A 12 V battery is connected across a 4 Ω resistor. What current flows?NASA Glenn Research Center, Ohm's Law. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0004
A constant 40 N force pushes a crate 5 m in the direction of the force. How much work is done on the crate?NASA Glenn Research Center, Work. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0003
A metal block has a mass of 540 g and a volume of 200 cm³. What is its density?USGS Water Science School, Water Density. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0001
A net force of 12 N acts on a 3 kg cart. What is the cart's acceleration?NASA Glenn Research Center, Newton's Laws of Motion. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0003
A puck slides across very smooth ice with no unbalanced force acting on it. What does it do?NASA Glenn Research Center, Newton's Laws of Motion. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0003
Show all 60 questions (55 more)
Physical science, continued
A speaker plays a tone and then a second tone of higher frequency. In the same air, how does the second sound compare with the first?NASA Glenn Research Center, Doppler Effect. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0004
A student on a skateboard pushes backward against a wall with a force of 150 N. What force does the wall exert on the student?NASA Glenn Research Center, Newton's Laws of Motion. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0003
At a hydropower dam, gravity forces water down through a turbine to produce electricity. Which form of stored energy does the water high behind the dam hold?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Forms of energy. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0003
At very high temperatures, electrons are stripped from atoms, leaving a mixture of neutral atoms, free electrons and charged ions. What is this state of matter called?NASA Glenn Research Center, Phases of Matter. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0001
Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes of carbon. How do their atoms differ?U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Isotopes. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0001
Gasoline is a hydrogen-carbon fuel. When it burns, which two exhaust products come from the fuel combining with oxygen?NASA Glenn Research Center, Combustion. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0002
Helium, neon and argon belong to which class of elements on the periodic table?PubChem (National Library of Medicine), Periodic Table of Elements. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0001
How does a catalyst speed up a chemical reaction?U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Catalysts. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0002
How many O₂ molecules balance the combustion of methane: CH₄ + __ O₂ → CO₂ + 2 H₂O?NASA Glenn Research Center, Combustion. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0002
Normal rainfall has a pH of about 5.6. How is it described?USGS Water Science School, pH and Water. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0002
Using the atomic masses C = 12.011 and O = 15.999, what is the molar mass of carbon dioxide, CO₂?PubChem (National Library of Medicine), Periodic Table of Elements. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0002
What happens when a magnet is moved through a coil of copper wire?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Magnets and electricity. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0004
Which electromagnetic waves carry enough energy to knock electrons out of atoms?NASA Science, Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0004
Which electromagnetic waves have the longest wavelengths, and which have the shortest?NASA Science, Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0004
Which of these stores chemical energy?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Forms of energy. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0003
Which particle count sets an element's atomic number on the periodic table?U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Isotopes. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0001
Which statement correctly contrasts nuclear fission and nuclear fusion?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Nuclear explained; U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Fusion Reactions (https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsfusion-reactions). Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0002
Why can sound not travel through the vacuum of space?NASA Science, Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0004
Why does ice float on liquid water?USGS Water Science School, Water Density. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 230 Physical Science (6–12), competency 0001
Life science 18
A food web for the Gulf of Maine puts phytoplankton at its base and herring and scallops at the next level. What are herring and scallops called?NOAA Education, Aquatic food webs. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0003
During fertilization, a sperm cell and an egg cell unite. What results?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Gamete. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0001
Estuaries are usually found where rivers meet the sea. What kind of water are their plants and animals adapted to?NOAA National Ocean Service, What is an estuary?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0003
For one gene, an individual inherited a different version from each parent. Which term describes the individual for that gene?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Homozygous. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0002
For one gene, three individuals are recorded as BB, Bb and bb. What do these symbols represent?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Genotype. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0002
How many different amino acids serve as the building blocks of proteins?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Amino Acids. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0001
In a beetle population, color is inherited, and birds eat green beetles more often than brown ones. What is expected over many generations?UC Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Natural Selection. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0002
In a food web diagram, an arrow points from plankton to krill. What does it show?NOAA Education, Aquatic food webs. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0003
In meiosis, how many rounds of division does a diploid cell undergo, and what do they yield?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Meiosis. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0001
In one plant species, the allele T for tall stems is dominant over the allele t for short stems. Two heterozygous plants (Tt × Tt) are crossed. What fraction of the offspring is expected to be short?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Recessive Traits and Alleles. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0002
What happens during transcription?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Transcription. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0002
What happens when a coral bleaches?NOAA National Ocean Service, What is coral bleaching?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0003
What is a codon?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Codon. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0002
Which cell structure reads a messenger RNA sequence and builds the protein it codes for?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Ribosome. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0001
Which organelle holds digestive enzymes that break down excess or worn-out cell parts?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Lysosome. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0001
Which processes release carbon from living things back into the atmosphere or soil?NOAA Education, Carbon cycle. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0003
Why can a virus not replicate on its own?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Virus. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0001
Why do most phytoplankton float in the upper part of the ocean?NOAA National Ocean Service, What are phytoplankton?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 231 Life Science (6–12), competency 0003
Earth and space science 18
A colder air mass moves in and replaces a warmer air mass. What is the boundary between them called?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0002
A weather balloon rises through the troposphere and on into the stratosphere. How does the air temperature change with height in each layer?NOAA JetStream, Layers of the Atmosphere. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0002
At which phases of the Moon do spring tides, with their slightly larger tidal ranges, occur?NOAA National Ocean Service, What are spring and neap tides?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0001
At which type of plate boundary is crust neither produced nor destroyed as the plates slide horizontally past each other?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Understanding plate motions. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0001
Because of Earth's rotation, which way do ocean currents in the Northern Hemisphere veer?NOAA Education, Ocean currents. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0002
Below the ground, what is the upper surface of the zone of saturation called?USGS Water Science School, Aquifers and Groundwater. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0003
Deep within the Earth, a rock is subjected to high heat and pressure and becomes a metamorphic rock. What happens to it in the process?USGS, What are metamorphic rocks?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0001
During El Niño, what happens in the tropical Pacific Ocean?NOAA National Ocean Service, What are El Niño and La Niña?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0002
Earth is closest to the Sun in January. Why is January still a winter month in Georgia?National Weather Service, What Causes the Seasons?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0002
Most of the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that cause acid rain come from which source?U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, What is Acid Rain?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0003
What are the two major causes of global sea level rise?NOAA National Ocean Service, Is sea level rising?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0003
What is the cosmic microwave background?NASA Science, Universe overview: Cosmic History. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0001
What is the greenhouse effect?NASA Science, What is the greenhouse effect?. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0002
What process releases the energy of a main sequence star such as the Sun?NASA Science, Stars. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0001
Where is the ozone layer, and what does it do?U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Basic Ozone Layer Science. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0003
Which layer of Earth is a dense, hot layer of semi-solid rock about 2,900 km thick, lying below the crust?USGS, This Dynamic Earth: Inside the Earth. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0001
Which list names only renewable energy sources?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Sources of energy. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0003
Why is coal classified as a nonrenewable energy source?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Coal explained. Written to GACE Science (717) testlet 232 Earth and Space Science (6–12), competency 0003
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the framework of the GACE Science (6–12) assessment (717) on the GACE website of the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/studyguide/framework/717 and https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/test/717, read 2026-10-07: testlet 230 Physical Science, about 40 selected-response questions in four competencies of 25% each; testlet 231 Life Science, about 30 in three competencies of a third each; testlet 232 Earth and Space Science, about 30 in three competencies of a third each. This bank holds 24, 18 and 18, six for every competency. Every fact was read on 2026-10-07 in the public page named under its question (NASA, NOAA, USGS, the Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration, EPA, the National Human Genome Research Institute, PubChem, the National Weather Service and UC Berkeley's Understanding Evolution), and every calculated answer was worked out a second time from the numbers in the question. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
These free GACE science test practice questions follow Science (6–12), assessment 717: 60 questions of our own across physical, life, and Earth and space science. They are unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or Pearson.
Read the full guide
What the test covers
The framework lists three testlets. Physical science, about 40 questions: matter, reactions and energy, force and motion, and waves, electricity and magnetism. Life science, about 30: life processes, genetics and evolution, and ecosystems. Earth and space science, about 30: space and geology, weather and climate, and resources. This bank holds 24, 18 and 18.
Timing
Physical science is a 60-minute testlet; the other two run 45 minutes each. Exam mode asks all 60 questions in 90 minutes, the same pace.
How the answers are checked
Every fact was read on the public page named under its question, from NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey and other public science sources.
The real test puts a periodic table, a constants and formulas sheet and a scientific calculator on screen for all three testlets.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the GACE science test?
Science (6–12) has 100 selected-response questions in three testlets. The GACE site says test forms can include non-scored questions that are being tried out.
What is a passing score on the GACE science test?
The GACE site sets three conditions for an assessment built of testlets: take every testlet, meet the floor on each one, and reach an assessment-level score of 220 or higher. This page reports the number right, with no verdict.
Is GACE Science the same as GACE Biology?
No. Science (6–12) is the broad-field assessment across three sciences. The GACE site lists Biology (6–12), Chemistry (6–12) and Physics (6–12) as separate assessments, each with testlets of its own.
Are these GACE science practice questions from the real test?
No. Each was written for this site from a competency in the framework and a named public source. None is taken or reworded from a real test or from the sample questions in the study guide.