Study Guide

Field 051: Elementary Education Subtest 2 
Sample Selected-Response Questions

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General Test Directions for Elementary Education Subtest 2

Each question in this test is a selected-response question with four answer choices. Read each question and answer choice carefully and choose the  start uppercase ONE end uppercase  best answer.

Try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  be penalized for guessing.

You may  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  use any type of calculator or reference materials during the test session.

Sample Selected-Response Questions

Competency 0004 
Analyze events and developments in the history of Oklahoma, the United States, and the world.

1. Which of the following developments most directly influenced the shift from nomadic life to village living and occupational specialization among the Neolithic peoples of the Near East?

  1. the creation of religious belief systems
  2. the fashioning of tools from stone and wood
  3. the establishment of the family group as the basic social unit
  4. the cultivation of food-producing plants

Correct Response: D. The cultivation of food-producing plants by Neolithic peoples created food surpluses that freed some population segments for work in specialized occupations. Because food crops require regular attention throughout much of the year, their increased production strongly influenced the shift from nomadic life to the development of permanent settlements with sedentary populations.


Competency 0005 
Apply operations and algebraic thinking.

2. Which of the following pairs of numbers shares a greatest common factor with 15 and 30?

  1. 10 and 25
  2. 30 and 55
  3. 60 and 75
  4. 80 and 105

Correct Response: C. The greatest common factor of two nonzero whole numbers, a and b, is the largest whole number that is a factor of both a and b. In this case, 15 times 1 equals 15 and 15 times 2 equals 30; therefore, the greatest common factor of 15 and 30 is 15. Since 15 times 4 equals 60 and 15 times 5 equals 75, 15 is also the greatest common factor of 60 and 75.


Competency 0008 
Apply concepts of functions.

3.

Janelle calls her friend Frank long-distance. The first minute of the call costs  dollar sign 0.08, and each additional minute costs  dollar sign 0.04. The total cost of the call is  dollar sign 1.64. For how many minutes did Janelle and Frank talk?

If x represents the total number of minutes talked, which of the following equations can be used to solve the problem above?

  1. 0.08 plus 0.04 equals 1.64
  2. 0.08 plus 0.04 left paren x minus 1 right paren equals 1.64
  3. left paren 0.08 plus 0.04 right paren x equals 1.64
  4. left paren 0.08 plus 0.04 right paren x minus 1 = 1.64

Correct Response: B. Given that x is the total number of minutes, the number of additional minutes is left paren x minus 1 right paren, the total number of minutes minus the first minute. The charge for the first minute, dollar sign 0.08, combined with the total charge for the additional minutes dollar sign 0.04 left paren x minus 1 right paren, equals the total charge for the call, dollar sign 1.64. Therefore, the total number of minutes can be found by solving for x in the equation 0.08 plus 0.04 left paren x minus 1 right paren equals 1.64.


Competency 0009 
Apply concepts of measurement.

4. The diagram below shows five different figures on a geoboard.

The diagram shows a geoboard 14 pegs wide and 3 pegs high. In the first figure, the line goes 1 unit right, 2 units down, 1 unit left, and 2 units up to form a rectangle. In the second figure, the line goes 1 unit right, 1 unit down, diagonally to the pin 1 unit left and 1 unit down, diagonally to the pin 1 unit left and 1 unit up, 1 unit right, and 1 unit up to form a shape resembling a square sitting on the right half of a triangle that points down. In the third figure, the line goes 1 unit right, diagonally to the pin 1 unit right and 1 unit down, 1 unit down, 1 unit left, 1 unit up, and diagonally to the pin 1 unit left and 1 unit up to form a shape resembling a trapezoid on top of a square. In the fourth figure, the string goes diagonally to the pin 2 units right and 2 units down, 2 units left, and 2 units up to form a right triangle. In the fifth figure, the string goes 1 unit left, 2 units down, diagonally to the pin 1 unit left and 1 unit up, 1 unit left, and diagonally to the pin 1 unit right and 1 unit up to form a figure resembling a square with triangles appended to its left and bottom sides.

Which of the following statements about the figures is true?

  1. All the figures have the same area.
  2. All the figures have the same perimeter.
  3. The sum of the internal angles of all the figures is the same.
  4. The corresponding sides of all the figures are proportional.

Correct Response: A. The area of any figure equals the number of square units that can fit inside it. By this definition it can be said that the first figure has an area of two square units on the geoboard. Each of the subsequent figures is comprised of squares and half squares, the total area of which is equal to that of the rectangle.


Competency 0016 
Apply knowledge of the fundamental concepts and core ideas of Earth and space science.

5. Mesosaurus fossils have been found in geologic formations on the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa, and nowhere else in the world. These matching fossil beds are strong evidence that:

  1. convergent evolution occurred over time on these continents.
  2. both continents were once joined together in a single landmass.
  3. similar organisms adapted to diverse environments on the different continents.
  4. the climate conditions of the two continents when the fossils formed were similar.

Correct Response: B. The surface of Earth is composed of plates that move relative to one another. Over the course of geologic time these plates have moved great distances. The continents of Africa and South America are on different tectonic plates that were once adjacent to each other, but are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Since it is unlikely that any organism would have been able to traverse the Atlantic Ocean, the matching mesosaurus fossils found in similar geologic deposits on either side of the ocean provide strong evidence that the continents of Africa and South America were once joined as part of a single continent.


Competency 0017 
Apply knowledge of the fundamental concepts and core ideas of life science.

6.  start bold Use the information below to answer the question that follows. end bold 


   

The diagram shows a food web with the title Ocean Food. At the top of the diagram are Krill/Microscopic Animals on the left and Algae/Microscopic Plants on the right. Below these are Sardines on the left and Herring on the right. Below these are Mackerel on the left and Tuna on the right. Below these is Sharks in the center. Arrows point from Sharks to Mackerel and Tuna. Arrows point from both Mackerel and Tuna to both Sardines and Herring. Arrows point from both Sardines and Herring to both Krill/Microscopic Animals and Algae/Microscopic Plants.



Recent scientific research indicates that the destruction of the earth's protective ozone layer may cause sharp declines in the populations of krill and other microscopic plants and animals in the oceans. How would such declines be expected to affect the food web shown in the diagram above?

  1. The numbers of sardines and herring would increase as those organisms took over habitats formerly used by krill and other microscopic organisms.
  2. All organisms in the food web would suffer sharp population declines as their main food sources became increasingly scarce.
  3. There would be a decrease in sardine and herring populations, but other organisms in the food web would be unaffected.
  4. All other organisms in the food web would experience a brief decline in population but would then return quickly to their original size.

Correct Response: B. The organisms at each level of the food web are dependent upon the organisms in the level above them for their main source of food. Therefore, a decline in the population of organisms at the top of the food web will cause a decline in all the organisms beneath it in the diagram. Therefore, the decline of krill and other microscopic plants and animals causes the decline not only of sardines and herring but also of all the other organisms that are lower on the food web.


Competency 0019 
Demonstrate knowledge of basic genres, materials, tools, and historical and cultural traditions of visual art.

7.  start bold Use the reproduction below of the painting  start italics Stone City, Iowa end italics  by Grant Wood to answer the question that follows. end bold 


   

The painting is a landscape from an elevated viewpoint, showing a rural valley among rounded hills and fields. A pale road winds through the middle ground and over hills into the distance. The simplified buildings of two or three farms plus a blocky building and a steepled building nestle among the curves of the hills and stands of rounded trees.



Which of the following contributes most to the sense of rhythm in this painting?

  1. naturalistic rendition of form
  2. use of formal perspective
  3. repetition of shapes
  4. establishment of uniform value

Correct Response: C. In a work of visual art, as in music, repetition tends to establish a rhythm. In, start italics, Stone City, Iowa, end italics, Grant Wood has used this device to create a variety of rhythmic effects from the slow, rolling rhythm of the mound-shaped hills, to the trees that seem to march along the middle ground, to the lively staccato rhythm of the seedlings beneath the viewer's feet.


Acknowledgments

 start bold Item 7 end bold  
Wood, Grant.  start italics Stone City, Iowa. end italics  Art © Estate of Grant Wood / Licensed by VAGA, New York. Image © Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska. Used with permission.