of the following is a scalar quantity?

A: velocity
B: displacement
C: acceleration
D: momentum

2. Which of the following is the smallest distance?

A: 1 nm
B: 1 m
C: 1 km
D: 1 mm

3. What is a name for a substance that cannot be broken down into other substances?

A: molecule
B: ion
C: compound
D: element

4. What type of bond joins most biological molecules?

A: peptide
B: hydrogen
C: ionic
D: covalent

5. What is another name for an atom or molecule that has gained or lost electrons?

A: polymer
B: acid
C: ion
D: base

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Answer key

1. B. Scalar properties include a quantity but not a direction.
2. A. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.
3. D. An element is any substance that cannot be further subdivided; elements are the building blocks of matter.
4. D. In a covalent bond, two atoms share some electrons.
5. C. An ion can also be described as a charged atom.