Grade 6 Science Written Diagnostic Test

1. Base your answer to this question on the data table below and on your knowledge of science. The
data table shows the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere for a period of 250
years
Atmospheric Concentration of Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Dioxide
Year
Concentration
1750 (parts
28 per
million)
2
1800 28
1850 3
29
1900 0
29
1950 7
31
2000 2
37
8
a) Explain why many scientists are concerned about the increased concentration of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. [2]

b) State one specific action that humans can take to reduce the rate of increase in the concentration of
carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. [1]

2. A student adds sugar to a cup of iced tea and a cup of hot tea. She notices that the time needed
for the sugar to dissolve in each cup is different. She thinks this has something to do with the
temperature of the tea. She wants to design an experiment to see if she is correct.
a) Write a hypothesis based on the student’s observations. [2]

b) Identify two variables that should be held constant in an experiment to test this hypothesis. [2]
(1)

(2)

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 3. A scientist studied a population of deer in an area. One year later, half of the deer
population had moved to another area. Identify two factors that might have caused the
deer to move and explain your answer. [3]

4 The diagram below shows an area before and after a housing development was built there.
Describe two negative ways that the animals living in the area have been affected by
the changes shown in the diagram. [2]
1.

2.

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5. A student uses a pan balance to compare the masses of an orange, an apple, and a pear.
Using the same orange, the student compared its mass to the mass of the pear and then to the
mass of the apple. The results are shown in the diagrams below.

Apple
Orange

Pear
Orange

In the spaces below, list the three fruits in order from the least mass to the greatest
mass and explain how you arrived at your answer. [3]

1 2 3
least mass greatest mass

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