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Praxis Pennsylvania Grades 4-8 Core Assessment: Mathematics and Science Practice Test

Praxis Pennsylvania Grades 4-8 Core Assessment: Mathematics and Science practice focuses on mathematical reasoning and foundational scientific understanding for middle-grades teaching. The available questions sample probability, fractions, number patterns, experimental variables, food webs, matter, energy transformations, and rates of dissolving.

Exam overview

Exam providerETS Praxis
Exam code5155
CategoryTeacher Certification

About the Praxis Pennsylvania Grades 4-8 Core Assessment: Mathematics and Sc… Exam

Mathematics tasks in the practice bank involve translating number patterns into expressions, calculating fractional parts of a group, and reasoning about probability from counts of possible outcomes. These skills support explaining how quantities relate and checking whether a result makes sense. Science questions ask learners to identify roles in a food web, distinguish an intentionally changed variable in a comparison, and explain observations using ideas about matter and energy. Examples include conservation of mass during freezing in a closed container, compression of air, energy changes in a flashlight, and factors affecting dissolving. For classroom work, these concepts connect calculations and evidence to clear explanations students can follow. The signals describe the available practice questions only; they do not establish official topic coverage or emphasis.

Sample Practice Questions

Review a selection from this exam's published US Practice Tests practice bank.

Question 1

A bag contains 5 red tiles, 4 blue tiles, and 3 green tiles. What is the probability of selecting a tile that is not blue?

  1. A1/3
  2. B2/3
  3. C3/4
  4. D4/12
Show answerCorrect answer: B

There are 12 tiles altogether, and 8 are not blue. The probability is 8/12, which simplifies to 2/3.

Question 2

In a food web, grasshoppers eat plants and frogs eat grasshoppers. What role do grasshoppers play in this relationship?

  1. AThey are producers because they make their own food from sunlight.
  2. BThey are primary consumers because they eat producers.
  3. CThey are decomposers because they break down dead organisms.
  4. DThey are top predators because they eat frogs.
Show answerCorrect answer: B

Plants are producers. An organism that eats a producer is a primary consumer, so the grasshopper has that role in this food-web relationship.

Question 3

A student places equal amounts of water in two identical containers. One container is left in sunlight and the other in a shaded area. Which variable is intentionally changed?

  1. AThe amount of water
  2. BThe container type
  3. CThe location and exposure to sunlight
  4. DThe starting temperature of the water
Show answerCorrect answer: C

The containers and water amounts are kept the same, while their locations and sunlight exposure differ. That is the intentionally changed variable.

Question 4

Which statement best describes the role of a producer in a food chain?

  1. AIt obtains energy by eating other organisms.
  2. BIt makes food using an energy source such as sunlight.
  3. CIt breaks down rocks into soil without using energy.
  4. DIt receives energy only from decomposers.
Show answerCorrect answer: B

Producers, such as plants, make their own food, often using sunlight through photosynthesis. They provide energy to other organisms in a food chain.

Question 5

A number pattern begins 7, 12, 17, 22, ... Which expression gives the nth term, with the first term corresponding to n = 1?

  1. A5n + 2
  2. B5n + 7
  3. C7n − 2
  4. Dn + 6
Show answerCorrect answer: A

The pattern increases by 5 each time, so its nth term has the form 5n + c. Substituting n = 1 and the first term 7 gives c = 2; thus the rule is 5n + 2.

Question 6

Which statement correctly compares the mass of a sample of liquid water before and after it freezes in a closed container?

  1. AThe mass decreases because freezing removes energy.
  2. BThe mass increases because ice takes up more space.
  3. CThe mass stays the same because the water changes state but is not added or removed.
  4. DThe mass becomes zero because the water is no longer liquid.
Show answerCorrect answer: C

Freezing changes water from liquid to solid, but in a closed container the matter is conserved. The sample’s mass remains the same even though its volume may change.

Question 7

A sealed syringe contains a small amount of air. When its plunger is pushed inward, the air occupies less space. Which explanation best accounts for this observation?

  1. AAir particles can be pushed closer together because there is space between them.
  2. BAir particles shrink into smaller particles when pressure is applied.
  3. CAir particles disappear as the syringe is compressed.
  4. DAir changes into a liquid whenever its volume decreases.
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Gas particles are widely spaced compared with particles in liquids and solids. Pushing the plunger reduces the spaces between air particles, decreasing the gas's volume.

How to use this practice test

Access the free question set and complete a session of up to 20 randomly selected items from the 50-question bank. After the session, review the results to identify which mathematical operations or science explanations need another pass. Use missed questions to practise showing the reasoning behind an answer, not just selecting an option.

Preparation tips

  • For probability items, list the total outcomes and the favorable outcomes, then simplify the resulting fraction.
  • Practise converting arithmetic sequences into nth-term expressions by identifying the common difference and checking the formula at n = 1.
  • When analyzing an experiment, name the variable deliberately changed and distinguish it from measured outcomes and controlled conditions.
  • Explain matter and energy observations with particle and transformation language—for example, compression changes air's volume, while freezing in a closed container does not remove mass.
  • Trace producer-consumer relationships in a food web and describe how energy moves between organisms.
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