Unofficial practice for MTEL General Science (64): technology/engineering, Earth and space, life and physical science, each answer sourced.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson. Bank checked October 9, 2026.
A class is told that the engineering design process is iterative. What does that mean?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Engineering Design Process. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0001
A hand-crank flashlight lights up when its handle spins a magnet inside a coil of wire. Which principle explains the light?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity explained: How electricity is generated. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0003
A plastic sheet is cut into strips and sanded smooth. According to the Massachusetts framework, what happens to the material?Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, standard 8.MS-ETS2-4. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0002
A prototype water filter fails its flow test. Which step of the engineering design process comes next?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Engineering Design Process. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0001
A steel blade is heat-treated so that it becomes harder. Which manufacturing process is this?Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, standard HS-ETS2-1. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0002
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Subarea I: Technology/engineering, continued
On a small airplane, the engine and propeller generate thrust. To which subsystem of the vehicle do they belong?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics, Four Forces on an Airplane. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0003
Pouring molten aluminum into a mold to make an engine part is an example of which basic manufacturing process?Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, standard HS-ETS2-1. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0002
Students designing a shade structure for a playground have $800 and three weeks. In an engineering design problem, what are the budget and the deadline?Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, standard 6.MS-ETS1-1. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0001
Students will use a bench grinder that throws off metal particles. Which protection does the OSHA general industry standard require for that hazard?OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.133, Eye and face protection. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0002
Which list names the components of a communication system in Massachusetts standard 7.MS-ETS3-1?Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, standard 7.MS-ETS3-1. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0003
Which sequence completes one cycle of a four-stroke internal combustion engine?U.S. Department of Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office, Internal Combustion Engine Basics. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0003
Why does a design team build a prototype before it settles on a final design?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Engineering Design Process. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0001
Subarea II: Earth and space science 12
A neap tide is a period of moderate tides. How are the Sun and Moon arranged when it occurs?NOAA National Ocean Service, What are spring and neap tides?. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0004
A planet moves fastest at perihelion and slowest at aphelion. Which of Kepler's laws accounts for this?NASA Science, Orbits and Kepler's Laws. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0004
A rock formed when magma trapped deep inside the Earth cooled very slowly. How is it classified?U.S. Geological Survey, FAQ: What are igneous rocks?. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0005
A weather map labels an air mass mP. What does the label tell a forecaster?NOAA JetStream, Air Masses. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0006
According to NASA, which elements formed during nucleosynthesis, in the first minutes after the Big Bang?NASA Science, The Universe: Overview. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0004
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, what creates Earth's magnetic field?U.S. Geological Survey, This Dynamic Earth: Inside the Earth. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0005
In groundwater science, what is the water table?USGS Water Science School, Aquifers and Groundwater. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0006
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a spreading center where plates move apart and new crust forms. What kind of plate boundary is it?U.S. Geological Survey, This Dynamic Earth: Understanding plate motions. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0005
The ocean absorbs part of the carbon dioxide that burning fossil fuels releases. What does NOAA say happens to seawater as a result?NOAA National Ocean Service, What is Ocean Acidification?. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0007
Which greenhouse gas is emitted by livestock, by organic waste decaying in landfills, and during the production and transport of coal, natural gas and oil?U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Overview of Greenhouse Gases. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0007
Why does temperature rise with height in the stratosphere?NOAA JetStream, Layers of the Atmosphere. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0006
Why does the U.S. Energy Information Administration call coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear energy nonrenewable?U.S. Energy Information Administration, What is energy? Sources of energy. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0007
Subarea III: Life science 12
A beetle carrying the gene version for brown coloration moves from one population into another and breeds there. Which mechanism of evolution is this?University of California Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Gene flow. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0011
A deer eats leaves and later breathes out carbon dioxide. Which two processes moved that carbon from the air into the plant and back to the air?NOAA Education, Carbon cycle. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0009
A muscle cell uses far more chemical energy than a skin cell. Which organelle would it be expected to hold in greater number?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Mitochondria. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0008
Corals give zooxanthellae a protected place to live, and the zooxanthellae supply the coral with products of photosynthesis. What kind of relationship is this?NOAA National Ocean Service, Corals tutorial: Zooxanthellae. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0009
For a dominant trait, how many copies of the dominant allele must a person inherit for the trait to be expressed?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Dominant Traits and Alleles. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0010
How does genetic drift differ from natural selection?University of California Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Genetic drift. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0011
Human body cells carry two sets of chromosomes. Why must an egg and a sperm each carry a single set?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Meiosis. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0008
Over the last 200 years people have produced more than 450 dog breeds by choosing which dogs to breed. What is this process called?University of California Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Artificial selection. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0011
Phytoplankton are eaten by herring, herring by cod, and cod by seals. Which trophic level does the seal occupy in this chain?NOAA Education, Aquatic food webs. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0009
The protein-making machinery of a cell reads a strand of messenger RNA three bases at a time. What does each three-base codon specify?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Messenger RNA (mRNA). Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0010
Which structure is found in every cell, whether it is a bacterium, a plant cell or an animal cell?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Cell Membrane (Plasma Membrane). Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0008
Why are males more likely than females to be affected by a sex-linked disorder carried on the X chromosome?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Sex Linked. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0010
Subarea IV: Physical science 12
A beam of light bends as it passes from air into water. What causes the bending?NASA Science, Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Wave Behaviors. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0016
A camper feels warmth on the side of the body that faces the fire, although the air between has little to do with it. Which kind of heat transfer is this?NOAA JetStream, The Transfer of Heat Energy. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0013
A chemist adds a substance that lets a reaction run faster and at a lower temperature, and recovers all of the substance afterward. What did it lower?U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Catalysts. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0012
A compass needle is a small magnet. Its north-seeking end swings toward one end of a bar magnet. Which pole of the bar magnet is at that end?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity explained: Magnets and electricity. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0016
A lamp draws a current of 0.5 A from a 120 V supply. What is its resistance?Iowa State University Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, NDE-ED: Ohm's Law. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0016
A motor does 600 J of work in 12 s. What power does it deliver?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics, Power. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0015
A piston traps 2.4 cubic meters of gas at 150 kPa. Weights are added until the gas fills 1.8 cubic meters, with the temperature held constant. What is the pressure now?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics, Boyle's Law. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0013
A rooftop solar panel runs a lamp. Which energy conversion takes place in the panel's photovoltaic cells?U.S. Energy Information Administration, What is energy? Laws of energy. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0014
A stream sample has a pH of 4 and a lake sample a pH of 6. How much more acidic is the stream water?USGS Water Science School, pH and Water. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0012
A wind-up toy holds energy in its compressed spring. How does the Energy Information Administration classify the energy stored in the spring?U.S. Energy Information Administration, What is energy? Forms of energy. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0014
An 800 kg boat speeds up at 1.5 m/s². What net force acts on it?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics, Newton's Laws of Motion. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0015
Every carbon atom has 6 protons. How many neutrons does an atom of carbon-13 contain?U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Isotopes. Written to MTEL General Science (64), objective 0012
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test objectives of MTEL General Science, field 64, as the test information guide prints them on the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure website (https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/MA_SG_OBJ_64.htm and https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MA064_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-09): 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response items in 4 hours; four multiple-choice subareas of 20% of the score each (Technology/Engineering, objectives 0001 to 0003; Earth and Space Science, 0004 to 0007; Life Science, 0008 to 0011; Physical Science, 0012 to 0016) and the open-response subarea, 20%. This bank holds 12 questions for each multiple-choice subarea. Every fact was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page named under its question (the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework, NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration, EPA, OSHA, the National Human Genome Research Institute, UC Berkeley's Understanding Evolution, TeachEngineering and NDE-ED), 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
This MTEL General Science practice test asks 48 questions of our own on field 64, 12 in each multiple-choice subarea. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson.
Read the full guide
Four equal subareas
Technology/engineering, Earth and space science, life science and physical science each carry 20% of the score, by the test objectives. The technology/engineering questions here are written to the Massachusetts curriculum framework.
No calculator
The MTEL site says calculators are prohibited and a periodic table is provided on screen. The calculations here use numbers that can be worked by hand.
Where the facts come from
Each fact was read on the public page named under its question, from NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy and other public science sources.
The two open-response items, one on key concepts and one on science practices, are written and are not practiced here.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the MTEL General Science test?
100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response items, in 4 hours of testing time; the MTEL site lists no separate time for either part. The MTEL site adds that some questions may not count toward the score.
What is a passing score on the MTEL General Science test?
The MTEL site gives a qualifying score of 240. The four multiple-choice subareas are 80% of the score and the open-response items 20%, so a number right here carries no verdict.
Is there an MTEL General Science study guide?
The official materials are on the MTEL site: the test information guide for field 64, with the overview, objectives and sample questions, and a practice test. These 48 questions are our own and name the objective each was written to.
Is technology and engineering on the General Science MTEL?
Yes. Subarea I of the test objectives is Technology/Engineering, objectives 0001 to 0003: engineering design; tools, materials and manufacturing; and technological systems.