HiSET Science Practice Test #3 3 Flashcards

Which of the following best describes natural selection?

Answer: Individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing traits to offspring

Natural selection is the process by which individuals with traits better suited to their environment tend to survive longer and reproduce more, causing those traits to become more common over generations.

Which blood vessel carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body?

Answer: Aorta

The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle of the heart and distributes it to the rest of the body through branching arteries.

What is the half-life of a radioactive substance?

Answer: The time for half the atoms in a radioactive sample to decay

Half-life is the time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay into other elements or isotopes. After two half-lives, one quarter of the original material remains, and so on.

Which of the following is a renewable energy source?

Answer: Solar power

Solar power is renewable because it comes from the sun, which will continue producing energy for billions of years. Coal and natural gas are fossil fuels (non-renewable). Nuclear fission uses uranium, which is a finite resource.

What is the main function of red blood cells?

Answer: Transport oxygen throughout the body

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) contain hemoglobin, a protein that binds to oxygen in the lungs and transports it to tissues throughout the body. White blood cells fight infection; platelets help with clotting.

When two tectonic plates collide and one is forced beneath the other, this is called:

Answer: Subduction

Subduction occurs at convergent plate boundaries when a denser plate (usually oceanic) is forced beneath a less dense plate (usually continental) as they collide. The subducted plate melts in the mantle.