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Teacher Certification · 8005

Praxis Elementary Education Fundamentals: Science Practice Test

Praxis Elementary Education Fundamentals: Science (8005) practice focuses on foundational science concepts and evidence-based reasoning relevant to elementary teaching. The available questions sample matter and its properties, forces and energy, plant and animal structures, weather-related changes, and astronomy. They ask learners to interpret observations and select explanations that connect scientific ideas with familiar classroom investigations.

Exam overview

Exam providerETS Praxis
Exam code8005
CategoryTeacher Certification

About the Praxis Elementary Education Fundamentals: Science Exam

Science questions call for distinguishing observable evidence from an explanation, identifying variables that affect a result, and applying basic physical and life science concepts to everyday situations. Examples include using a magnet to separate materials, relating temperature to particle motion, and explaining how friction changes an object's movement. Life science reasoning includes connecting plant structures with water transport and recognizing the shared gas-exchange function of gills and lungs. Other items ask learners to interpret brightness in terms of a star's distance and energy output or compare conditions that affect evaporation. For elementary teaching, these ideas support accurate explanations, focused observation, and questions that help students connect evidence to a model. Practice with the set can also reveal which concepts need clearer distinctions, such as heat transfer versus temperature or an observation versus an inference.

Sample Practice Questions

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

Question 1

A student mixes sand and iron filings in a dish. Which method would best separate the iron filings from the sand?

  1. APass a magnet over the mixture while keeping it inside a plastic bag.
  2. BAdd more sand until the iron disappears.
  3. CHeat the mixture until the sand evaporates.
  4. DPour water through the mixture because iron filings dissolve in water.
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Iron is attracted to a magnet, while sand is not. A magnet inside a bag can collect the iron filings, and the bag makes it easier to remove them from the magnet afterward.

Question 2

A student observes that a nearby star appears much brighter than most other stars in the night sky. Which factor can explain why it appears brighter, even if it is not the most powerful star?

  1. AIt is closer to Earth
  2. BIt has no gravity
  3. CIt is made of a different kind of matter from all other stars
  4. DIt is reflecting light from the Moon
Show answerCorrect answer: A

A star's apparent brightness depends partly on its distance from Earth as well as its actual light output. A closer star can appear brighter than a more luminous star that is much farther away.

Question 3

A sealed bottle is filled with air and left in a warm place. The air inside becomes warmer. Which change in the air is most likely?

  1. AIts particles stop moving and pack together.
  2. BIts particles move faster on average.
  3. CIts particles change into liquid water.
  4. DIts particles become larger.
Show answerCorrect answer: B

Heating a gas increases the average kinetic energy of its particles, so they move faster. The particles themselves do not become larger.

Question 4

A plant is kept near a sunny window and watered regularly. Which observation would provide the strongest evidence that its leaves are making food using light?

  1. AThe plant’s roots grow toward moist soil
  2. BThe leaves produce oxygen when exposed to light
  3. CThe stem bends toward the window
  4. DThe soil becomes darker after watering
Show answerCorrect answer: B

During photosynthesis, plants use light energy to make sugars and release oxygen. Oxygen production under light is evidence of this process; the other observations do not directly show photosynthesis.

Question 5

A metal spoon and a wooden spoon are left in the same room overnight. The metal spoon feels cooler to the touch. Which explanation best accounts for this sensation?

  1. AThe metal spoon is at a lower temperature because metal always cools below room temperature.
  2. BMetal transfers thermal energy away from the hand faster than wood does.
  3. CWood produces thermal energy that keeps it warmer than the metal.
  4. DThe metal spoon contains less matter, so it cannot hold as much heat.
Show answerCorrect answer: B

When both objects have been in the room long enough, they are approximately at room temperature. Metal conducts thermal energy away from the warmer hand more rapidly than wood, so it feels cooler.

Question 6

A student compares two identical cups of water, one at room temperature and one heated. Which statement best describes the average motion of the water molecules in the heated cup?

  1. AThey move faster on average
  2. BThey stop moving
  3. CThey become larger molecules
  4. DThey change into a different substance
Show answerCorrect answer: A

Temperature is related to the average kinetic energy of particles. In warmer liquid water, molecules move faster on average; heating does not change water into a different substance unless a chemical change occurs.

Question 7

A student pushes a box across a level floor. After the student stops pushing, the box slows down and stops. Which force most directly causes the box to slow?

  1. AGravity pulling the box downward
  2. BFriction between the box and floor
  3. CThe floor pushing upward on the box
  4. DAir pressure pushing equally on all sides
Show answerCorrect answer: B

Friction acts opposite the box’s motion where its surface contacts the floor, reducing its speed until it stops.

How to use this practice test

The free practice session draws up to 20 random questions from the published bank of 50 and displays results after completion. Answer each item before checking results, then use missed questions to identify concepts to revisit, such as forces, particle motion, plant transport, or evidence for photosynthesis.

Preparation tips

  • Compare methods for separating mixtures, and identify which material property—such as magnetism—makes each method work.
  • Distinguish temperature from heat transfer by connecting particle motion to warming and cooling observations.
  • Trace how friction affects motion after a push ends, and explain the change in terms of an opposing force.
  • Review plant water transport and photosynthesis separately; identify what an observation can support about each process.
  • For animal gas exchange, compare gills and lungs by their shared function rather than by their different structures.
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