A sand pile holds about 4,500,000 grains. Which is this number in scientific notation?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.5
Between which two whole numbers is √52?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.2
What is (3 × 10⁴) × (2 × 10⁶) in scientific notation?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.5
Which is equal to 3⁴ × 3⁻²?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.4
Which list is in order from least to greatest?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.2
Which number is closest to √30?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.3
Which of these numbers is irrational?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.1.1.1
Show all 48 questions (41 more)
Algebra 26
A bucket holds 6 liters of water and gains 2 liters each minute. Which function gives the liters after x minutes?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.1.2
A line passes through (0, 0) and (6, 15). What is its slope?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.2.2
A line passes through (1, 5) and (3, 9). Which is its equation?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.3
A pond has 5 lily pads, and the number doubles each week: f(x) = 5(2ˣ). How many lily pads are there after 4 weeks?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.2.5
A table has x-values 0, 1, 2, 3 and y-values 4, 7, 10, 13. Which equation fits the table?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.2.1
Ava has $40 and saves $15 each week. How much does she have after 6 weeks?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.2.4
The formula d = rt gives distance from rate and time. Which shows the formula solved for t?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.2
How does the graph of y = 2x + 5 compare with the graph of y = 2x + 1?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.2.3
How many solutions does the system y = 3x + 2 and y = 3x − 5 have?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.8
If f(x) = 3x − 4, what is f(5)?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.1.1
Noah has $50. Tickets cost $8 each, and he wants at least $10 left. Which inequality shows how many tickets t he can buy?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.4
Rink A charges $6 to enter plus $2 per hour. Rink B charges $3 per hour and nothing to enter. After how many hours do they cost the same?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.7
Trail mix costs $6 per pound. Which equation gives the cost C of p pounds, and is the relationship proportional?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.1
What are the slope and the y-intercept of y = −2x + 9?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.2.2
What is the value of |x − 9| + 2 when x = 4?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.3.1
What is the value of √(x + 7) − 1 when x = 9?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.3.1
Which function gives the sequence 5, 8, 11, 14, … for x = 0, 1, 2, 3, …?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.1.4
Which function is NOT linear?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.1.3
Which gives all the solutions of x² = 49?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.9
Which gives all the solutions of |x − 3| = 5?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.6
Which is 2x + y = 7 written in slope-intercept form?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.3
Which point is the solution of the system y = x + 2 and y = 3x − 4?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.4.7
Which property shows that 4(x + 3) = 4x + 12?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.3.2
Which sequence is geometric?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.2.1.5
Geometry and Measurement 8
A line has a slope of 3/4. What is the slope of a line perpendicular to it?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.2.1
A ramp rises 8 feet over a level run of 15 feet. How long is the sloped surface of the ramp?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.1.1
A triangle has sides of 5, 6 and 8 units. Is it a right triangle?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.1.1
Quadrilateral ABCD has corners A(0, 0), B(4, 2), C(5, 5) and D(1, 3). Which sides are parallel?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.2.2
Squares are drawn on the three sides of a right triangle. The squares on the two legs have areas of 16 and 9 square units. What is the area of the square on the hypotenuse?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.1.3
What is the distance between the points (1, −2) and (10, 10)?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.1.2
What is the distance between the points (2, 3) and (2, −5)?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.1.2
Which line passes through (0, 4) and is parallel to y = 3x − 1?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.3.2.3
Data Analysis and Probability 7
A line of best fit for a plant is y = 1.5x + 4, where x is weeks and y is height in centimeters. About how fast does the line say the plant grows?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.2
A line of best fit is y = 5x + 20, where x is hours of practice and y is a test score. What score does it predict for 8 hours?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.2
A line of best fit passes through (0, 10) and (5, 30). Which is its equation?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.1
A scatterplot compares the outside temperature with the cups of hot cocoa a shop sells each day. On warmer days the shop sells fewer cups. How do the points look?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.1
Data for 1 to 6 hours of practice give the line y = 3x + 2 for free throws made out of 20 tries. For 10 hours it predicts 32. Why is that prediction not reasonable?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.3
Data for cars 1 to 8 years old give the line of best fit y = −2,000x + 24,000 for a car's value in dollars after x years. For which age is the line's prediction least reasonable?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.3
On a scatterplot the points rise from the lower left to the upper right. What does this show?Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, benchmark 8.4.1.1
How this list was compiled: Outline: Procedures Manual for Minnesota Statewide Assessments 2026-27 (Minnesota Department of Education, October 2026), https://mn.mypearsonsupport.com/policies-and-procedures/, and the Subscore Report User Guide (August 2026), https://mn.mypearsonsupport.com/additional-services/, both on the Minnesota Assessment Hub, with the department's pages Statewide Testing and Minnesota's Academic Standards-Based Assessments, https://education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/tests/, all read 2026-10-08. Each mathematics question names the benchmark it practices in the Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12, 2007 version, read 2026-10-08 in the copy the Minnesota STEM Teacher Center keeps (a site of SciMathMN and the Minnesota Department of Education), https://stemtc.scimathmn.org/. The answers are arithmetic on the numbers in the question, worked out a second time. The share of each part follows the department's test specifications (Mathematics Test Specifications for MCA-III, Grades 3–8 and 11, September 2019; MCA-IV Test Specifications for Science, July 2025), linked from https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/test/spec/ and read 2026-10-08 in the Internet Archive's copy of 6 March 2026. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from Minnesota's published academic standards. Nothing is copied or reworded from an MCA test, a released or sample item, a Student Readiness Tool or another practice test.
Science: all 18 questions
Physical science 6
A 2-kilogram ball has 1 joule of kinetic energy at 1 meter per second, 4 joules at 2 meters per second and 9 joules at 3 meters per second. What happens to its kinetic energy when its speed doubles?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 8P.2.1.1.2
In a model of a chemical reaction, the starting substances contain 4 hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms. What must the products contain?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 8P.3.1.1.2
Light shines on a smooth mirror and on a dark shirt. What happens to most of the light in each case?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 8P.3.1.1.4; NASA Science, Wave Behaviors
Show all 18 questions (15 more)
Physical science, continued
The same 12-newton push is given to a 2-kilogram cart and to a 4-kilogram cart. Which cart speeds up faster?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 8P.1.2.1.2; NASA Glenn Research Center, Newton's Laws of Motion
Thermal energy is removed from liquid water until it freezes. How are the molecules in the ice different from those in the liquid?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 8P.1.2.1.1; NASA Glenn Research Center, Phases of Matter
Two objects in space pull on each other with gravity. Which change makes the pull stronger?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 8P.4.1.1.1; NASA Space Place, What Is Gravity?
Earth and space science 6
A cliff shows three flat rock layers that have not been disturbed. Which layer is the oldest?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 6E.1.1.1.2; U.S. Geological Survey, Fossils, Rocks, and Time: Rocks and layers
A river town had a spring flood in 9 of the 10 years that followed a snowy winter, and in 1 of the 10 years that followed a dry winter. This winter was snowy. What do the data suggest?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 6E.2.1.1.3
Matching plant and animal fossils are found on the facing coasts of South America and Africa, and the two coastlines fit together. What do these clues support?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 6E.2.1.1.2; U.S. Geological Survey, This Dynamic Earth, Historical perspective
What causes the seasons on Earth?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 6E.4.2.2.1; NASA Space Place, What Causes the Seasons?
Which two things drive the water cycle?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 6E.3.1.1.3; U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School, The Water Cycle
Why does the Moon seem to change shape during a month?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 6E.4.2.2.1; NASA Science, Moon Phases
Life science 6
A deer herd was counted for four years. In the two years with plenty of food it had 120 and 126 deer. In the two years with little food it had 84 and 80. What do the data support?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 7L.2.1.1.1
Beetles living on dark soil are either dark or light in color. Birds find and eat the light beetles more easily. What is expected over many generations?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 7L.3.2.1.4
Each parent plant has one dominant allele (T) and one recessive allele (t). In a Punnett square, what fraction of the offspring is expected to have two recessive alleles (tt)?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 7L.3.1.1.4; National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Recessive Traits and Alleles
In photosynthesis, what do plants use to make sugars?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 7L.3.2.1.2
Which list goes from the smallest level of the body to the largest?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 7L.4.1.1.1
Which part of a cell makes most of the chemical energy that powers the cell?Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019), benchmark 7L.3.1.1.1; National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Mitochondria
How this list was compiled: Outline: Procedures Manual for Minnesota Statewide Assessments 2026-27 (Minnesota Department of Education, October 2026), https://mn.mypearsonsupport.com/policies-and-procedures/, and the Subscore Report User Guide (August 2026), https://mn.mypearsonsupport.com/additional-services/, both on the Minnesota Assessment Hub, with the department's pages Statewide Testing and Minnesota's Academic Standards-Based Assessments, https://education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/tests/, all read 2026-10-08. Each science question names its benchmark in the Minnesota Academic Standards in Science (2019; final with examples and emphasis statements, May 2022), https://stemtc.scimathmn.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/Minnesota_Academic_Standards_in_Science-Final_101322.pdf, and, where a fact is used, the public page it was checked against (NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Human Genome Research Institute), all read 2026-10-08. The share of each part follows the department's test specifications (Mathematics Test Specifications for MCA-III, Grades 3–8 and 11, September 2019; MCA-IV Test Specifications for Science, July 2025), linked from https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/test/spec/ and read 2026-10-08 in the Internet Archive's copy of 6 March 2026. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from Minnesota's published academic standards. Nothing is copied or reworded from an MCA test, a released or sample item, a Student Readiness Tool or another practice test.
How it works
Unofficial practice for Minnesota's grade 8 MCA. It opens on mathematics, and science is the second set. Every question was written for this page. Not affiliated with the Minnesota Department of Education.
Read the full guide
What the 8th grade MCA covers
Mathematics is reported in four strands: number and operation, algebra, geometry and measurement, and data analysis and probability. The state's test specifications give algebra 18 to 29 of the 42 scored questions, so 26 of the 48 here are algebra. Science is reported as physical, Earth and life science in equal shares; the standards teach them in grades 8, 6 and 7.
How the answers are checked
Each math answer names its benchmark in the 2007 standards, the ones the test measures through spring 2027, and was worked out a second time. Each science answer names its 2019 benchmark and, where a fact is used, the NASA, USGS or NIH page it was read on.
On the real math test you cannot go back to a group of questions once you move on. Review your answers in each group first.
Questions and answers
Is there an 8th grade MCA math practice test?
Yes, this page opens on it: 48 mathematics questions written to Minnesota's grade 8 benchmarks. Choose Science above the question for the second set.
What subjects are on the 8th grade MCA?
Reading, mathematics and science. Reading questions are asked about passages, so this page practices mathematics and science only.
How many questions are on the 8th grade MCA?
The department's manual lists about 50 for mathematics, about 50 for reading and about 60 for science. Those counts include field test questions, which do not count toward the score.
Is the MCA timed?
No. The department's manual says the MCAs are not timed, and students keep working as long as they are making progress. Schools usually plan 1.5 to 2 hours for grade 8 mathematics.
Can you use a calculator on the 8th grade math MCA?
On some questions. The online test shows a calculator only on the questions that allow one, and it keeps calculator and non-calculator questions in separate groups.