• 45 questions

8th Grade Science SOL Practice Test Virginia

Grade 8 science split like Virginia's SOL blueprint, with the standard and the reason under every answer.

The sun warms Earth across empty space, with no direct contact. Which method of thermal energy transfer is this?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 45 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 45 questions, no time limit.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Education. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

The real test: SOL science, grade 8

Questions
45
Items
45 that count plus 10 field-test items, 55 in all.
Largest category
Force, Motion, Energy, and Matter: 19 items.
Other categories
Living Systems and Ecosystems 15 items; Earth and Space Systems 11.
Courses tested
Grade 6 Science, Life Science and Physical Science, 2018 standards.
Calculator
Every online item has the Desmos Virginia Scientific calculator on the toolbar.
Scores
A scale of 0 to 600: 400 is the minimum for proficient and 500 is advanced.

Checked October 9, 2026 against the Test Blueprint, Grade 8 Science, 2018 Science Standards of Learning, and the SOL Test Scoring & Performance Reports page, Virginia Department of Education. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

The state's own SOL practice items

Next step Also in grade 8: SOL math practiceMore grade 8 science questions

All 45 questions

Force, Motion, Energy, and Matter 19

  • A car moves around a circular track at a steady 40 kilometers per hour. Why is the car accelerating? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.8 a
  • A pot of water is boiling on a stove. While the water boils, what happens to its temperature? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.5 b
  • A stretched rubber band is held still. What kind of energy does it store? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.5 a
  • The amplitude of a sound wave increases. How does the sound change? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.6 b
  • An ice cube floats in a glass of water. Which property of water explains this? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.6 b
Show all 45 questions (40 more)

Force, Motion, Energy, and Matter, continued

  • The chemical formula for water is H₂O. What does the formula show about one molecule of water? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.5 e
  • In a closed container, 6 grams of hydrogen react completely with 48 grams of oxygen to form water. What is the mass of the water? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.3 d
  • In the electron cloud model of the atom, where are electrons most likely to be found? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.2 a
  • On which part of the periodic table are the metals found? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.4 b
  • The same net force pushes a full cart and an empty cart. Which result fits Newton's second law? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.8 b
  • The sun warms Earth across empty space, with no direct contact. Which method of thermal energy transfer is this? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.4 c
  • Through which of these does sound travel fastest? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.6 b
  • What does the atomic number of an element tell you? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.4 a
  • What does the temperature of a substance measure? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.2 c
  • Which change makes a new substance, so that it is a chemical change? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.3 b
  • Which device converts mechanical energy into electrical energy? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.9 f
  • Which electromagnetic waves have the longest wavelength and the lowest frequency? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Physical Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL PS.7 a
  • Which two kinds of particles are found in the nucleus of an atom? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.5 a
  • Why is water often called the universal solvent? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.6 a

Living Systems and Ecosystems 15

  • A bee feeds on the nectar of a flower, and the flower is pollinated by the bee. Both organisms benefit. Which relationship is this? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.6 c
  • A plant on a windowsill grows toward the light. What is this kind of response called? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.8 a
  • The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary. What makes a body of water an estuary? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.8 c
  • In a plant, the allele for tall stems (T) is dominant over the allele for short stems (t). Two plants that are both Tt are crossed. What is the probability that an offspring has short stems? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.10 c
  • In an energy pyramid, about how much of the energy in one level is available to the next level? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.5 b
  • In which organelle does cellular respiration take place? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.4 b
  • Water molecules move across a cell membrane from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. What is this process called? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.2 e
  • What do producers such as green plants make during photosynthesis? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.4 a
  • Which job do decomposers have in an ecosystem? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.5 c
  • Which list shows the levels of organization in a multicellular organism from smallest to largest? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.3 a
  • Which of these describes a gene? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.10 a
  • Which of these describes a watershed? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.8 a
  • Which of these is a behavioral adaptation? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.7 b
  • Which statement describes natural selection? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.11 a
  • Which structures are found in plant cells and not in animal cells? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Life Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL LS.2 c

Earth and Space Systems 11

  • A hiker climbs from a valley to a mountain top. How does the air pressure around her change? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.7 b
  • Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reduces the amount of energy that can leave Earth. What is this effect called? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.4 b
  • How do the four inner planets compare with the outer planets? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.2 b
  • In which layer of the atmosphere does virtually all weather take place? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.7 c
  • What does naturally occurring ozone in the atmosphere do? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.7 c
  • What happens to the gravitational force between two objects as the distance between them increases? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.2 c
  • What is the primary cause of ocean tides on Earth? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.3 e
  • Which gas makes up the largest part of the air? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.7 a
  • Which of these is a cause of the seasons on Earth? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.3 d
  • Which of these natural resources is nonrenewable? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.9 f
  • Why does a place on Earth have day and then night? Virginia Department of Education, Instructional Guide to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science Standards of Learning, "Understanding the Standard", SOL 6.3 b

How this list was compiled: Outline: Test Blueprint, Grade 8 Science, 2018 Science Standards of Learning (Virginia Department of Education; effective with the spring 2023 tests, updated July 2026), https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/15812/639196246672870000, linked from Test Blueprints, https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/student-assessment/virginia-sol-assessment-program/test-blueprints, read 2026-10-09. Each fact in a question and its answer is one that the department's own guide states under "Understanding the Standard": the Instructional Guides to Support the 2018 Grade 6 Science, Life Science and Physical Science Standards of Learning (2026), linked from Science Standards of Learning, https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/science/standards-of-learning, read 2026-10-09. The guide and the standard are named under each answer. No practice item of the state was read. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from an SOL test, a released test, a practice item set of the state or another practice test.

How it works

Unofficial practice for the Grade 8 Science SOL, Virginia's Standards of Learning test on Grade 6 Science, Life Science and Physical Science. Our own questions, none a released or state practice item. Not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Education.

Read the full guide

What the Virginia 8th grade science SOL covers

The blueprint counts 45 scored items in three reporting categories, and this page keeps the split. Force, Motion, Energy, and Matter has 19: atoms, the periodic table, chemical changes, energy, waves, Newton's laws and electricity. Living Systems and Ecosystems has 15: cells, photosynthesis, food webs, genetics, natural selection and watersheds. Earth and Space Systems has 11: the solar system, seasons, tides, the atmosphere and natural resources.

Where each answer comes from

Every fact is one the Virginia Department of Education states in its instructional guides to the 2018 science standards. The guide and the standard, such as PS.8 b, are named under each answer.

  • A standard's number shows its course: 6 is Grade 6 Science, LS is Life Science and PS is Physical Science.

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the 8th grade science SOL test?

45 items count toward the score, the blueprint says. Ten more are field-test items that do not count, which makes 55 in all. This page has 45 questions.

What is a passing score on the 8th grade science SOL?

Scores run from 0 to 600. A 400 is the minimum for proficient and a 500 is advanced. Science results are reported as Pass/Advanced, Pass/Proficient or Fail/Does Not Meet, so a percent here is not an SOL score.

Is the 8th grade science SOL only 8th grade material?

No. The blueprint lists standards from three courses: Grade 6 Science (6.2 to 6.9), Life Science (LS.2 to LS.11) and Physical Science (PS.2 to PS.9).

Can you use a calculator on the 8th grade science SOL?

Yes. The blueprint says every item of the online test has the Desmos Virginia Scientific calculator on the toolbar.

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