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Proficiency
Test Information |
All students currently in high school are required to pass the 9th grade proficiency tests. Below you will find the outcomes that students need to be able to do in order to pass the science portion. If you have not passed the ninth grade proficiency test and are interested in help, please see or e-mail Miss Becker. After the ninth grade outcomes, you will find the twelfth grade outcomes. If you would like more information, please contact Miss Becker. For further information on Ohio Proficiency Tests at all levels, please see the Ohio Department of Education's web site.
Devise a classification system for a set of objects or a
group of organisms.
Use common
characteristics to group items.
Distinguish between observation and inference given a
representation of a scientific situation.
Tell
the difference between facts and
assumptions.
Identify and apply science safety procedures.
Identify
the safety precautions needed when doing an experiment.
Demonstrate an understanding of the use of measuring devices
and report data in appropriate units.
Choose
an instrument to make a certain measurement.
Describe the results of earth-changing processes.
Describe
changes taking place in the earth's surface.
Apply concepts of the Earth's rotation, tilt and revolution
to an understanding of time and season.
Explain
how seasons change.
Describe interactions of matter and energy throughout the
lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
Explain
materials cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen), currents, and
weather on the land, in the
water,
and in the air.
Apply the use of simple machines to practical
situations.
Describe
how a lever or pulley can make a task easier.
Apply the concept of force and mass to predict the motion of
objects.
Describe
the motion of a thrown ball.
Apply the concepts of energy transformations in electrical
and mechanical systems.
Describe how
the energy in a flashlight battery is transformed into heat
and light.
Apply concepts of sound and light waves to everyday
situations.
Describe
how light and sound travel through different materials.
Describe chemical and/or physical interactions of
matter.
Describe how
a cube of sugar dissolves in water, how metals rust, and how
things burn.
Trace the flow of energy and/or interrelationships of
organisms in an ecosystem.
Identify
the food chain in a lake.
Compare and contrast the characteristics of plants and
animals.
Tell how
plants and animals are alike and different.
Explain biological diversity in terms of the transmission of
genetic characteristics.
Explain
why there are different breeds of dogs or kinds of
plants.
Describe how organisms accomplish basic life functions at
various levels of organization and structures.
Describe
a life function like digestion complete with the appropriate
anatomy.
Describe the ways scientific ideas have changed using
historical contexts.
Describe
how explanations of eclipses have changed over time.
Compare renewable and nonrenewable resources and strategies
for managing them.
Compare
oil and sunlight as sources of energy.
Describe the relationship between technology and
science.
How
do science and inventions affect each other.
Describe how a given environmental change affects an
ecosystem.
Describe
how a flood or drought affects plant and animal
life.
1. Trace energy transformations, and/or apply the principles of mass/energy conservation to physical and biological systems
Identify the changes in the forms of energy within a system
2. Utilize models of atomic and molecular structures and/or interactions to explain, interpret, or predict experimental results
Explain how a chemical reaction occurs on a molecular level
3. Use fundamental forces to explain and make predictions about motions and changes in systems
Explain how the path of a thrown ball can be predicted and why the ball falls toward the ground
4. Analyze the results of changing a component of simple systems
Explain and predict how a change can affect a system like a lake, a machine, or a mountain range
5. Relate structure and function in physical and biological systems
Use the structure of wings and feathers to explain why birds can fly
6. Predict the effect on an ecosystem due to a given or proposed environmental change
Identify how an environmental change will disrupt the balance of an ecosystem
7. Evaluate the scientific validity of data used in persuasive communication
Evaluate the adverstising claim of a soap product
8. Formulate an experimental design to test a given hypothesis
Design an experiment that will test an idea
9. Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of natural phenomena on the earth's geological formations over short and long time spans
Explain how and why mountains, rivers, and lakes change
10. Analyze and interpret meteorological data and predict weather for a specified location
Use data to predict weather
11. Relate planetary cycles and observations to natural phenomen including seasons, tides, days/nights, phases of the moon and eclipses
Explain the tides or an eclipse of the sun
12. Demonstrate an understanding of units of measure and precision by using an appropriate measuring device for an application
Identify the appropriate instrument needed to make a given measurement
13. Identify the safety precautions that should be taken given a Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or a product label with a key
Know how to interpret safety precautions given on a MSDS or a product label
14. Relate the effects of biotic and abiotic factors to animal life including growth, reproduction, and behavior.
Describe how living and nonliving (like fleas and floods) factors can affect animal life
15. Demonstrate an understanding that scientific theories and methods have developed and continue to develop throgh time
Describe how light and water affect plants
16. Relate the effect of light and other factors on various aspects of plant life and growth, including photosynthesis and respiration, germination, and tropism
Describe how light and water affect plants
17. Relate patterns of diversity, extinction, adaptation, and speciation as a result of natural selection at the molecular and population levels
Explain why maple seeds that spin as they fall provide a survival advantage to the maple tree; Use DNA to explain how bulldogs and greyhounds are alike and different
18. Relate biodiversity to the stability of ecosystems within biomes
Explain why a forest is more stable than a corn field when a plant disease occurs