Basic Science Practice Test Questions

Basic science questions are common on College Entrance exams, Nursing entrance Exams, and Armed Services entrance exams.  The following Science practice questions are similar to what you can expect to find on a standardized test.

Basic Science Tutorials

Great Selection of basic science topics from Jefferson County School website.
Very comprehensive list of science and other tutorials from the Vocational Information Center.

 

Science Practice Questions

 

1. The _______ Theory defines acids and bases in terms of the electron-pair concept; according to its definition, an acid is an electron-pair acceptor, and a base is an electron-pair donor.

  1. Arrhenius
  2. Lewis
  3. Clark
  4. Brønstead-Lowry

2. In chemistry, a _______ is any compound produced by a chemical reaction between a base and an acid.

  1. Salt
  2. Radical
  3. Crystal
  4. Electrolyte

3. In the periodic table of the elements, elements are arranged in order of their atomic  ______, which is the number of _______ found in their nucleus.

  1. Mass, protons
  2. Number, neutrons
  3. Mass, neutrons
  4. Number, protons

4. Any physical manifestation that is part of the observable structure, function or behavior of a living organism is its ________________.

  1. Genetic code
  2. Chromosome
  3. Genotype
  4. Phenotype

5. The manner in which instructions for building proteins, the basic structural molecules of  living material are written in the DNA is a __________ ___________.

  1. Genotypic assignment
  2. Chromosome pattern
  3. Genetic code
  4. Genetic fingerprinting

6. A ______ ______ is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an ecological community.

  1. Food web
  2. Food chain
  3. Food network
  4. Food sequence

7. Gas laws are physical laws concerning the behavior of gases.  Boyle’s law and Charles’ law may be combined to give the general or universal gas law, which is expressed as:

  1. (pressure x volume)/temperature = constant
  2. (pressure x temperature)/volume = constant
  3. (pressure x constant)/temperature = volume
  4. (temperature x volume)/pressure = constant

8. Classification is a grouping of organisms based on similar _______ and ______________.

  1. Traits, evolutionary histories
  2. Traits, biological histories
  3. Behaviors, evolutionary histories
  4. Traits, evolutionary advancement
  5. Characteristics, evolutionary histories

9. The groups into which organisms are classified are called taxa and include, in order of size, ______, _________, __________, _________, _________, and _____________.

  1. Genus, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species
  2. Order, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Genus, Class, and Family Species
  3. Genus, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species
  4. Kingdom ,Genus, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species
  5. Family species, Order, Class, Phylum/division, Kingdom, and Genus

 

 Answer Key

1.  B
The Lewis Theory defines acids and bases in terms of the electron-pair concept; according to its definition, an acid is an electron-pair acceptor, and a base is an electron-pair donor.

2.  A
A salt is any compound produced by a chemical reaction between a   base and an acid.

3.  D
In the periodic table of the elements, elements are arranged in order of their atomic  number, which is the number of protons found in their nucleus.

4.  D
Any physical manifestation that is part of the observable structure, function or behavior of a living organism is its phenotype.

5.  C
The manner in which instructions for building proteins, the basic structural molecules of  living material are written in the DNA is a genetic code.

6.  A
A food web is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an ecological community.

Note:  A food web differs from a food chain in that the latter shows only a portion of the food web involving a simple, linear series of species (e.g., predator, herbivore, plant) connected by feeding links. A food web aims to depict a more complete picture of the feeding relationships, and can be considered a bundle of many interconnected food chains occurring within the community.

7. A  Gas laws are physical laws concerning the behavior of gases.  Boyle’s law and Charles’ law may be combined to give the general or universal gas law, which is expressed as:

(pressure x volume)/temperature = constant

Note:  Boyle’s law and Charles’ law are concerned with the relationships between the pressure, temperature, and volume of an ideal (hypothetical) gas. Van der Waal’s law includes corrections for the non-ideal behavior of real gases.

8. A
Classification is a grouping of organisms based on similar Traits and evolutionary histories.

Note: Taxonomy and systematics are the two sciences that attempt to classify living things.  In taxonomy, organisms are assigned to groups based on their characteristics. In modern systematics, the placement of organisms into groups is based on evolutionary relationships.

9. A
The groups into which organisms are classified are called taxa and include, in order of size, Genus, Kingdom, Phylum/division, Class, Order, and Family Species. 

 

 

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