Study Guide

Field 019: Elementary Education (Subtest II)
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Competency 0001
Understand concepts of numeration, number sense, and mathematical operations.

A student has a bag containing 96 hard candies and wants to give an equal number of them to each of 6 friends. Which of the following mathematical operations would be most useful for the student to use when determining how many candies each friend should receive?

  1. addition
  2. division
  3. subtraction
  4. multiplication
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of operations. The operation of division can be defined as partitioning a certain number of items into a specified number of groups in order to determine how many items each group contains.
Competency 0002
Understand mathematical reasoning and problem solving, communication and representation, and data analysis.

A member of a local environmental group uses a spreadsheet to track the amount of paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum a community recycles each month, as shown below. The spreadsheet software can automatically create several types of graphs from the data. Which of the following types of graphs would be most appropriate for visually representing the percentages of the various recycled materials relative to the total amount recycled?


  1. circle graph
  2. line graph
  3. bar graph
  4. scatter plot
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of graphs to represent real-world situations. A circle graph is used to compare the parts of a whole and the area of each sector is proportional to the fraction or percentage of the area of the circle that it represents.
Competency 0003
Understand basic concepts of patterns, algebra, and functions.

[0, 1, 5, 14, 30, 55, . . . ]

Which of the following numbers would appear next in the patterned sequence above?

  1.   64
  2.   81
  3.   91
  4. 121
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to recognize patterns in numbers. In the pattern given, the differences between the successive terms in the pattern are 1, 4, 9, 16, and 25, which are the squares of the first 5 integers. To determine the next term, the square of 6, or 36, must be added to 55 to get 91.
Competency 0004
Understand basic concepts of geometry and measurement.

Two rectangles, A and B, are similar. Rectangle A has a length of 100 centimeters and a width of 50 centimeters. If the area of rectangle B is 200 square centimeters, what is its perimeter?

  1.   40 centimeters
  2.   60 centimeters
  3.   80 centimeters
  4. 120 centimeters
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to solve problems involving perimeter. If rectangles A and B are similar, the length and width of rectangle B must be proportional to the length and width of rectangle A. In addition, the product of the length and width of rectangle B must equal 200 square centimeters. If the length of rectangle B is 20 centimeters and its width is 10 centimeters, both of these conditions are met. Therefore, the equation representing the perimeter of rectangle B is 20 + 10 + 20 + 10 = 60.
Competency 0005
Understand fundamental concepts of the life sciences.

The waxy layer covering the exoskeleton of an insect is an adaptation that primarily aids in which of the following functions?

  1. absorbing oxygen
  2. avoiding detection by predators
  3. minimizing water loss
  4. blocking ultraviolet radiation
Answer
Correct Response: C. This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of the characteristics of living organisms. In terrestrial insects, the waxy layer of the exoskeleton acts as a waterproof barrier that keeps water in and prevents insects from becoming dehydrated.
Competency 0006
Understand fundamental concepts of the physical, Earth, and space sciences.

Which of the following shows the relative positions of the sun, Earth, and moon during a solar eclipse?






Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to recognize the effects of the relative positions of the sun, Earth, and moon. A solar eclipse can only occur when the moon moves directly between the sun and Earth, casting its shadow over part of Earth.
Competency 0007
Understand the nature of science and the processes of scientific inquiry.

The relationship between form and function is a common theme in science. For example, the specific type of chemical bonding between copper atoms is what is responsible for the high electrical conductivity and ductility of this metal. Which of the following is another example of this relationship?

  1. the expression of human genes in bacterial cells
  2. the differences in weathering patterns caused by wind and water
  3. the shape of plant leaves in the understory of a tropical rain forest
  4. the jigsaw puzzlelike characteristics of the continents
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to recognize the relationship between form and function. Plant leaves in the understory of a tropical rain forest are usually large in order to capture as much sunlight as possible, and they often have drip tips to help excess precipitation run off.
Competency 0008
Understand basic elements of the arts and fundamental concepts of health and fitness.

In dramatic literature, which of the following is a common characteristic of plays that are classified as tragedies?

  1. a story line that ridicules a situation in society for the purpose of improving it
  2. stock characters who represent particular personality types
  3. a clear and unchanging view of right and wrong
  4. a main character who makes an error that leads to inevitable consequences
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to identify basic terms associated with drama. Tragedy is a serious dramatic form that has a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion in which a central character suffers some misfortune that is logically connected to the character's actions.