Edge Level A Unit 2 Cluster 1 Genes: All in the Family 1. According to the article, genes determine many of your traits EXCEPT A. your hair color B. the color of your eyes C. your personality D. freckles on your face LA.910.1.7.4 The correct answer is C. Options A, B, and D are incorrect because they represent correct causal relationships based on the text. This question is looking for the option that lists a trait that is not determined by genes. Option A is incorrect because as the reader learns on page 102 hair color is genetic. Option B is incorrect because as the reader learns on page 98 as well as in the section titled What s a Dominant Gene beginning on page 99 which includes the graphic on page 100, genes determine eye color. Option C is correct because personality is not a genetic feature. Option D is incorrect because as the reader learns on page 98 and in the chart on page 101, freckles are genetic and can be caused by a single dominant gene. 2. Which could be a new caption for the illustration on page 96? F. DNA is an amazingly long but ultra-thin molecule shaped like a twisted ladder. G. Genes carry the code for many thousands of different proteins. H. A gene is a tiny section of a chromosome that serves as an instruction that tells your body how to work. I. Genes are stored on molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid. LA.910.2.2.1 The correct answer is F. Options G, H, and I are incorrect because they represent incorrect analysis and interpretation of text features. Option F is correct because it is an illustration of a DNA molecule and on page 96 the reader learns, DNA is an amazingly long but ultra-thin molecule. It is shaped like a twisted ladder Option G is incorrect because this sentence which is found on page 96 is not what the illustration shows. Option H is incorrect because as the reader learns in the blue print at the top of page 96, a gene is an instruction that tells your body how to work. The instruction is stored as a code in the molecule DNA. This important information is not what is conveyed in the illustration. Option I is incorrect because as the reader learns on page 96, A gene is a segment of DNA which is not what the illustration is designed to show. Copyright 2010 The Hampton-Brown Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The National Geographic Society, publishing under the imprints National Geographic School Publishing and Hampton-Brown. Teachers are authorized to reproduce this material in limited quantities and solely for use in their own classrooms.
3. By using headings throughout the article, the author helps the reader by A. separating information into chronological order. B. describing the characteristics of genes. C. categorizing what scientists have learned about DNA. D. posing and answering questions that logically occur in the previous section. LA.910.6.1.1 The correct answer is D. Options A, B, and C are incorrect because they represent plausible but incorrect distractors based on text features. Option A is incorrect because the information is not provided in chronological order. Option B is incorrect because the article is not divided into information about the characteristics of genes. Option C is incorrect because although the article explains what genes are, where they are stored in the body, where a person s genes come from, and what genes can and cannot affect, that is not the organization of the article. Option D is correct because the headings of the article pose questions which are then answered. 4. Which is NOT part of the author s purpose in writing this scientific article? F. to explain what genes are G. to tell where a person s genes come from H. to relate how DNA was discovered I. to inform the reader what genes can and cannot affect LA.910.1.7.2 The correct answer is H. Options F, G, and I are incorrect because they represent correct interpretations of the author s purpose or perspective. Option F is incorrect because the author does explain what genes are in the section titled What Is a Gene? beginning on page 96. Option G is incorrect because the author does tell where a person s genes come from in the section titled, Where Do My Genes Come From? beginning on page 98. Option H is correct because the author does not discuss the discovery of DNA. Option I is incorrect because pages 99-102 include information about what genes can and cannot affect. 5. Read this sentence from the article. Your DNA has to fit into a tiny space, so it is packed up in an ingenious way. Which word is most opposite in meaning to ingenious? A. crafty B. inventive C. incompetent D. shrewd 2 of 6
LA.910.1.6.8 The correct answer is C. Options A, B, and D are incorrect because they represent words that mean the same (synonyms) as the word being assessed. Definitions are from wordwizard.scholastic.com which defines ingenious as clever or creative in setting up or working through problems. Option A is incorrect because crafty is defined as sly or cunning and, therefore, is similar in meaning to the word being assessed. Option B is incorrect because inventive is defined as good at thinking up new ideas or at devising new objects or methods; imaginative and, therefore, is similar in meaning to the word being assessed. Option C is correct because incompetent is defined as without the skills or knowledge needed to do something well and, therefore, is most opposite in meaning to the word being assessed. Option D is incorrect because shrewd is defined as clever and careful and, therefore, is similar in meaning to the word being assessed. 3 of 6
6. Read the sentences from the science procedure. Edge Level A Unit 2 Cluster 1 How to See DNA DNA will rise from the layer of pea mixture into the alcohol layer. Use a wooden stick to draw the DNA from the alcohol. After you finish, you will have completed a DNA extraction! Which is most similar in meaning to extraction? F. addition G. separation H. insertion I. installation LA.910.1.6.8 The correct answer is G. Options F, H, and I are incorrect because they represent words that mean the opposite (antonyms) to the word being assessed. Definitions are from wordwizard.scholastic.com which defines extraction as an act or instance of extracting, or the condition of being extracted, and where extract means to take out by using force; remove. Option F is incorrect because addition means the act or process of adding and, therefore, means the opposite of the word being assessed. Option G is correct because separation means the act of separating or condition of being separated, and where separate means to divide into parts and, therefore, is most similar in meaning to the word being assessed. Option H is incorrect because insertion means the act of inserting, or something that is or will be inserted, and where insert means to put or cause to be put in, into, or within and, therefore, is opposite in meaning to the word being assessed. Option I is incorrect because installation means the act of installing or condition of being installed, and where install means to put into position and make ready for use and, therefore, is opposite in meaning to the word being assessed. 7. The use of colored background throughout the article helps the reader to A. focus on each of the separate steps that are required in order to complete the process. B. separate the required actions from the reasons why those actions are needed. C. see which ingredients and which materials are needed and how to best use them. D. understand what a DNA molecule looks like when it is inside a pea cell. LA.910.6.1.1 The correct answer is B. Options A, C, and D are incorrect because they represent incorrect analysis and interpretation of text features. 4 of 6
Option A is incorrect because all of the steps have the same colored background. Option B is correct because the science procedure focuses on a step-by-step process. The procedure is the most important part of the selection. To help the reader follow the procedure and understand why the procedure unfolds as it does, the actions to be taken have a different colored background from the reasons why those steps are needed. Option C is incorrect because although the ingredients are listed with one color in the background and the directions/procedure for using the ingredients/materials appear with a different colored background, the color coding is not intended just to separate the list of materials from the processes to be followed. The ingredients are listed on page 105; however, the instructions to use them are on pages 106 and 107 in a different section of the selection. Option D is incorrect because although the reader is told on page 105 in the section with a gray background that the reader will discover what DNA looks like, that is unrelated to the color used in the background of the various sections of the article. 8. Which of the following best describes the organization of this science procedure? F. the author presents information in the order of a simple process to see DNA G. the author persuades readers to follow a recipe to create DNA H. the author provides general scientific information about DNA I. the author tells anecdotes about the method he used when he first discovered DNA LA.910.1.7.5 The correct answer is F. Options G, H, and I are incorrect because they represent incorrect interpretations of text structures/organizational patterns. Option F is correct because the information is presented in the order in which the reader must perform a procedure enabling him/her to view DNA. Option G is incorrect because the reader is not creating DNA, but is extracting it from the cells of green split peas. Option H is incorrect because the author does not provide information about DNA; he provides a procedure to extract it. Option I is incorrect because the author s organization, the Genetic Scientific Learning Center, does not represent the original discovery of DNA. 9. According to the scientific procedure in this article, what would happen if you forgot to add the detergent? A. the rubbing alcohol could not form a layer on top of the pea mixture B. the pea-cell soup would be too thick and gooey C. the mixture would need to rest for at least one-half hour D. the cell membrane would remain whole LA.910.1.7.4 The correct answer is D. Options A, B, and C are incorrect because they represent incorrect causal relationships based on the text. Option A is incorrect because the rubbing alcohol is part of Step 4 while the detergent is part of Step 2. This option is unrelated to the question being assessed. Option B is incorrect because the role of the detergent is not to make the pea-cell soup thin it becomes thin after being put in the blender in Step 1. Option C is incorrect because the procedure does not address letting 5 of 6
anything rest for one-half hour. Option D is correct because as the reader learns in the Why Do This? section of page 106, the pea cells are surrounded by a membrane and the cell nucleus is also surrounded by a membrane. In order to see the DNA, both membranes must be broken through. This is the purpose of the detergent. 10. Read the sentence from the science procedure. Meat tenderizer contains enzymes, proteins that help chemical reactions happen more quickly. What does enzyme mean in this sentence? F. something that intercepts a component G. something that interrupts a process H. something that curbs movement I. something that incites activity LA.910.1.6.3 The correct answer is I. Options F, G, and H are incorrect because they represent incorrect meanings of the assessed word. Wordwizard.scholastic.com defines enzyme as a protein that helps a chemical reaction take place within a living thing. Option F is incorrect because an enzyme does not intercept a process. Dictionary.reference.com defines intercept as to stop or interrupt the course, progress, or transmission of. Option G is incorrect because an enzyme does not interrupt a process. Dictionary.reference.com defines interrupt as to cause or make a break in the continuity or uniformity of (a course, process, condition, etc.). Option H is incorrect because an enzyme does not curb the movement in a process. Dictionary.reference.com defines curb as anything that restrains or controls; a restraint; check. Option I is correct because on page 107 the reader learns that enzymes are proteins that help chemical reactions happen more quickly, which is to say, it incites activity. Dictionary.reference.com defines incite as to stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action. 6 of 6