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Online Science League
A Division of AcademicLeagues.com
Sixth Grade Sample Contest
Student Name _________________________
Date ___________________
Rules: You have 30 minutes to complete this test. You must work independently,
and no reference tools may be used. Each question has exactly one right answer.
Part 1: Life Science
1. Oxygen-rich blood exits the heart in which type of vessel?
A. capillaries
C. aorta
B. veins
D. vena cava
2. A healthy adult human skeleton consists of how many bones?
A. 206
C. 350
B. 106
D. 260
3. All living things are made up of cells. However, plant cells differ from animal cells in
some ways. Which of the following is found in plant cells, but not in animal cells?
A. nucleus
C. cell wall
B. lysosomes
D. mitochondria
4. Which statement about hibernation is not true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The animal moves around often while hibernating to stay warm.
The heartbeat of the animal slows down.
The body burns its stored fat to survive.
The animal’s body hardly moves.
5. Scientists often place living things into 5 different groups called kingdoms, so they
may be studied. Which of the following kingdoms is not correctly paired with a living
thing that is part of that kingdom?
A. Animalia – humans
C. Fungi – mushrooms
B. Plantae – trees
D. Protista – mold
Part 2: Physical Science
6. Which of these is a chemical change?
A. water evaporating
C. burning a piece of paper
B. cutting a piece of paper
D. separating oxygen from other gases in air
7. What is a compound?
A. Two or more things that maintain their separate identities when mixed
together.
B. A liquid mixture where the atoms of one substance are spread evenly
throughout another substance.
C. A substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by ordinary
chemical means.
D. A pure substance formed by two or more elements reacting to form another
new substance that is chemically different from any of the single elements.
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8. What orbits the nucleus of an atom?
A. proton
C. molecule
B. neutron
D. electron
9. According to Newton’s Laws of Motion, an object will speed up or slow down only
when force is applied to it. In addition, how much the object speeds up or slows down
depends on how heavy the object is and how much force is applied to it. Keeping this in
mind, which of the following objects would you expect to have the greatest acceleration?
A.
B.
C.
D.
A refrigerator being pushed by a small child
A refrigerator being pushed by an average size man
A parked bicycle being hit by a car going 15 miles per hour
A parked car being hit by another car going 30 miles per hour
Part 3: Earth Science
10. Which type of rock is formed when magma or lava cools?
A. sedimentary
C. metamorphic
B. igneous
D. shale
11. Which of these is not a sedimentary rock?
A. limestone
C. sandstone
B. granite
D. gypsum
12. Minerals are identified on a scale of 1 to 10 by hardness, using a scale called the
Mohs scale. The higher the number, the harder the mineral. If an unknown mineral can
scratch quartz, which of the following statements must be true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The unknown mineral is harder than quartz.
The unknown mineral is softer than quartz.
The unknown mineral must be a 10 on the Mohs scale.
The unknown mineral must be a lower number on the Mohs
scale than quartz.
13. Different types of clouds form at different elevations above the earth’s surface.
Which of the following types of clouds typically forms at the lowest altitude?
A. Cumulus
C. Cirrostratus
B. Cirrus
D. Altocumulus
Part 4: Astronomy
14. Which color star has the highest surface temperature?
A. red
C. blue
B. yellow
D. orange
15. Stars are formed when gravity pulls together clouds of gas and dust in space. As
more gas and dust get pulled in, it heats up. The heat and pressure cause the gases to go
through a reaction which makes the star give off light and energy. What is that reaction
called?
A. nuclear fission
C. conduction
B. nuclear fusion
D. condensation
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Online Science League
A Division of AcademicLeagues.com
Answer Key – Sixth Grade Sample Contest
1. C (Blood enters the heart from the body through the vena cava. The blood is then sent to the
lungs through the pulmonary arteries. The oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart through the
pulmonary veins, and is pumped out to the body through the aorta. For a better look at the heart,
check out www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/heartstructure.html.)
2. A (Humans are actually born with about 350 bones in their bodies. However, by the time we
reach adulthood, many of these bones have fused together.)
3. C (Plant and animal cells are very similar. However, plant cells contain some items that
animal cells do not. One of these is a thick cell wall which helps protect the cell. To see some
helpful illustrations of plant and animal cells, check out www.cellsalive.com/cells/3dcell.htm.)
4. A
5. D (Molds fall under the fungi kingdom.)
6. C (A chemical change is a change that a substance goes through when it becomes a new,
different substance. Observable signs typically include the presence of heat, color change, smoke,
light production, bubbling, and fizzing.)
7. D (Answer A is the definition of a mixture, B is a solution, and C is an element.)
8. D (Protons and neutrons are found inside the nucleus of an atom. Electrons orbit the atom.)
9. C (Sir Isaac Newton published his Laws of Motion in 1687. They said, in part, that the more
mass an object has, the more force that is needed to accelerate or decelerate the object. So an
object with less mass (or amount of matter in the object) will accelerate faster from the same
amount of force than an object with more mass. The equation for this is F=ma, where F is force,
m is mass, and a is acceleration. For more on Newton’s Laws of Motion, visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_laws_of_motion.)
10. B (Igneous rock is formed when molten rock cools and hardens. This may occur above or
below ground. For more about rocks, visit www.rocksforkids.com.)
11. B
12. A (The Mohs scale was developed in 1812 by a German mineralogist named Friedrich
Mohs. It assigns a number between 1 and 10 to a mineral based on hardness. Each mineral can
scratch a mineral softer than itself, but not a mineral harder than itself. On the Mohs scale, a
diamond has a rating of 10 and talc has a rating of 1. For more information, including the
complete scale, visit www.amfed.org/t_mohs.htm.)
13. A (Cumulus clouds can be found below 6,000 feet in altitude. Altocumulus range from 6,000
feet to 20,000 feet. Cirrostratus and Cirrus both range from 20,000 feet to 40,000 feet. For more
about clouds, visit http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides.)
14. C (Red stars are typically between 5,400º and 6,300º Fahrenheit; orange stars generally
range from 6,300 to 9,000º F; yellow stars, such as the sun, range from 9,000º to 10,800º F; and
blue stars burn between 20,000º up to an incredible 72,000º F.) source: (Zeman, Anne, and Kate
Kelly. Everything You Need to Know About Science Homework. New York: Scholastic, 2005)
15. B (The gas and dust that form stars go through nuclear fusion. This means that the nuclei of
the atoms join together. Nuclear fission is when a nucleus breaks apart. Conduction refers to heat
being passed from one object to another. Condensation is the part of the water cycle where water
vapor cools and forms small water droplets.)
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