A balance that was never zeroed reads 0.3 g too heavy on every weighing. Why will repeating each weighing and averaging the readings not remove the error?Wikipedia, Observational error. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 002
A class measures the speed of sound in the lab as 340 m/s. What is that speed in kilometers per hour?NIST, Metric (SI) Prefixes. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 001
A class tests how the length of a pendulum affects its period. Every trial uses the same bob and the same release angle. What are the bob's mass and the release angle in this design?Wikipedia, Control variable. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 002
A reagent bottle carries the hazard pictogram of a flame over a circle. Which class of hazard does that pictogram mark?OSHA QuickCard 3491, Hazard Communication Standard Pictogram. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 001
Show all 50 questions (46 more)
Scientific inquiry and processes, continued
A student measures a block as 2.6 cm by 4.20 cm by 10.00 cm, and a calculator gives 109.2 for the product. How should the volume be reported?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Significant Figures. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 001
In 1909 a few of the alpha particles fired at a thin gold foil bounced back at large angles. Which picture of the atom could not account for that result and was given up?Wikipedia, Rutherford scattering experiments. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 003
Which scientist was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and then, as its only winner, the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering radium and polonium?The Nobel Prize, Marie Curie, Facts (Chemistry 1911). Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain I, competency 003
Physics 18
A 0.50 kg ball on a string 2.0 m long is whirled in a horizontal circle at a steady 4.0 m/s. What centripetal force must the string supply?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Centripetal Force. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 004
A 30 N horizontal pull keeps a 20 kg sled moving at constant velocity across level snow. Taking g as 9.8 m/s², what is the coefficient of kinetic friction between sled and snow?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Friction. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 005
A car's velocity rises at a steady rate from 10 m/s to 30 m/s over 5.0 s on a straight road. How far does it travel in those 5.0 s?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Description of Motion in One Dimension. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 004
A charged particle crosses a uniform magnetic field at right angles to the field lines. If its speed is doubled, what happens to the magnetic force on it?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Magnetic Force. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 006
A hair dryer is rated at 1,500 W on a 120 V line. What current does it draw, and what is the resistance of its heating element?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, DC Electric Power. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 007
A net force does 150 J of work on a 3.0 kg cart that starts from rest on a level track. How fast is the cart moving afterward?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Work, Energy and Power. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 008
A skater spinning with her arms out pulls them in, which cuts her moment of inertia in half. With no outside torque acting, what happens to her rate of spin?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Angular Momentum. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 008
A spring stretches 0.10 m when a 4.0 N weight hangs from it. If the spring obeys Hooke's law, how far does it stretch under a 10 N weight?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Elasticity and Hooke's Law. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 005
A stove element glows dull red on a low setting and orange-yellow on a higher one. How does the peak of its blackbody radiation curve shift as the element gets hotter?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Wien's Displacement Law. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 011
A train sounding a steady horn moves straight toward a listener on the platform. Compared with the horn's own frequency, what does the listener hear while the train approaches?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, The Doppler Effect for Sound. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 010
According to the uncertainty principle, what must happen as the position of an electron is fixed more and more precisely?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, The Uncertainty Principle. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 011
At Earth's surface the acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s². What is it at a height of one Earth radius above the surface, twice as far from Earth's center?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Earth Orbits, Earth's Gravity. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 006
Equal masses of water and copper, both at 20 °C, each absorb the same amount of heat. Which ends up warmer, and why?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Specific Heat. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 009
Light in an optical fiber stays inside the glass core as the fiber bends. Which condition makes this total internal reflection happen?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Total Internal Reflection. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 010
One end of a copper rod is held in a flame, and before long the far end is hot too. How does the energy get along the rod?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Heat Transfer, Heat Conduction. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 009
The plates of an air-filled parallel-plate capacitor are pushed to half their original separation. What happens to its capacitance?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Parallel Plate Capacitor. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 007
Resistors of 2 Ω, 4 Ω and 6 Ω are wired one after another in a single loop with a 24 V battery. What current passes through the 4 Ω resistor?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Ohm's Law. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 007
Water flows steadily through a level pipe that narrows at one point. What happens to the water as it passes through the narrow section?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Bernoulli Equation. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain II, competency 004
Chemistry 20
A few drops of strong acid make the pH of pure water fall sharply. The same drops are stirred into a solution that holds acetic acid and sodium acetate in equal concentrations. What happens to the pH of that solution?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Mixtures and Buffers. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 020
A reaction mixture needs 80 s to finish at 20 °C. Going by the rule of thumb that a reaction's rate doubles for every 10 °C rise, about how long does it need at 40 °C?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Activation Energy. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 015
A reaction takes in heat from its surroundings as it runs. What is true of its enthalpy change, ΔH?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Energy, Enthalpy and Heats of Reaction. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 017
A solution of a strong acid has a pH of 2. It is diluted with water to ten times its volume. What is the pH of the diluted solution?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, pH, pOH and Ka. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 020
A stream warms from 10 °C in the morning to 25 °C by late afternoon. What happens to the amount of dissolved oxygen the water can hold?U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School, Dissolved Oxygen and Water. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 016
A student dissolves 0.30 mol of glucose in 600 g of water. What is the molality of the solution?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Solutions, Units of Concentration. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 016
As written, a redox reaction has a standard cell potential of −0.25 V. The equation is then turned around. What is the potential of the reversed reaction, and what does its sign show?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Electrochemical Reactions. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 019
Heat is fed at a steady rate into a stirred mixture of ice and water at 0 °C. What does a thermometer in the mixture show until the last of the ice has melted?HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, Phase Changes. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 017
Hydrogen has an oxidation number of +1 in water and in hydrogen chloride. What is its oxidation number in sodium hydride, NaH?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Oxidation Numbers. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 019
In a nuclear reactor, what carries a fission chain reaction from one uranium nucleus to the next?U.S. Department of Energy, DOE Explains...Nuclear Fission. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 018
In the carbonate ion, CO₃²⁻, electrons are found in three places around the central carbon, toward its three oxygen atoms. What geometry does VSEPR theory predict for the ion?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion Theory. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 014
Iodine, I₂, is a nonpolar molecule, yet it is a solid at room temperature. Which attraction between its molecules is chiefly responsible?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Intermolecular Forces. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 014
Iodine-131 has a half-life of about 8 days. A clinic receives a tracer sample holding 40 mg of it. About how much iodine-131 is left 24 days later?U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Radionuclide Basics: Iodine. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 018
Mendeleev left gaps in his periodic table and described the elements that would fill them. Which element was the one he had called eka-aluminium?Wikipedia, Mendeleev's predicted elements. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 012
Nitrogen makes up about 78% of the molecules in dry air. On a day when the pressure of dry air is 100 kPa, what is the partial pressure of the nitrogen?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Gas Laws, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 013
Propane, C₃H₈, burns completely in air to carbon dioxide and water. How many molecules of O₂ are used up for each molecule of propane burned?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, Chemical Equations, Balancing Chemical Equations. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 015
Sodium chloride melts at 801 °C and its water solution conducts electricity. Chlorine, Cl₂, is a gas at room temperature and its solution does not conduct. What accounts for the difference?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, The Covalent Bond, Ionic and Covalent Compounds. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 014
Sodium, aluminum, sulfur and chlorine all sit in the third row of the periodic table. Which of the four has the largest atoms?Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, The Size of Atoms. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 012
Students trap air in a syringe at constant temperature and record 100 kPa at 60 mL, 150 kPa at 40 mL and 200 kPa at 30 mL. Which feature of the data shows that the air is following Boyle's law?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginners Guide to Aeronautics, Boyle's Law. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 013
What is the percent by mass of carbon in carbon dioxide, CO₂? Use 12.0 for carbon and 16.0 for oxygen.Purdue University, General Chemistry Topic Review, The Mole, Atomic and Molecular Weight. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain III, competency 015
Science learning, instruction and assessment 5
A class takes the same lab practical twice, a week apart, with no teaching in between. Students who scored high the first time often score low the second. Which quality does the practical lack?Wikipedia, Reliability (statistics). Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain IV, competency 022
A physical science teacher opens each new unit with a few short questions on material the class has not yet studied. Which recommendation of the federal practice guide Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning does this follow?Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse, Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain IV, competency 021
Before a mechanics unit, a teacher gives a short multiple-choice test on the core ideas of force and motion, built to bring systematic student misconceptions to the surface. What is this kind of instrument called?Carnegie Mellon University, Eberly Center, Assessing Prior Knowledge. Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain IV, competency 022
The Texas science standards for Grades 6 through 8 are organized into recurring strands. Under which strand do Grade 8 students meet Newton's Second Law of Motion?19 Texas Administrative Code §112.28, Grade 8 science, adopted 2021 (Legal Information Institute copy). Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain IV, competency 021
Under the Texas standards, Integrated Physics and Chemistry is a one-credit high school course. For which grades do the standards recommend it?19 Texas Administrative Code §112.44, Integrated Physics and Chemistry, adopted 2020 (Legal Information Institute copy). Written to TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) Domain IV, competency 021
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the exam framework of TExES Physical Science 6–12 (237) in Section 3 of the preparation manual on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website, https://www.tx.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/TX_SG_obj_237.htm (copyright Texas Education Agency), read 2026-10-15: 100 selected-response questions in four domains, Scientific Inquiry and Processes about 14%, Physics 36%, Chemistry 41%, Science Learning, Instruction and Assessment 9%. This bank holds 50 in those shares: 7, 18, 20 and 5. Every fact was read on the public page named under its question, each opened 2026-10-15: HyperPhysics at Georgia State University, Purdue University's general chemistry topic review, NASA's Glenn Research Center, NIST, OSHA, the U.S. Department of Energy, EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Nobel Prize organization, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for science (19 TAC Chapter 112, in the Legal Information Institute's copy), the Institute of Education Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University and five Wikipedia articles. About a third of the answers are arithmetic from a rule the source gives. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
A free TExES Physical Science 6-12 practice test: 50 questions written for this site across the four domains of exam 237. Unofficial, and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Texas Education Agency or Pearson.
Read the full guide
What exam 237 covers
Chemistry carries about 41% of the exam and Physics 36%. Scientific Inquiry and Processes carries 14%, and Science Learning, Instruction and Assessment 9%. The bank keeps those shares: 20, 18, 7 and 5 questions.
Length and timing
Physical Science 6–12 has 100 selected-response questions and 4 hours 45 minutes of testing time in a 5-hour appointment. The timed round keeps that pace: 50 questions, 142 minutes.
Where answers were checked
Physics at HyperPhysics (Georgia State University), chemistry mostly at Purdue University's topic review, the rest at NASA, NIST, EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Texas science standards.
The real exam puts a periodic table, a definitions and physical constants page and a scientific calculator on screen.
About a third of the answers are worked out with arithmetic.
Questions and answers
Is there a TExES Physical Science 6-12 (237) study guide?
The Texas Educator Certification Examination Program publishes a free preparation manual for exam 237. Its Section 3 lists the four domains and all 22 competencies, and the competency number is printed with each answer here.
Is this a real TExES Physical Science 6-12 237 practice test?
It is real practice, not the real exam. Every question is our own, written from one competency of the public framework and one public source. None comes from the exam or from the sample questions in the manual.
How is Physical Science 6-12 different from TExES Science 7-12?
Physical Science 6–12 (237) keeps to physics and chemistry, with scientific inquiry and science teaching, in 100 questions. Science 7–12 (236) adds life science and Earth and space science and runs to 140 questions.
What score do you need to pass TExES Physical Science 6-12?
240, on a scaled score, by the exam's page on the program site. The exam may carry unscored questions and the scale is not a percent, so this page reports no pass or fail.