and Answers
A mathematical model is used to predict the Which question could be answered with a
trajectory of a bullet fired from a gun. controlled experiment?
Which discipline of physical science is used Does ice melt faster in an empty glass or in a
to develop this model? glass full of water?
Do all planets have the same shape of orbit
Physics around the sun?
Chemistry What is the maximum distance between
Earth science Earth and Jupiter?
Astronomy - ANSWER -Physics What is the length of the longest river in North
America? - ANSWER -Does ice melt
faster in an empty glass or in a glass full of
An environmental scientist monitors water?
pollutants in a lake.
Which two disciplines of physical science Which topic would be appropriate for a
does this scientist use? controlled experiment?
Choose 2 answers Determining how fast different chemical
pollutants dissolve in water
Astronomy Comparing the elements present in different
Chemistry stars
Earth science Measuring how fast a river flows
Physics - ANSWER -Chemistry & Earth Predicting the path of a tornado -
Science ANSWER -Determining how fast
different chemical pollutants dissolve in
water
Which study involves both Earth science and
physics?
Which question requires a controlled
Calculating how much energy is associated experiment to answer?
with a hurricane
Measuring the energy produced by a Which type of rock contains the most
generator calcium?
Comparing the composition of crude oil from Which planet has the most moons?
different regions Which elements are found in Earth's
Monitoring changes in phosphorus levels of a atmosphere?
lake - ANSWER -Calculating how much Which fossils formed earliest in Earth's
energy is associated with a hurricane history? - ANSWER -Which type of rock
contains the most calcium?
, WGU Integrated Physical Sciences C165 – PA Test Questions
and Answers
Which type of scientific idea is the student's
Sir Isaac Newton discovered that the force of proposal an example of?
gravity between two masses increases if the
masses increase, and decreases if the Hypothesis
distance between the masses increases. No Theory
experiments have ever contradicted this Law
relationship. Observation - ANSWER -Hypothesis
Which type of scientific statement is this?
Why was the shrinking Earth idea replaced by
Hypothesis the theory of plate tectonics?
Theory
Law Plate tectonics was a new theory, which
Prediction - ANSWER -Law made it more reliable.
Plate tectonics explained observations about
Earth that the shrinking Earth idea could not
The well-accepted scientific explanation for explain.
many characteristics of Earth's crust states Geologists voted on which theory to accept,
that the crust is broken into several large and chose plate tectonics.
plates. These plates move slowly over the Many well-known geologists were involved in
mantle below because of convection and proposing plate tectonics. - ANSWER -
other processes. Earthquakes and volcanoes Plate tectonics explained observations about
are most common at places where the plates Earth that the shrinking Earth idea could not
interact. Evidence from physics, chemistry, explain.
and geology supports this explanation.
Which type of scientific idea is this Astronomers have long accepted that plate
explanation an example of? tectonics exists nowhere in our solar system
except on Earth. In 2011, a scientist analyzed
Hypothesis 100 NASA-space-mission photographs of
Theory Valles Marineris on Mars, the longest known
Law series of canyons in the solar system. The
Prediction - ANSWER -Theory scientist found that Valles Marineris showed
features found only in locations on Earth
where major tectonic plates divide.
A student proposes that sugar will dissolve
faster in rubbing alcohol than in water. The What would be the appropriate response of
student reasons that sugar and rubbing scientists to this information?
alcohol both contain carbon so they will mix
more easily. Reject plate tectonics on Mars as the
explanation because it contradicts accepted