Stanford 10 practice, Grade 8

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Scholar Tests · Set 1

Stanford 10 practice test, Grade 8

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Reading Vocabulary

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 7 minutes.

  1. 1.

    What does the word bibliophile mean?

    1. Aa person who fears books
    2. Ba person who loves books
    3. Ca person who sells shoes
    4. Da person who writes books
  2. 2.

    Which word means almost the same as walk but has a more negative connotation?

    1. Astrut
    2. Bhoard
    3. Cbicker
    4. Dstride
  3. 3.

    Which sentence uses a pun?

    1. APriya was strong in math but weak in spelling.
    2. BThe baker quit because he was tired of working for so little dough.
    3. CThe new sheets on my bed were bright white.
    4. DNew trash washed up on the beach every day.
  4. 4.

    re·frain
    1. v. stop yourself from doing something
    2. n. a line or verse repeated in a song or poem

    Please refrain from talking during the movie.

    Use the entry. Which part of speech is refrain in the sentence?

    1. Aadverb
    2. Badjective
    3. Cverb
    4. Dnoun
  5. 5.

    Divulge is to reveal as censure is to ______.

    Which word completes the analogy?

    1. Apraise
    2. Bcriticize
    3. Cmeasure
    4. Dcapture
  6. 6.

    When the exponent is 2, we say the number is squared.

    This sentence is from a math book. What does exponent mean?

    1. Athe bottom number in a fraction
    2. Bthe answer to a division problem
    3. Ca number that has exactly two factors
    4. Da small raised number that tells how many times to multiply a base by itself
  7. 7.

    Planting trees along the river can mitigate flooding by soaking up extra water.

    What does the word mitigate mean in this sentence?

    1. Amake something happen faster
    2. Bmake something less harsh or serious
    3. Cmeasure something carefully
    4. Dhide something from others
  8. 8.

    The woodcutter used an ax to cleave the log in two.

    Which meaning of cleave is used in this sentence?

    1. Ashine brightly
    2. Bclean thoroughly
    3. Cstick closely to
    4. Dsplit apart with a sharp tool
  9. 9.

    Which word means almost the same as new but has a more positive connotation?

    1. Anewfangled
    2. Baffordable
    3. Ccutting-edge
    4. Ddiscerning
  10. 10.

    The guide words on a dictionary page are sanctuary and scarce.

    Which word would you find on that page?

    1. Ascarcity
    2. Bscale
    3. Csafe
    4. Dscowl

Reading Comprehension

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 9 minutes.

  1. The Kitchen Clock

    Above the stove, my grandpa's clock still hangs, its face gone yellow and its numbers thin, and every hour, before it clinks and clangs, it wheezes like a train that's pulling in. It runs eight minutes slow, and always will; it made us miss the school bus twice in May. My brother says to buy a new one. Still, I climb up on a chair each Saturday to turn the brass key, just as Grandpa showed: twelve turns, no more, then listen for the click, the way he did until his fingers slowed. Some mornings I can hear him in the tick. It isn't time I'm keeping when I wind; it's eight slow minutes Grandpa left behind.

    1.

    The poet describes the clock's chime with the words "clinks and clangs." What does the repetition of sounds in these words add?

    1. AIt imitates the sharp, metal noise of the clock striking the hour.
    2. BIt suggests that the clock is made of soft wood.
    3. CIt signals that the speaker is angry at the clock for making the family late.
    4. DIt shows that the clock plays a gentle, quiet song.
  2. 2.

    How does the speaker's view of the clock differ from the brother's?

    1. ABoth of them see the clock as a useless piece of junk.
    2. BThe brother sees a broken tool to replace, while the speaker sees a link to Grandpa.
    3. CThe brother loves the clock, while the speaker wants to throw it out.
    4. DThe brother thinks its chime is far too loud, while the speaker thinks it is too quiet.

  3. From Bill to Law

    Every federal law in the United States begins as an idea. The idea might come from a member of Congress, from the President, or from an ordinary citizen who writes to a representative, but only a member of Congress can formally propose a new law. Once an idea is written up and proposed, it is called a bill. Congress has two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a bill must make it through both.

    The Path of a Bill

    1. A member of the House or the Senate introduces the bill in his or her own chamber. The bill receives a number, such as H.R. 1 in the House or S. 1 in the Senate.

    2. The bill is sent to a committee, a smaller group of members who focus on one subject, such as farming or education. The committee studies the bill, may hold hearings where experts speak, and can change its wording. Most bills never get past this step.

    3. If the committee approves the bill, the full chamber debates it and votes. If a majority votes yes, the bill passes that chamber.

    4. The bill then moves to the other chamber, where steps 2 and 3 happen all over again.

    5. Both chambers must pass exactly the same version of the bill. If the second chamber has made changes, the two chambers must settle their differences, often in a committee with members from both, and then each chamber votes again on the final version.

    6. The bill goes to the President. If the President signs it, it becomes law. The President can also veto, or reject, the bill and send it back to Congress with the reasons for the veto.

    7. Congress can still turn a vetoed bill into law. If two-thirds of the members voting in both the House and the Senate vote to override the veto, the bill becomes law without the President's signature.

    3.

    What must happen right before a bill goes to the President?

    1. AA committee in the first chamber holds hearings on it.
    2. BThe bill is given a number such as H.R. 1.
    3. CThe President sends it back with reasons.
    4. DBoth chambers pass exactly the same version of it.
  4. 4.

    How do the numbered steps help readers?

    1. AThey show which chamber of Congress has more power.
    2. BThey rank bills from the most to the least important.
    3. CThey show the order in which a bill moves toward becoming law.
    4. DThey count how many laws Congress passes each year.

  5. Two Tales of Flying Too High

    Text 1: The Wings of Daedalus (a myth from ancient Greece)

    Daedalus was the most ingenious inventor in Greece, but King Minos refused to let him leave the island of Crete and held him there with his young son, Icarus. "Minos controls the land and the sea," Daedalus said, "but he does not control the sky." For months he collected feathers, binding them with thread and wax, until he had constructed two pairs of wings.

    Before they departed, he gave his son a careful warning. "Follow the middle path between sea and sky. If you fly too low, the spray will soak your feathers; if you fly too high, the sun will melt the wax."

    At first Icarus obeyed, but the wind lifted him, and the exhilaration of flying drove every warning from his mind. He climbed higher and higher toward the blazing sun until the wax softened, the feathers slipped loose, and he plunged into the sea. Daedalus could only fly on alone, grieving for his son.

    Text 2: Altitude

    Miles had saved his allowance for eight months to buy the drone. Before its first flight, on the beach near Cape Hatteras, his father explained the rules. "Keep it where you can see it, and keep it low, because the wind off the ocean gets stronger the higher you go."

    For ten minutes, Miles flew flawlessly, skimming the dunes and the pier. Then he glanced at the screen and imagined the photograph he could capture from higher up: the curving shoreline, the lighthouse, the whitecaps rolling in. Just a little higher, he told himself.

    At 300 feet the drone began to shudder, and at 350 a gust seized it and swept it out over the water. Miles yanked at the controls, but the drone tilted, spun, and dropped into the gray waves.

    Miles braced himself for a lecture. Instead, his father rested an arm across his shoulders and gazed at the ocean.

    "It was a view worth seeing," he said at last. "Just not from up there."

    5.

    How does Text 2 draw on the myth in Text 1?

    1. AIt shows a father building a pair of wings so that his son can escape an island.
    2. BIt moves the same two characters, Daedalus and Icarus, to a modern beach.
    3. CIt explains the science of why wax melts in strong sunlight.
    4. DIt repeats the pattern of a warning forgotten by a child eager to climb higher.
  6. 6.

    Which theme do both texts share?

    1. AThe sea is far more dangerous than the sky.
    2. BNew inventions always fail the first time that anyone tries to use them.
    3. CParents should never let their children try anything new or risky.
    4. DExcitement can make people forget wise warnings, with painful results.
  7. 7.

    What does the father's response at the end of Text 2 reveal about him?

    1. AHe did not see the drone fall into the waves.
    2. BHe plans to buy Miles a new drone the next day.
    3. CHe cares more about Miles than about the lost drone.
    4. DHe is angry that Miles wasted eight months of his savings.

  8. Why the Sky Is Blue and Sunsets Are Red

    On a clear afternoon the sky overhead is a deep blue, yet a few hours later, near the horizon, the same sky can blaze orange and red. Both colors come from the same sunlight. The difference lies in how that light travels through the air.

    Sunlight looks white, but it is actually a mixture of all the colors of the rainbow. Each color travels as a wave of a different length. Red light has the longest wavelength of the visible colors, while blue and violet have the shortest.

    On its way to your eyes, sunlight passes through the atmosphere, which is made mostly of tiny molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. These molecules are far smaller than the wavelengths of visible light, and when light strikes them, some of it bounces off in new directions. This process is called scattering. Molecules this small scatter short wavelengths much more strongly than long ones, so blue light is scattered far more than red. The scattered blue light reaches your eyes from every part of the sky, and the whole sky glows blue. Scientists call this effect Rayleigh scattering, after the British physicist who explained it in the late 1800s.

    Violet light is scattered even more than blue, so why isn't the sky violet? Sunlight contains less violet than blue to begin with, and human eyes are more sensitive to blue.

    At sunrise and sunset, the sun sits low on the horizon, and its light must travel through much more air to reach you. Along that long path, most of the blue light is scattered away before it arrives. What remains is mostly the longer wavelengths: yellow, orange, and red. Dust, smoke, or tiny droplets in the air can deepen these colors even further, which is why some sunsets seem to set the whole sky on fire.

    8.

    According to the article, why are sunsets often orange and red?

    1. AThe sun gives off more red light in the evening than at noon.
    2. BAt sunset, light crosses more air, so most of its blue is scattered away.
    3. CAir molecules soak up red light by day and release it at dusk.
    4. DThe sun is much farther from Earth at sunset than at noon.
  9. 9.

    The article says that "human eyes are more sensitive to blue." What does "sensitive to" mean here?

    1. Aquick to notice or respond to
    2. Beasily hurt or damaged by
    3. Clikely to forget about quickly
    4. Dunable to see clearly
  10. 10.

    According to the article, why doesn't the sky look violet, even though violet light is scattered the most?

    1. AViolet light has the longest wavelength of all the colors.
    2. BNitrogen in the air absorbs all of the violet light.
    3. CViolet light cannot pass through molecules of oxygen.
    4. DSunlight has less violet than blue, and our eyes respond more to blue.

Mathematics Problem Solving

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 10 minutes.

  1. 1.

    Which inequality is the solution of 4x − 15 ≥ 33?

    1. Ax ≥ −12
    2. Bx ≤ 12
    3. Cx ≥ 12
    4. Dx ≥ 9/2
  2. 2.

    A right rectangular prism has a base that is 12 feet by 7 feet. A plane slices it perpendicular to its base, from front to back. What shape is the cross section?

    1. AHexagon
    2. BCircle
    3. CRectangle
    4. DTriangle
  3. 3.

    Sofia puts $1,200 in a savings account that pays 4% simple interest each year. How much money is in the account after 2 years?

    1. A$96
    2. B$1,296
    3. C$1,248
    4. D$10,800
  4. 4.

    Between which two whole numbers is √90?

    1. A45 and 46
    2. B9 and 10
    3. C10 and 11
    4. D8 and 9
  5. 5.

    Four random samples of 20 households at a town were asked a question. In the four samples, 7, 5, 5 and 4 households have a pet dog. There are 800 households at the town. Using all four samples, about how many of them would you expect to have a pet dog?

    1. A280
    2. B840
    3. C21
    4. D210
  6. 6.

    In triangle ABC, angle A measures 60° and angle B measures 53°. Side BC is extended to point D. What is the measure of the exterior angle marked with a question mark?

    1. A67°
    2. B113°
    3. C127°
    4. D120°
  7. 7.

    Each list shows the points of a function. Which function is linear?

    1. A(0, 5), (1, 6), (2, 8), (3, 12)
    2. B(0, 4), (1, 7), (2, 6), (3, 9)
    3. C(0, 4), (1, 5), (2, 8), (3, 13)
    4. D(0, 4), (1, 6), (2, 8), (3, 10)
  8. 8.

    A jar holds 2 purple and 3 pink buttons. Two buttons are picked without looking, one after the other, and the first is not put back. What is the probability that both are pink?

    1. A3/10
    2. B9/25
    3. C1/2
    4. D3/5
  9. 9.

    What is the solution of the system y = 2x − 17 and y = −x − 2?

    1. A(−7, 5)
    2. B(5, −17)
    3. C(5, −7)
    4. D(−5, −7)
  10. 10.

    A television with a list price of $2,300 was sold for $1,242 after two successive discounts. The first discount was 10%. What was the second discount?

    1. A50%
    2. B46%
    3. C42%
    4. D40%

Mathematics Procedures

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 9 minutes.

  1. 1.

    What is the value of 3⁻³?

    1. A−9
    2. B27
    3. C1/27
    4. D−27
  2. 2.

    Find the value of x.
    5x − 9 = 3x + 5

    1. A6
    2. B7
    3. C9
    4. D14
  3. 3.

    The formula y = mx + b gives a line. Which equation is the formula solved for b?

    1. Ab = y − mx
    2. Bb = y ÷ mx
    3. Cb = mx − y
    4. Db = y + mx
  4. 4.

    What is 6.1 × 10⁷ written in standard form?

    1. A61,000,000
    2. B6,100,000
    3. C0.00000061
    4. D610,000,000
  5. 5.

    √87 is closest to which of these?

    1. A9.25
    2. B8.5
    3. C8.75
    4. D9.5
  6. 6.

    The formula A = (1/2)bh gives the area of a triangle. Which equation is the formula solved for b?

    1. Ab = A ÷ (2h)
    2. Bb = 2A ÷ h
    3. Cb = A ÷ h
    4. Db = 2Ah
  7. 7.

    Work out 4 ÷ 0.25.

    1. A16
    2. B0.16
    3. C160
    4. D1.6
  8. 8.

    What is the value of 21 + (8 × 3² + 21)?

    1. A261
    2. B90
    3. C618
    4. D114
  9. 9.

    A boat travels at a steady 28.2 km every hour. How far does it travel in 1.2 hours?

    1. A33.84 km
    2. B338.4 km
    3. C28.2 km
    4. D29.4 km
  10. 10.

    What is the value of −28 − (−14) × 7?

    1. A−126
    2. B70
    3. C−98
    4. D126

Language

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 9 minutes.

  1. 1.

    Hannah is writing a report about the Battle of Gettysburg.

    Which source would be the most credible for this report?

    1. Aa video game set during the Civil War
    2. Ba website run by the National Park Service about Gettysburg National Military Park
    3. Ca blog by someone who enjoys collecting old coins
    4. Da social media post with no author's name
  2. 2.

    Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?

    1. AWe drove along the West coast from Seattle to San Diego in early spring.
    2. BWe drove along the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego in early Spring.
    3. CWe drove along the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego in early spring.
    4. Dwe drove along the West Coast from Seattle to San Diego in early spring.
  3. 3.

    ______ seventh graders collected more than four hundred cans for the food bank.

    Which word best completes the sentence?

    1. AMe
    2. BWe
    3. CUs
    4. DOurselves
  4. 4.

    Which sentence uses commas correctly?

    1. AWe, waited for the bus on a chilly, rainy morning in late October.
    2. BWe waited for the bus on a chilly rainy morning in, late October.
    3. CWe waited for the bus on a chilly rainy morning in late October.
    4. DWe waited for the bus on a chilly, rainy morning in late October.
  5. 5.

    The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was a disaster caused by drought and poor farming, and it changed how Americans care for their soil. In the years before the disaster, farmers had plowed up millions of acres of prairie grass whose deep roots held the soil in place. When a severe drought struck the Great Plains in the early 1930s, crops died and the bare soil dried out. As a result, strong winds lifted the loose dirt into enormous dust storms that darkened the sky for hours. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the government created the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 to teach farmers how to protect their land. The hard lessons of the Dust Bowl taught the nation that protecting its soil is essential to protecting its farms.

    What is the writer's main purpose in this paragraph?

    1. Ato give facts about a topic
    2. Bto argue for a claim and support it with reasons and evidence
    3. Cto explain how to do something, step by step
    4. Dto tell a story about something that happened
  6. 6.

    Which sentence is written correctly?

    1. AMateo bought a used guitar from a music store with six new strings.
    2. BThe bakery sold muffins to the customers that were still warm from the oven.
    3. CWe brought the cake to the party covered in chocolate frosting.
    4. DWhile Priya weeded the garden all morning, her back began to ache.
  7. 7.

    In which sentence is the word or phrase in bold a gerund?

    1. AWaving a green flag, the official started the race.
    2. BMei finished painting the fence before lunch.
    3. CMateo was the last student to leave the gym.
    4. DThe goal of the food drive is to collect five hundred cans.
  8. 8.

    Which sentence is a simple sentence?

    1. AThe seventh graders in Mr. Ruiz's homeroom collected canned food for the local shelter during the week before Thanksgiving.
    2. BNia had never seen the ocean before, and she gasped when the bus turned the corner and the waves came into view.
    3. CAlthough the trail was muddy after the storm, the scouts reached the top of the ridge before sunset.
    4. DThe cafeteria ran out of tacos before the last lunch period, so the cooks made grilled cheese sandwiches for the remaining students.
  9. 9.

    In which sentence should the words in bold NOT be set off with commas?

    1. AArches National Park which is in Utah has more than two thousand natural stone arches.
    2. BClara Barton a nurse during the Civil War founded the American Red Cross.
    3. CMercury the smallest planet in our solar system has almost no atmosphere.
    4. DThe book that I checked out last week is due back at the library on Friday.
  10. 10.

    Members of the city council, I urge you to restore the old train station on Front Street rather than tear it down. Built in 1910, the brick station is one of the last buildings left from the years when our town grew up around the railroad. A study by the county historical society found that restored historic buildings in nearby towns attract thousands of visitors each year. Some residents argue that the land would be more useful as a modern parking garage. ______, a restored station could house shops and a small museum that would draw people downtown, which a garage could never do. Saving the old train station would protect our history and strengthen our downtown, so please vote to restore it.

    Which word or phrase best fills the blank?

    1. ASimilarly
    2. BFor instance
    3. CFor example
    4. DHowever

Written by Scholar Tests in the style of the published Stanford 10 question types. Not a real Stanford 10 test, and a practice score is not a real score.