Physical Science SOL Practice Test — Set 2 of 4
Set 2 of 4 — 50 more free Physical Science SOL practice questions from official VDOE released tests.
1. A plant’s green color is due to the presence of which organelle?
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Answer: A — Chloroplast
2. A graduated cylinder contains water. Four possible eye positions are shown at different heights relative to the water’s curved surface (meniscus). The most accurate measurement is taken when the eye is level with the lowest point of the meniscus. From which position would the most accurate measurement be made?
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Answer: C — Position 3
3. Bear species have the following food sources: Brown bear: fruits, nuts, roots, insects, fish, small vertebrates, carrion Black bear: fruits, berries, nuts, roots, honey, insects, rodents, fish, carrion Polar bear: seals, fish, seabirds, hares, caribou, musk oxen Panda: bamboo stems and leaves only Which species would be most in danger of becoming extinct if one of its food sources became unavailable?
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Answer: B — Panda
4. Which of these has the greatest influence over how big a baby elephant will grow?
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Answer: B — The amount of food available
5. At what speed would a car have to move to travel 20 kilometers in two hours?
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Answer: B — 10 km/hr
6. The quality of air is monitored by the government to determine whether a city needs to control air pollution. To best measure air quality, the air should be tested —
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Answer: C — several times a day in all kinds of weather
7. A food web includes producers (plants), mice, foxes, hawks, and owls. Mice eat only plants. Foxes, hawks, and owls eat animals. Which consumer eats only producers?
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Answer: D — Mouse
8. Which body in the solar system usually contains an atmosphere?
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Answer: B — A planet
9. Which of the following is used to measure the mass of an object?
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Answer: A — Balance
10. Three identical plants are grown under different colored lights (red, green, and yellow). The same amount of water and fertilizer is used for each. Which change would improve the experiment testing whether plants grow faster in green light?
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Answer: C — Use the same kind of plant in all trials
11. A transverse wave diagram shows crest-to-rest height labeled as region 3. Which numbered region represents the amplitude of the wave?
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Answer: C — 3
12. Which resource would give the most current, complete, and accurate information on planets?
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Answer: B — The NASA website
13. Which planet in the solar system was most recently discovered?
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Answer: D — Pluto
14. Electric bills are calculated based on energy consumed. This is measured in units of —
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Answer: D — kilowatt hours
15. Which system shows a transformation from chemical energy to electrical and light energy?
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Answer: A — A car battery causes headlights to shine
16. To study the cause of the Moon’s phases, which model would be best?
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Answer: A — Earth, Moon, and Sun made of clay with a light source representing the Sun
17. People are concerned about a new coal-burning power plant in their neighborhood. What is probably their main concern?
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Answer: C — Burning coal produces sulfur dioxide, contributing to acid rain
18. Which biome contains large populations of grazing herbivores, few bird species, and deep, rich soil?
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Answer: D — Grassland
19. Cells → Tissues → Organs →?
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Answer: C — Systems
20. Which of these is due entirely to inheritance in humans?
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Answer: B — Eye color
21. Which of these is best classified as a mixture?
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Answer: C — Soil
22. The force that holds planets in orbit around the Sun is called —
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Answer: D — gravity
23. Which belongs in the outermost energy level of an atom?
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Answer: A — Electrons
24. Ranchers cross cattle and buffalo to create “beefalo.” Buffalo tolerate extreme temperatures but have poor-tasting meat. Cattle have good-tasting meat but low temperature tolerance. What good qualities might beefalo possess?
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Answer: C — Heat tolerance and good-tasting meat
25. A line graph shows plant height over seven days. Plant A (fertilized soil) increases from 0 cm on day 0 to about 2 cm by day 5. Plant B (unfertilized) reaches about 1 cm by day 5. What will most likely occur on day 6?
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Answer: B — Plant A increases about 1 cm
26. How are humans classified within a food chain?
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Answer: B — Consumers
27. Items collected in a beach cleanup: Plastics: 95,560 Metals: 22,100 Glass: 20,040 Styrofoam: 19,280 Paper: 10,340 Wood: 4,160 What percentage of the total items collected was plastic?
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Answer: C — 56%
28. Convection is the result of —
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Answer: A — currents caused by the motion of heated molecules
29. Breaking a piece of glass changes its shape but not its properties. What has occurred?
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Answer: D — Physical change
30. Snapdragon seeds are placed on moist paper towels at 10°C, 15°C, 20°C, and 25°C. What is the independent variable?
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Answer: D — Temperature
31. Which of the following is a substance made of two or more elements chemically combined?
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Answer: B — Compound
32. Which is produced as a result of photosynthesis?
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Answer: C — Oxygen
33. A proton has which charge?
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Answer: C — Positive
34. Using a periodic table, which list is ordered from least to most protons?
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Answer: C — O, S, Se, Te
35. Lions hunt together and share food. This best illustrates —
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Answer: A — cooperation
36. The most productive ecological environment has —
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Answer: A — stable temperatures and high rainfall
37. A sea urchin has radial symmetry. This means its body parts are —
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Answer: A — equally arranged around a central point
38. A pond ecosystem contains lily plants. If all lily plants were removed, what would most likely happen?
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Answer: D — Fewer places for animals to hide
39. Two light bulbs are connected in a circuit. A switch placed at point 1 (before the bulbs) will interrupt current to both bulbs. Where must the switch be placed to turn off both lights?
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Answer: A — 1
40. Calcium metal is produced by passing electricity through molten calcium chloride, forming calcium metal and chlorine gas. What is the balanced equation?
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Answer: D — CaCl₂ → Ca + Cl₂
41. A bar graph shows plant biomass when grown in non-nutritive soil with one substance added. Biomass is highest when sulfates are present. Which substance is most important in developing biomass?
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Answer: B — Sulfates
42. Which diagram best shows reflection of light from a mirror (angle of incidence equals angle of reflection)?
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Answer: D — Diagram D
43. The density of an object depends on mass and —
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Answer: C — volume
44. Which has the most influence on ocean tides?
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Answer: B — Gravity between Earth and the Moon
45. John and Emily test the effects of road salt on plants. Which change best improves the experiment?
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Answer: D — Water half with pure water and half with salt water
46. In a food web including grass, shrubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, rabbits, mice, shrews, frogs, snakes, and hawks, which organism has the greatest number of food sources?
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Answer: B — Hawk
47. In which environment would you expect the greatest number of different species per square mile?
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Answer: D — Tropical rain forest in Panama
48. Which of these usually contains an atmosphere?
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Answer: B — Planet
49. Hurricanes form in tropical waters between 8 and 20 degrees north and south of the equator. Hurricanes rarely form at higher latitudes because the water is too —
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Answer: D — cold
50. A metal spoon was placed in a dish of ice cream and became cool. Which correctly describes the heat transfer process that resulted in the cooling of the spoon?
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Answer: A — Conduction, because the spoon was in contact with the cold ice cream
Physical Science SOL practice test — FAQ
Are these Physical Science SOL practice questions free?
Yes — this Physical 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 Physical Science SOL practice questions are there?
Across all sets, there are 187 Physical 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 Physical 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.