Grade 3 Science SOL Practice Test — Set 1 of 6
267 free Grade 3 Science Virginia SOL practice questions drawn from official Virginia Department of Education released tests. Pick an answer to check it instantly, or open “Show answer” to review. No signup required.
1. A student holds a model of Earth that can rotate on a stick. Another student shines a flashlight on the model as it turns. This model is MOST likely used to show —
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Answer: C — day and night
2. Which of these dissolves in water?
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Answer: G — Sugar cubes
3. Which will have a bad effect on the air people breathe?
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Answer: A — Smoke from cars
4. A kazoo is a toy that makes a sound when a person hums into it. Sound comes out of the kazoo because it —
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Answer: J — can vibrate
5. Most plants begin their life cycle as —
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Answer: D — seeds
6. A picture shows a hand holding a bar magnet near metal objects, with some objects sticking to the magnet. Which of these is the BEST title for the picture?
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Answer: F — How Magnets Attract
7. Students grew some seeds in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel. They took a picture each day to record growth. Which description is MOST likely the first picture the students took?
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Answer: B — A plastic bag with a paper towel, water, and a seed with a small root
8. Where will a sidewalk feel hottest on a warm, clear day?
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Answer: G — In direct sunlight
9. A picture shows an adult male cardinal with bright red feathers and a pointed crest, and a young male cardinal with dull-colored feathers and no crest. Which is one way the young male cardinal will change as it grows up?
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Answer: C — It will grow a pointed crest.
10. These living things are in a pond food chain: algae → insects → frogs → snakes. Which of these are producers?
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Answer: A — Algae
11. On her vacation, Mrs. Smith saw a snake. The snake was a solid color and had dark rings around its head. Which is MOST like the snake Mrs. Smith saw?
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Answer: C — A snake with one solid body color and dark bands near its head
12. Which of these is the BEST reason to study weather?
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Answer: F — To be prepared for storms
13. Pickle Types (chart): Dill Pickle: made from cucumber and sour spices Zesty Pickle: made from cucumber and hot spices Candied Pickle: made from cucumber, sugar, and spice Pickled Pepper: made from hot peppers Based on the chart, which pickle will MOST likely taste sweet?
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Answer: C — Candied pickles
14. Which of these is MOST likely a behavior of tame animals that is different from wild animals?
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Answer: G — Eating out of the hands of humans
15. An ice cube placed in sunlight melts quickly. Which BEST explains this event?
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Answer: B — The Sun makes heat.
16. A student looks at a leaf and writes these observations: the leaf is long, has a pointed end, and has a smooth edge. Which description BEST matches the leaf the student looked at?
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Answer: D — Long leaf with a pointed end and smooth edges
17. Which of these is an example of something being recycled?
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Answer: F — Taking glass bottles to a place that makes them into new bottles
18. Which of these is MOST likely made from only one material?
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Answer: C — A paper clip
19. A sign that an apple tree is going to start growing apples is when the tree has —
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Answer: J — flowers
20. While a sailor was out fishing, he got lost at sea. Which object would help him direct the boat back to shore?
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Answer: G — Magnetic compass
21. Which two senses would BEST help a person measure hair length?
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Answer: B — Touch and sight
22. Which of these is MOST flexible?
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Answer: H — Drinking straw
23. After winter, which of these will MOST likely make a tree start to bud?
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Answer: D — More hours of daylight
24. A balance scale shows an empty balloon on one side and the same type of balloon filled with air on the other side. The side with the balloon full of air is lower. Which of these is shown by the balance?
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Answer: H — Air has mass.
25. Near a house are these things: a gravel driveway, a dirt pile, stepping stones, and soil under grass. Which thing will wash away the MOST during a heavy rain?
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Answer: B — Dirt pile
26. For a plant to stay alive indoors, where does it need to be placed?
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Answer: J — Near a sunny place
27. Students want to know how big the leaves of an oak tree are. The BEST way to measure the size of the leaves is to —
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Answer: G — use a ruler
28. Soil is important to a forest because the soil —
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Answer: C — provides nutrients to the trees
29. A student is asked to bring something that feels rough to class. Which would be BEST to bring?
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Answer: H — Sandpaper
30. A black bear eats grasses, roots, berries, insects, fish, and other small animals. Which of these BEST describes a black bear?
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Answer: A — Omnivore
31. Which of the following is one nonliving part in the habitat of a bluebird?
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Answer: B — Air they breathe
32. Ice cubes are an example of which form of water?
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Answer: H — Solid
33. Martina only washes her sweater after she has worn it several times. Martina is helping the environment by —
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Answer: D — conserving water
34. When the Earth is seen from outer space, it looks mainly blue. This is because most of the Earth is covered with —
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Answer: C — oceans
35. Magnets will stick to refrigerator doors because the doors are —
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Answer: G — made of metal
36. Which of these would probably cause a forest habitat to become a desert?
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Answer: A — No rain
37. A tomato plant is shown with roots underground, a stem above ground, branches growing from the stem, leaves attached to the branches, and tomatoes growing on the branches. What part of the plant is the tomato?
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Answer: J — The fruit
38. How do animals help oak trees?
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Answer: C — They carry acorns to different places.
39. Trees in a Forest: The data below show the number of each type of tree in a forest. Pine: about 250 trees Oak: about 300 trees Maple: about 200 trees Elm: about 150 trees Which type of tree is least common in this forest?
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Answer: J — Elm
40. Which instrument should be used to measure how hot the water is in a pot?
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Answer: C — A thermometer
41. Snow and sleet are two kinds of —
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Answer: F — precipitation
42. Pictures show the height of a growing plant over four years. Year 1: 3 feet Year 2: 6 feet Year 4: 10 feet The picture for Year 3 is missing. Which height is most reasonable for Year 3?
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Answer: A — 5 feet
43. Several animals are shown: a bird, a frog, a fish, and a snake. Which statement is true for all of these animals?
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Answer: A — They all hatch from eggs.
44. Which of these will change when a piece of wood is chopped into smaller pieces?
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Answer: A — The weight of each piece
45. The head of an axe is wide at one end and pointed at the other to help cut or trim trees. The axe head is an example of —
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Answer: H — a wedge
46. Weather: The Five-Day Forecast The daily high temperatures are: Wednesday: 47°F Thursday: 45°F Friday: 36°F Saturday: 30°F Sunday: 26°F According to the five-day weather forecast —
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Answer: D — snow is most likely on the weekend
47. All rivers flow to oceans or lakes because water —
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Answer: G — flows downhill
48. Water flowing back to the ocean At which point in the cycle does most evaporation occur?
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Answer: D — 4
49. A compass shows directions because the needle —
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Answer: G — senses electricity
50. The class picked vegetables from their garden. The vegetables collected were: 4 carrots 3 tomatoes 2 peppers 1 squash Which picture graph correctly shows the type and number of vegetables they picked? A B C D 18. Some birds fly south for the winter. Birds know when and where to fly because of — F camouflage G mimicry H instinct J hibernation 19. Which of these best shows circular motion? A A person swinging on a swing B A tennis ball bouncing C A baseball hit by a bat D A spinning wheel on a bike 20. A paper towel strength test shows the towel holding these weights before tearing: 20 g, 10 g, 1 g, 1 g, 1 g, and 1 g. How many grams can the paper towel hold? F 24 g G 34 g H 44 g J 70 g 21. A large area contains these animal populations: Mountain lions: very few Deer: several Rabbits: many Hawks: few Which is the largest population in this area?
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Answer: C — The rabbit
Grade 3 Science SOL practice test — FAQ
Are these Grade 3 Science SOL practice questions free?
Yes — this Grade 3 Science SOL practice test is completely free with no signup. Answer each question to check it instantly, or open "Show answer" to review.
How many Grade 3 Science SOL practice questions are there?
Across all sets, there are 267 Grade 3 Science practice questions drawn from official Virginia Department of Education released SOL tests. This set has 50.
Are these real Virginia SOL questions?
The questions are adapted from official VDOE released SOL tests for Grade 3 Science. SOL Prep is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Virginia Department of Education.
Practice items adapted from Virginia Department of Education released SOL tests. Practice items are provided for study purposes and are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Virginia Department of Education.