EGYPTIAN EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

EGYPTIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

SEMESTER 1 GRADE 8
MID SEMESTER REVISION

Name ANSWER KEY

Date: Class:

Fill in the letter of choice that best answers the question:

1. The picture shows a microscopic view of blood. Blood is

made of different types of cells that work together. What
is true of blood cells?

A. they are very large

B. they are part of a living thing
C. they are made up of other cells
D. they make up unicellular organisms

2. Which statement correctly tells why the cells of

unicellular and multicellular organisms divide?

A. The cells of both kinds of organisms divide to reproduce.

B. The cells of both kinds of organisms divide to replace cells and to grow.
C. The cells of unicellular organisms divide to replace cells and to grow; those of multicellular
organisms divide to reproduce.
D. The cells of unicellular organisms divide to reproduce; those of multicellular organisms divide to
replace cells and to grow.

3. Prem finds an unusual object on the forest floor. After he examines it under a microscope and performs
several lab tests, he concludes that the object is a living thing. Which of these observations most likely
led to Prem’s conclusion?

A. The object contained carbon.

B. Prem saw cells in the object.
C. The object had a green color.
D. Prem saw minerals inside the object.

4. Some organisms consist of one cell. Other organisms consist of multiple cells. Which of these is true of
cells in a multicellular organism?

A. All cells have the same function.

B. Every cell has a different function.
C. Different types of cells have the same function.
D. Different types of cells have different functions.

5. If you were to compare the function of a cell to the function of parts of a house, which part of the house
would match a cell?

A. roof
B. bricks
C. air conditioner
D. plumbing system

6. Which of these statements is not one of the characteristics of cells?

A. They are best viewed under a microscope.

B. All nonliving things are made up of cells.
C. They can only be produced by other living cells.
D. They can make up both unicellular and multicellular organisms.

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7. Part of cell theory says that all living things are made up of one or more cells. Scientists had to find ways
to test this theory. Which investigation could scientists use to test this part of cell theory?

A. heat plant or animal tissue on a hot plate

B. test plant or animal tissue with a pH meter
C. examine plant or animal tissue with a microscope
D. measure the mass of plant or animal tissue with a scale

8. How did Robert Hooke contribute to our understanding of cells?

A. Built a microscope and used it to examine organisms.

B. He was the first to see cells in cork.
C. He first used the term cells to describe cork cells.
D. All of the above

9. Compare how cells in unicellular and multicellular organisms perform the tasks needed for life.

A. In unicellular different parts of the cell perform all the tasks needed for life and in multicellular
different types of cells are specialized to perform the tasks needed for life.
B. In unicellular different parts of the cell perform different tasks needed for life and in multicellular
same types of cells are specialized to perform the tasks needed for life.
C. Both answers are correct
D. None of the above

10. Even when it is cold outside, the human body maintains an internal temperature of 37 °C. Which term
describes the maintenance of a stable internal condition?

A. mitosis
B. homeostasis
C. endocytosis
D. photosynthesis

11. A rat approaches a piece of rotting fruit, smells it, takes a small bite, and then runs away. Which
statement best explains the reason for the rat’s behavior?

A. The rat runs away from the fruit to process the new sensory information.
B. Sensory receptors in the rat’s whiskers respond to input about the texture of the fruit.
C. The rat’s chemical receptors detect chemicals in the fruit that alert the rat to possible danger.
D. Information gathered by the rat’s auditory receptors signal that the environment around the fruit is
not safe.

12. Which of the following is an example of how the need to maintain homeostasis can cause an
organism to change its behavior?

A. A bear hibernates during the winter.

B. A tree loses its leaves in the winter.
C. A human sweating when exposed to cold weather.
D. Organisms do not change their behavior to maintain homeostasis.

13. The diagram shows several parts of a human eye.

Which statement best describes how sensory receptors in the eye

gather information to be processed by the brain?

A. The iris controls the amount of light entering the eye.

B. The lens transmits impulses from the optic nerve to the brain.
C. The cornea bends incoming light, which is then focused by the
lens.
D. Cells in the retina detect light and produce nerve signals sent
to the brain through the optic nerve.

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14. Beth has a one-day-old baby daughter. When Beth puts her finger in the baby’s hand, the baby grasps
her finger. Which statement best describes why the baby grasps Beth’s finger?

A. The baby’s reflex to grab is an innate behavior.

B. The baby’s visual memory recognizes Beth’s finger.
C. The baby is a day old and has learned to reach for Beth.
D. The baby’s homeostatic response is to touch objects that are warm.

15. This diagram shows the steps involved when chemical receptors in the nose detect different scents.

Which statement describes the next two steps in the process?

A. Nerves pass the signal to the brain, where it is processed.

B. The scent is carried by red blood cells to the brain in blood.
C. Hormones carry the scent through the body to be interpreted.
D. If the scent is familiar, it causes a memory to become activated.

16. A group of students is investigating memory. The students performed an experiment in which they
showed letters on a screen to participants, and afterward asked participants to recall which letters
they saw.

Next, they showed the participants the letters and, at the same time, pronounced the sound that the
letter represents.

Which prediction and explanation are most likely to be correct?

A. The participants would remember the most letters during the first trial since their memory was fresh.
B. The participants would remember more letters during the first trial because the sound interferes with
the ability to form memory.
C. The participants would remember more letters while hearing the letter pronounced because
information was received in more than one way.
D. The participants would remember more letters while hearing the letter pronounced because sound
input becomes memory faster than visual input does.

17. One of the characteristics of living things is that they respond to external changes in their environment
so that their internal environment stays as stable as possible.

Name an environmental change that an animal must respond to in order to keep a stable internal
environment.

A. changes in weather (temperature or precipitation).

B. changes in amount of light, changes in toxin levels.
C. changes in amount or quality of food, changes in predators.
D. All of the above

18. Explain what might happen to an organism if it could not adapt to an external change.

A. The organism may get sick because its body is no longer able to maintain homeostasis;
B. if there is a large change in the external environment that the organism cannot adapt to, it may die.
C. All of the above
D. None of the above

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19. A student visits a farm and makes these notes in her journal.

Day 1: A chick wanders into an open field, away from its mother and the chicken coop. A hawk
swoops toward the chick. The chick sees the hawk and runs quickly back to the safety of the chicken
coop.
Day 2: The door to the coop is opened. The chick stays close to its mother, near the chicken coop.
Explain how the danger was processed by the chick’s brain on Day 1, and then how the events of Day
1 affected the chick’s behavior on Day 2.

A. On Day 1, the chick sees the hawk attacking, recognizes the danger, and the chick’s brain
processes the information resulting in immediate action.
B. On Day 2, the chick’s brain had stored memories of the danger and so it stayed close to the safety
of its mother.
C. All of the above
D. None of the above

VOCABULARY REVIEW
Match each term in column B with its meaning in column A (1 point each)

Column A Column B
B 20. A living thing; anything that can carry out life processes A. cell
independently.
C 21. An organism that consists of a single cell. B. organism

D 22. An organism that consists of more than one cell. C. Unicellular

organism

A 23. The smallest unit that can perform all life processes; cells are D. Multicellular
covered by a membrane and contain DNA and cytoplasm. organism

Column A Column B
D 24. the ability to store and recall past experience A. Homeostasis

C 25. an action that an individual carries out in response to a stimulus or B. Sensory

to the environment receptor
B 26. a specialized structure that contains the ends of sensory neurons C. behavior
and that responds to specific types of stimuli
A 27. the maintenance of a constant internal state in a changing D. memory
environment

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Label Diagrams
28. Label the microscopic pictures with the suitable type of microscope that produces each using the word
bank below:
Scanning Electron Microscope - Transmission Electron Microscope

A. Scanning Electron Microscope B. Transmission Electron Microscope

29. Label the pictures with the suitable type of microscope using the word bank below:

Light Microscope - Electron Microscope

Light Microscope Electron Microscope

APPLY INQUIRY AND REVIEW THE BIG IDEA

Read each statement. Write your answer on the lines.
30. The cell theory describes three basic characteristics of cells and living things. Summarize these basic
characteristics.

• first characteristic: all organisms are made of one or more cells.

• second characteristic: cells are the basic unit of life.
• third characteristic: all cells come from other cells

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31. Scientists conducted an experiment to show whether the ability to see an object affects a person’s
idea of the mass of the object. They used the following procedure:

• Obtain two cardboard boxes of different sizes.

• Place rocks in each box so that both boxes have the same mass.
• Close each box and tie a string to it so that participants lift each box using the string.
• Blindfold half of the participants in the experiment.
• Ask participants to lift each box using the string and report which one they think has more mass.
• Record results.

The table shows the results of the experiment.

Compare how the response to the sensory information was processed differently by the brain of the
blindfolded participants and the non-blindfolded participants in the experiment.

Students should recognize that the brain gathers and synthesizes information from sensory receptors.
Sample answer: When the blindfolded participants lift the boxes, sensory receptors in their hands and
muscles pass the message to the brain that both boxes contain the same mass. The non-blindfolded
participants have visual information in addition to sensory information. The visual information makes
them think that the larger box should have more mass, even though the pressure and mechanical
receptors will still sense that the boxes have the same mass.

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