GED Science (Test 6)

Refer to the following information to answer Questions 1–3.

The three major structural tissues in the human body are fat, muscle, and
bone. Fat can be of two types: essential fat or storage fat. Essential fat is stored in
bone marrow and in organs. Storage fat is the type we usually think of as excess
fat, since it often adds unwanted weight to our bodies. Storage fat is fatty tissue
that surrounds internal organs or is deposited beneath the skin.
The following circle graphs compare the body composition of an
average-sized young man with that of an average-sized young woman.

1. Which tissues make up a greater percentage of the body composition of an

average-sized young man than of an average-sized young woman?
A. total fat and bone
B. bone and muscle
C. total fat and muscle
D. muscle only
2. Isabella is an average-sized young woman, and Noah is an average sized young
man. Which statement about Isabella and Noah is best supported by the passage
and the graphs?
A. Isabella has a more difficult time losing weight than Noah.
B. Isabella has a higher percentage of total fat than does Noah.
C. Isabella has the same percentage of total fat as does Noah.
D. Isabella eats more sweets than Noah does.

3. What is the most reasonable explanation for why women tend to have a higher
percentage of total fat than men?
A. Women have broader hips than men.
B. Women have larger appetites than men.
C. Women’s bodies use added fat to protect female reproductive organs.
D. Women tend to do less physical labor than men.

4. The phrase “survival of the fittest” best describes _____________ .

A. mitosis
B. mutations
C. natural selection
D. recessive traits

Questions 5 and 6 are based upon the following information.

Populations of white moths and black moths live in a forest that is located
near a factory. The factory is powered by the burning of fossil fuels, which
releases airborne black soot that eventually covers the trees in the area. As a
result, the trees become darker in color.

5. This set of events could result in __________ .

A. a decrease in the white moth population
B. a decrease in the black moth population
C. a decrease in respiratory problems among people living nearby
D. an increase in the number of trees growing in the area

6. Which of the following would NOT help prevent pollution from the factory from
entering the air?
A. using solar energy to power the factory
B. using wind turbines to power the factory
C. driving hybrid vehicles
D. using steam to power the factory
Refer to the following information to answer Questions 7 and 8.

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. Veins are
blood vessels that carry blood toward the heart. In contrast to arteries, veins are
less muscular and are often closer to the skin. Most veins (with the exceptions of
the pulmonary and umbilical veins) carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues
back to the heart. Most veins contain valves, which are bicuspid structures that
look like two flaps made of elastic tissue. When the surrounding muscles
contract, blood inside the veins is squeezed up the vein and the valves open.
When the muscles relax, the valves close under the weight of the blood to prevent
backflow.

7. What is the purpose of valves in veins?

A. to increase the speed of blood flow
B. to restrict the flow of blood to a single direction
C. to enable blood to flow back and forth
D. to transfer blood from arteries to veins

8. Which of these has an action similar to that of the valves in veins?

A. a bicycle tire
B. the filament of a lightbulb
C. a garden hose
D. the motor of a fan

Use the following information and diagram to answer Question 9.

An evolutionary tree is one way of showing evolution from a common

ancestor. A sample evolutionary tree is shown below.
The points along the diagonal line where the links between species intersect
indicate a common ancestor. The nearer the point of intersection, the more
closely related are the two species.

9. Based on the diagram, species A and B are more ___(closely/distantly)___ than

are species A and C.

Refer to the following information to answer Questions 10-13.

10. According to the graph, about how much oxygen is consumed per minute by a
person at rest?
A. 0.1 liter
B. 0.3 liter
C. 0.8 liter
D. 1.0 liter
11. Which statement best summarizes the graph?
A. The steady-state rate of oxygen consumption depends on jogging speed.
B. Oxygen consumption increases most rapidly during the first 6 minutes
of jogging.
C. Oxygen consumption is lower while at rest than during jogging.
D. Oxygen consumption rises during the first 6 minutes of jogging and
remains at a steady state while jogging continues

12. Suppose that after 10 minutes of slow jogging at a rate of 12 minutes per mile,
a person suddenly speeds up to a rate of 10 minutes per mile. What will be the
most likely effect on oxygen consumption?
A. an increase to a higher steady-state level
B. a steadily falling rate and no new steady-state level
C. a continuation of the same steady-state level
D. a decrease to a lower steady-state level

13. Which of the following might be the jogger’s rate of oxygen consumption if
she continues to run at 10 miles per hour for another 5 minutes?
A. 1.5 liters per minute
B. 1.7 liters per minute
C. 1.8 liters per minute
D. 2.0 liters per minute

Refer to the following information to answer Questions 14 and 15.

Homeostasis refers to the ability of cells or body systems to keep a stable

internal environment as the external environment changes. Cells and body
systems monitor their internal environment and adjust the internal conditions if
a change occurs. These adjustments may be made through a negative feedback
system or a positive feedback system.
A negative feedback system is a process in which an initial change will
bring about an additional change in the opposite direction.
A positive feedback system is a process in which an initial change will
bring about an additional change in the same direction.
Write your answer in the blank.

14. When skin is cut and blood vessels get damaged, platelets start clinging to the
injured site and release chemicals that attract more platelets. The platelets
continue piling up and releasing chemicals until a clot is formed. This is an
example of a _____________ feedback.

15. When the blood sugar level in a person’s blood rises, receptors in the body
sense a change. The pancreas in turn secretes insulin into the bloodstream, which
lowers the blood sugar level. This can be referred to as a _____________ feedback.

Questions 16 and 17 refer to the following graph.

16. From the cooling curves, find the decrease in temperature of liquid A in the
first six minutes.
A. 40°
B. 50°
C. 55°
D. 35°
17. From the cooling curves, it is observed that ____(liquid A/liquid B)___ has the
lower specific heat.

Questions 18 and 19 refer to the following passage.

A thermodynamic system is a quantity of matter of fixed identity, around

which there is a specified boundary. Everything outside the boundary is the
surroundings. Two systems, 1 and 2, are said to be in thermal equilibrium if their
boundaries are permeable only to heat and do not change over time. Heat flows
from system 1 with the higher temperature to system 2 with the lower
temperature. Thus system 1 releases heat (negative sign for heat released) and
system 2 absorbs heat (positive sign for heat absorbed) until they attain an equal
temperature. According to the laws of thermodynamics, if two systems are in
thermal equilibrium, then

where for system 1,

Q1 = heat released from system 1;
m1 = mass;
C1 = specific heat;
T1 = temperature;

for system 2,
Q2 = heat absorbed by system 2;
m2 = mass;
C2 = specific heat;
T2 = temperature;

Tfinal = final temperature of the final system when systems 1 and 2 are in contact.
18. A 12.9-g sample of an unknown metal at 26.5° is placed in a Styrofoam cup
containing 50 g of water at 88.6°. The water cools down, and the metal warms up
until thermal equilibrium is achieved at 87.1°. Assuming all the heat released by
the water is absorbed by the metal and that the cup is perfectly insulated,
determine the specific heat of the unknown metal. The specific heat of water is
4,186 J/(kg·K).

A. 1,401.03 J/(kg·K)
B. 401.03 J/(kg·K)
C. 4,010.3 J/(kg·K)
D. 40,103 J/(kg·K)

19. When two bodies are in thermal equilibrium, their ___________ are the same.

Questions 20 and 21 refer to the following passage.

A change in the energy of a system occurs due to heat added to the system
and work done by the system. This can be explained by the first law of
thermodynamics, which states that in a thermodynamic process involving a
closed system, the change in the internal energy is equal to the difference
between the heat transferred to the system and the work done by it. Therefore,
taking ΔU as a change in internal energy, you can write

where Q = quantity of heat supplied to the system by its surroundings and W =

work done by the system on its surroundings. Q is positive if heat is added to the
system and negative if heat is removed; W is positive if work is done by the
system and negative if work is done on the system.

20. If a system has 60 J of heat added to it, resulting in a change of internal energy
of 40 J, what is the work done by the system?
A. 50 J
B. 20 J
C. 30 J
D. 60 J
21. An athlete doing push-ups performs 650 kJ of work and loses 425 kJ of heat.
What is the change in the internal energy of the athlete?
A. −225 kJ
B. −1,075 kJ
C. 1,075 kJ
D. 225 kJ

Questions 22 and 23 refer to the following passage.

Energy exists in many forms around us. The development of modern

civilization has been accomplished because scientists and engineers had learned
the mechanism of converting one form of energy into another to do useful work.
The transformation of energy from coal into steam and then into mechanical
energy in engines that do heavy work enabled the Industrial Revolution. There
are different forms of energy around us, such as mechanical energy (potential
energy and kinetic energy), chemical energy, electrical energy, radiant energy,
nuclear energy, and thermal energy. All of these forms of energy are related and
can be transformed or changed into the other forms to do useful work.

22. Hydroelectric dams make use of the differences in water levels to generate
electricity. Which of the following shows the energy conversion in a dam?

A. Gravitational potential energy → Kinetic energy → Electrical energy

B. Electrical energy → Heat energy → Electrical energy
C. Kinetic energy → Heat energy → Electrical energy
D. Kinetic energy → Heat energy → Light energy

23. Which of the following shows the energy conversions that are required to
illuminate a battery-operated table lamp?

A. Electrical energy → Chemical energy → Light energy

B. Electrical energy → Chemical energy → Kinetic energy
C. Chemical energy → Electrical energy → Light energy
D. Chemical energy → Electrical energy → Kinetic energy
Questions 24–27 refer to the following passage.

A chemical equation is a representation of a chemical reaction, where

reactants under certain chemical conditions react with each other to form
products. A chemical equation is written in a specific way to show reactants and
products, with an arrow separating reactants from products. In reactions with
more than one reactant or product, plus signs separate the individual products
and reactants from each other. Numbers called coefficients, placed in front of
each reactant, specify the ratio required to convert all of the reactants to
products. Products also have coefficients that indicate the ratio of each of the
products in the reaction. The subscripts after a chemical element tell how many
atoms of that element are present in the molecule. For example, the chemical
equation for the formation of sugar from water and carbon dioxide is as follows:

The equation obeys the law of conservation of mass and is called a

balanced chemical equation. The law states that the mass of the reactants must
equal the mass of the products. This can be determined by counting the number
of atoms of each element to verify that there is the same number of atoms in the
reactants as in the products.

24. Ozone (O3) is produced in the upper atmosphere when oxygen gas (O2)
absorbs high-energy sunlight. Which equation correctly describes this reaction?
A. O2 + energy → O2
B. O2 + energy → 2O2
C. 2O2 + energy → 3O2
D. 3O2 + energy → 2O3

25. Iron (Fe) can combine with oxygen (O) to produce any one of the three
different iron oxides: FeO, Fe2O3 , and Fe3O4 . Of the three oxides, FeO is the most
unstable. If FeO is exposed to air, it forms Fe2O3 . Which equation correctly
describes this reaction?
A. FeO + O2 → Fe2O3
B. FeO + O2 → 2Fe2O3
C. 2FeO + O2 → Fe2O3
D. 4FeO + O2 → 2Fe2O3
26. In a chemical equation, the symbol representing the phrase reacts with is a(n)
______________________, and the symbol representing the word yields is a(n) __________.

Write your answer in the blank.

27. In a chemical equation, the number of molecules of a given substance is

indicated by a ___________.

Questions 28–30 refer to the following chart.

28. The following chemical equation takes place in the presence of specific heat.
CaCO3 (s) → CaO(s) + CO2 (g) This reaction is an example of a _______ .
A. redox reaction
B. combination reaction
C. decomposition reaction
D. displacement reaction
29. In a neutralization reaction, acids react with _____________________ to form
________________ and water.

30. Which of the following reactions is a combination reaction?

A. AgNO3 (aq) + HCl(aq) → AgCl(s) + HNO3 (aq)
B. Na2O(s) + CO2 (g) → Na2CO3 (s)
C. C3H8 (g) + 5O2 (g) → 3CO2 (g) + 4H2O(l)
D. 2H2O(l) → 2H2 (g) + O2 (g)