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CAST — California Science Test Science — practice by topic

Browse 46 questions across 4 Science topics. Choose what you want to revise, then open a question to check its answer and worked solution.

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Science topics

Earth as a Planet (21)The Moon and Mercury (15)Telescopes and Observing (5)Venus and Mars (5)

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Scientists work out the layered structure of Earth's interior mainly by measuring what?Read the answer and worked solution →The charged particles trapped in Earth's magnetosphere flow out from where?Read the answer and worked solution →Any rock that has cooled from a molten state is placed in which class?Read the answer and worked solution →What supplies the power that keeps Earth's crustal plates moving?Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Scientists work out the layered structure of Earth's interior mainly by measuring what?

  1. Seismic waves passing through it
  2. Ocean currents flowing over it
  3. Sunlight reflecting off it
  4. Magnetic storms above it
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Correct answer: A. Seismic waves passing through it

1. No one can drill deep enough to see the inside of a planet directly. 2. Waves from earthquakes travel right through the interior and change speed in each material. 3. Recording those seismic waves at many stations builds a picture of the layers they crossed. 4. Nothing at the surface, such as ocean currents or sunlight, carries information from that depth. _Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), section 8.1 The Global Perspective_

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The charged particles trapped in Earth's magnetosphere flow out from where?

  1. The cold outer solar system
  2. The hot surface of the Sun
  3. The upper layers of Jupiter
  4. The core of our own planet
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Correct answer: B. The hot surface of the Sun

1. A magnetic field can only trap particles that are already moving through space. 2. A steady stream of charged particles leaves the hot surface of the Sun. 3. That stream is the solar wind, and Earth's field catches part of it. 4. The same wind also stretches our field out on the side facing away from the Sun. _Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), section 8.1 The Global Perspective_

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Any rock that has cooled from a molten state is placed in which class?

  1. Primitive rock
  2. Sedimentary rock
  3. Igneous rock
  4. Metamorphic rock
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Correct answer: C. Igneous rock

1. Rocks are grouped by the process that made them, not by where they are found. 2. Rock that cooled from a melt is called igneous rock, and all volcanic rock is igneous. 3. Sedimentary rock is cemented fragments, and metamorphic rock is altered by heat and pressure. _Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), section 8.2 Earth’s Crust_

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