TIMSS
Sample Elementary School
Science Test (Grades 3 and 4)


Instructions
  • Please enter an identity code using the following information:
    username (or code name), grade, city, state, country

    Example: cooljr/grade4/utica/ny/usa


  • Click on the circle to answer each multiple choice question.
  • To answer the free form questions type in your answer
  • Use the scroll down bar to advance to the next question.
  • When you have completed all the questions press the "Submit" button at the bottom of the test.
  • Your test results and links for assessing your results will appear within seconds.

    The bullets in the bottom corner of each problem indicate the question has not been answered. Questions left unaswered will be given a value of nr(no response).

    1)This table shows the temperature and precipitation (rain or snow) in four different towns on the same day.

    Where did it snow?

    A) Town A
    B) Town B
    C) Town C
    D) Town D

    _________________________________________________________________________

    2) Which one of these refers only to living things?

    A) clouds, fire, rivers
    B) fire, rivers, trees
    C) rivers, birds, trees
    D) birds, trees, worms
    E) trees, worms, clouds _________________________________________________________

    3) Your temperature is taken when you are NOT sick. Which temperature is CLOSEST to what the thermometer would show?

    A)29°C
    B) 37°C
    C)100°C
    D) 212°C


    __________________________________________________________________________

    4) The picture shows a block of wood floating in fresh water.

    If this block were placed in salt water from the ocean, which picture shows what would happen?

    A) B) C) D)

    __________________________________________________________________________

    5) This is a drawing of a bird’s foot..

    Where would you be MOST likely to find such a bird?

     

    A) forest
    B) meadow
    C) cornfield
    D) desert
    E)lake

    __________________________________________________________________________
    6)

    Keisha is pushing her bicycle up a hill. Where does Keisha get the energy to push her bicycle?

    A) From the food she has eaten
    B) From the exercise she did earlier
    C) From the ground she is walking on
    D) From the bicycle she is pushing

    __________________________________________________________________________

    7) A powder made up of both white specks and black specks is likely to be

     

    A) a solution
    B) a pure compound
    C) a mixture
    D) an element

    __________________________________________________________________________

    8)Which of the boxes X, Y, or Z has the LEAST mass?

    A) X
    B) Y
    C) Z
    D) All three boxes have the same mass.

    __________________________________________________________________________

    9) A girl wanted to play on a seesaw with her little brother. Which picture shows the best way for the girl, who weighed 50 kg (kilograms), to balance her brother, who weighed 25 kg?

    A)
    B)
    C)
    D)

    __________________________________________________________________________

    10) John kept some seeds on moist cotton in a dish. Mike put the same kind of seeds in a dish beside John’s dish, and covered them with water. After two days, John’s seeds sprouted, but Mike’s did not.

    Which is the most likely reason?

    A) Mike’s seeds needed more air.
    B) Mike’s seeds needed more light.
    C) Mike did not put the dish in a warm enough place.
    D) Mike should have used a different kind of seed.

    __________________________________________________________________________
    11) The Moon produces no light, and yet it shines at night. Why is this?

    A) The Moon reflects the light from the Sun.
    B) The Moon rotates at a very high speed.
    C) The Moon is covered with a thin layer of ice.
    D) The Moon has many craters.

    __________________________________________________________________________
    12) A beam of light strikes a mirror as shown.

    Which picture best shows what the reflected light would look like?

    A)
    B)
    C)
    D)

    __________________________________________________________________________
    13) In a box there is a mixture of iron filings and sand. Which is the easiest way to separate the iron filings from the sand?

    A)Pour water on the mixture
    B) Use a magnifying glass
    C) Use a magnet
    D) Heat the mixture

    __________________________________________________________________________
    14) Which is NOT used as an energy source?

    A) Flowing water
    B) Iron ore
    C) Sun
    D) Oil

    __________________________________________________________________________
    15) To find out whether seeds grow better in the light or dark, you could put some seeds on pieces of damp paper and

    A) keep them in a warm, dark place
    B)keep one group in a light place and another in a dark place
    C) keep them in a warm, light place
    D) put them in a light or dark place that is cool

    __________________________________________________________________________
    16) Which travels fastest?

    A) A train
    B) An airplane
    C) Sound
    D) Light

    __________________________________________________________________________

    17) What is the BEST reason for including fruits and leafy vegetables in a healthy diet?

    A) They have a high water content.
    B) They are the best source of protein.
    C) They are rich in minerals and vitamins.
    D) They are the best source of carbohydrates.

    __________________________________________________________________________
    18)

    Some things were buried in wet ground. Several years later they were dug up. Which thing is MOST likely to have stayed the same?

    A) An egg shell
    B) A plastic cup
    C) A paper plate
    D) An orange peel

    __________________________________________________________________________
    19) When a glass jar is placed over a lighted candle, the flame goes out.

    Why does this happen?

    A) carbon dioxide is trapped in the glass
    B) the oxygen will be used up
    C) it gets too hot in the glass
    D) the wind makes it go out
    D) the glass makes it cold

    __________________________________________________________________________

    20) Which picture does NOT show an insect?

    A)
    B)
    C)
    D)

    __________________________________________________________________________

    21) Four children can feel and smell an object inside a bag, but they cannot see it. Which of the following is NOT an observation about the object?

    A) “It is flat at one end and round at the other.”
    B) “It smells like peppermint.”
    C) “It has a bump on it.”
    D) “I hope it is candy.”

    __________________________________________________________________________


    22) Ken put a thermometer in a glass filled with hot water. Why does the liquid inside the thermometer rise?

    A) Gravity pushes it up.
    B) Air bubbles are released.
    C) Heat from the water makes it expand.
    D) Air pressure above the water pulls it up.

    __________________________________________________________________________

    23) Some children were trying to find out which of three light bulbs was brightest. Which one of these gives the best START toward finding the answer?

    A) One bulb looks brightest to me, so I already know the answer.”
    B) All the bulbs look bright to me, so there cannot be an answer.”
    C)It would help if we had a way to measure the brightness of a light bulb.” .
    D) We can take a vote and each person will vote for the bulb he or she thinks is the brightest.”

    __________________________________________________________________________


    24) Here is a picture of the inside of a box. If you put a worm on the X on the bottom of the box, to which corner would you expect it to go?

    A) Damp and light
    B) Dry and light
    C) Damp and dark
    D) Dry and dark

    __________________________________________________________________________
    25) The Sun is bigger than the Moon, but they appear to be about the same size when you look at them from the Earth. Why is this?

    A) The moon shines only at night
    B) Because the sun is rotating
    C) The moon is closer to the earth
    D)The sun is higher up than the moon.

    __________________________________________________________________________



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