Grade 9 Science practice sheet
Prince Edward Island Curriculum · from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
Question 1
Producer, consumer or decomposer? Sort each organism.
Sort into: 🌱 Producer · 🦌 Consumer · 🍄 Decomposer
- 🦌white-tailed deer
- 🌾cattails
- 🐛earthworms in compost
- 🌿algae in a lake
- 🍄mushrooms on a fallen log
- 🦫beaver
🌱 Producer: cattails, algae in a lake · 🦌 Consumer: white-tailed deer, beaver · 🍄 Decomposer: earthworms in compost, mushrooms on a fallen log
Hint: Producers make their own food. Consumers eat other organisms. Decomposers break down dead matter.
Question 2
A bee gets nectar from a flower and carries pollen to other flowers. What kind of relationship is this?
- mutualism
- parasitism
- predation
- commensalism
mutualism
Hint: In mutualism both organisms benefit.
Question 3
Which action is something an individual can do to reduce their carbon footprint?
- buy more packaged goods than we need
- let a car idle for an hour before leaving
- leave the lights on in every room all day
- walk, bike or take the bus instead of driving alone
walk, bike or take the bus instead of driving alone
Hint: Think of ways to burn less fuel.
Question 4
Oxygen (O) has atomic number 8 and mass number 16. How many neutrons are in the nucleus of one atom?
answer box
8
Hint: Neutrons = mass number − atomic number = 16 − 8 = 8.
Question 5
Lithium has electrons arranged 2, 1. Which period (row) is it in?
answer box
2
Hint: The number of occupied shells is the period number: 2.
Question 6
Physical or chemical property? Sort each.
Sort into: 📏 Physical property · 🧪 Chemical property
- 🔌Copper conducts electricity
- 🧂Salt dissolves in water
- ⚗️Baking soda reacts with vinegar
- ♨️Water boils at 100 °C
- 🟤Iron rusts in damp air
- ⚫Silver tarnishes
📏 Physical property: Copper conducts electricity, Salt dissolves in water, Water boils at 100 °C · 🧪 Chemical property: Baking soda reacts with vinegar, Iron rusts in damp air, Silver tarnishes
Hint: A physical property can be seen or measured without making a new substance. A chemical property describes how a substance reacts or changes into a new one.
Question 7
Ionic or covalent? Sort each compound.
Sort into: ⚡ Ionic · 🤝 Covalent
- 🔥CH₄ (methane)
- 🧂NaCl (table salt)
- ⚗️MgO (magnesium oxide)
- 🧪KBr (potassium bromide)
- 🌫️CO₂ (carbon dioxide)
- 💧H₂O (water)
- 🧴NH₃ (ammonia)
- 🧊CaCl₂ (calcium chloride)
⚡ Ionic: NaCl (table salt), MgO (magnesium oxide), KBr (potassium bromide), CaCl₂ (calcium chloride) · 🤝 Covalent: CH₄ (methane), CO₂ (carbon dioxide), H₂O (water), NH₃ (ammonia)
Hint: Ionic compounds are usually a metal plus a non-metal (like NaCl). Covalent compounds are usually two or more non-metals sharing electrons (like H₂O).
Question 8
A cold pack gets cold when the chemicals inside are mixed. This is an example of…
- a physical change only
- an exothermic reaction
- an endothermic reaction
- combustion
an endothermic reaction
Hint: Endothermic reactions take in energy from the surroundings, so the surroundings get cooler.
Question 9
An object has 23 protons and 20 electrons. Which describes it?
- negatively charged
- positively charged
- neutral
positively charged
Hint: Fewer electrons than protons gives a net positive charge.
Question 10
What is the SI unit of potential difference (voltage)?
- joule (J)
- volt (V)
- ampere (A)
- ohm (Ω)
volt (V)
Hint: Potential difference is the energy given to each unit of charge. Its symbol is V.
Answer key
- 1. 🌱 Producer: cattails, algae in a lake · 🦌 Consumer: white-tailed deer, beaver · 🍄 Decomposer: earthworms in compost, mushrooms on a fallen log (Ecosystems in Balance)
- 2. mutualism (Biodiversity & Heredity)
- 3. walk, bike or take the bus instead of driving alone (Sustainable Ecosystems)
- 4. 8 (Inside the Atom)
- 5. 2 (The Periodic Table)
- 6. 📏 Physical property: Copper conducts electricity, Salt dissolves in water, Water boils at 100 °C · 🧪 Chemical property: Baking soda reacts with vinegar, Iron rusts in damp air, Silver tarnishes (Elements & Compounds)
- 7. ⚡ Ionic: NaCl (table salt), MgO (magnesium oxide), KBr (potassium bromide), CaCl₂ (calcium chloride) · 🤝 Covalent: CH₄ (methane), CO₂ (carbon dioxide), H₂O (water), NH₃ (ammonia) (Electrons & Compounds)
- 8. an endothermic reaction (Chemical Change)
- 9. positively charged (Static Electricity)
- 10. volt (V) (Circuits & Ohm's Law)
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback. See all science units.