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Section 4: Sample Selected-Response Questions
TX PACT: Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources: Grades 6–12 (772)

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This section presents some sample exam questions for you to review as part of your preparation for the exam. To demonstrate how each competency may be assessed, sample questions are accompanied by the competency that they measure. While studying, you may wish to read the competency before and after you consider each sample question. Please note that the competency statements do not appear on the actual exam.

The correct answer is provided for each sample exam question. The sample questions are included to illustrate the formats and types of questions you will see on the exam; however, your performance on the sample questions should not be viewed as a predictor of your performance on the actual exam.

Domain I—Foundations of Agricultural Education

Competency 002—Demonstrate an understanding of the integrated program approach and career development in agricultural education.

1. Students in an agricultural education class are participating in a semester-long exercise to investigate the effect of soil pH on the growth of tomato plants. Tomato plants will be grown in the school's greenhouse in soil with different pH levels. The height of the plants will be measured each week, and each plant assessed for signs of nutrient deficiencies. At the end of the semester, yields of each group of tomato plants will be compared. Which of the following aspects of this exercise most requires students to apply principles of the scientific method?

  1. identifying the manipulated variables that must be controlled in the exercise
  2. using proper materials and methods to accurately measure soil pH
  3. recognizing and distinguishing between symptoms of different nutrient deficiencies
  4. applying horticultural techniques for growing plants in a greenhouse
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Competency 003—Demonstrate an understanding of the history of agricultural science and FFA, and the role of FFA in agricultural education.

2. Participating in FFA career development events (CDEs) benefits students in agricultural education primarily by:

  1. helping teachers assess their knowledge of course material and identify gaps to be addressed.
  2. assisting them in meeting and setting up job interviews with potential employers in agriculture.
  3. introducing them to the job requirements and opportunities in a variety of agriculture careers.
  4. helping them develop and showcase their technical knowledge and communication skills.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

Competency 004—Demonstrate an understanding of procedures for ensuring safety in the agricultural classroom, laboratory, SAE, and FFA.

3. Which of the following strategies on the part of the teacher would be most appropriate and effective for maintaining a safe working environment in a high school agricultural science laboratory?

  1. limiting access to lab equipment to students who have demonstrated responsibility in the past
  2. monitoring student behavior to keep order and ensure that students remain focused on tasks
  3. testing all equipment before each laboratory session to ensure that it is working properly
  4. limiting lab exercises to those that have been demonstrated to pose no risk to participants
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

Domain II—Animal Science

Competency 005—Demonstrate an understanding of the classification, anatomy, and physiology of animals.

4. Which of the following is one reason why a maker of fine cheeses might use milk from Jersey dairy cows rather than from Holstein-Friesian cows?

  1. Milk from Jersey cows contains larger quantities of natural rennet than milk from Holsteins.
  2. Milk from Jersey cows is cheaper because the cows produce larger quantities of milk per year than Holsteins.
  3. Milk from Jersey cows has a higher butterfat content than milk from Holsteins.
  4. Milk from Jersey cows contains fewer bacteria and leukocytes because the cows are more resistant to mastitis than Holsteins.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

Competency 006—Demonstrate an understanding of animal production and management.

5. In general, the most serious economic effect of attacks by mosquitoes and ticks on horses and cattle in Washington State is caused by:

  1. extensive blood loss in affected animals.
  2. irritation of animals that leads them to go off their feed.
  3. transmission of a variety of diseases to animals.
  4. death of animals when larvae burrow into vital organs.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

Competency 007—Demonstrate an understanding of animal genetics and reproduction and principles of genetic engineering and biotechnology.

6. In genetic engineering, the ability of scientists to identify the genes that influence the expression of specific traits has been most enhanced by technological advances in:

  1. DNA sequencing.
  2. cloning.
  3. DNA splicing.
  4. cell enucleation.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Competency 008—Demonstrate an understanding of environmental and facilities management in animal production systems.

7. A confinement facility for swine in Washington State uses an anaerobic lagoon to manage wastes. To minimize the possibility of polluting neighboring streams with runoff from the lagoon, it would be most important to include which of the following elements in its design?

  1. a device for continuously agitating the liquid in the lagoon
  2. an impervious layer of concrete or clay at the bottom of the lagoon
  3. a system for diverting rainwater and snowmelt away from the lagoon
  4. a method for excluding all solid wastes from entering the lagoon
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

Domain III—Plant and Soil Science

Competency 009—Demonstrate an understanding of soil science.

8. The number and kind of microorganisms present in a soil most directly affects which of the following characteristics of the soil?

  1. texture
  2. humus content
  3. structure
  4. pH
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

Competency 010—Demonstrate an understanding of the classification, anatomy, and physiology of plants.

9. Which of the following organelles within the plant cell provides energy to the cell by converting the metabolic products of photosynthesis into ATP?

  1. ribosome
  2. Golgi apparatus
  3. lysosome
  4. mitochondrion
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

Competency 011—Demonstrate an understanding of plant genetics, reproduction, and propagation.

10. Which of the following best explains why the flowers of grasses are small and inconspicuous compared with the flowers of most other flowering plants?

  1. Grasses generally put more energy into vegetative growth rather than seed production.
  2. Grasses are generally pollinated by small beetles that find the flowers by smell rather than sight.
  3. Grasses generally reproduce by the spread of underground stolons rather than by seeds.
  4. Grasses are generally pollinated by the wind rather than by insects or other animals.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

Competency 012—Demonstrate an understanding of crop production and management.

11. Which of the following best explains why fresh apples are often placed after harvest in an environment with increased carbon dioxide and reduced oxygen in the atmosphere?

  1. The apples will suffer less damage after harvest because the high C O 2 / low O 2 environment prevents insect eggs from hatching.
  2. The apples will keep longer without softening because their respiration rate will be lower in a high C O 2 / low O 2 environment.
  3. The apples will taste sweeter because the high C O 2 / low O 2 environment speeds the conversion of starches into sugars.
  4. The apples will ripen faster because the high C O 2 / low O 2 environment prevents the breakdown of ethylene gas into its inert components.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

Competency 013—Demonstrate an understanding of horticultural practices, principles, and methods of greenhouse, nursery, and landscape management, and principles of landscape design.

12. A bedding-plant grower plants tomato seeds in rows in a large tray. After the seedlings have emerged and the first true leaves have developed, the grower notices that seedlings in parts of several rows have toppled over. When the plants are examined, it is found that the stem is constricted at the soil level and the root is shriveled. Over the course of the next week, most of the seedlings in the tray have died. Which of the following measures should the grower have taken to prevent the appearance of this condition?

  1. planting the seeds in a sterile growing medium
  2. germinating the seeds in complete darkness
  3. fertilizing the seedlings immediately after they emerged
  4. watering the seedlings more frequently
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Domain IV—Agricultural Technology

Competency 014—Demonstrate an understanding of operation and maintenance of power equipment and engines used in agriculture.

13. The ability of hydraulic systems to lift and support large loads in agriculture applications depends primarily on which of the following principles?

  1. Fluids in a hydraulic system cannot be compressed when force is applied to the fluid.
  2. The viscosity of fluids used in hydraulic systems is inversely proportional to the temperature of the fluid.
  3. The application of force to a fluid in a hydraulic system leads to an increase in temperature of the fluid.
  4. The types of fluids used in hydraulic systems have lower coefficients of friction than most other types of fluids.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Competency 015—Demonstrate an understanding of materials and techniques used in agricultural metal fabrication, construction, and water control systems.

14. Which of the following best describes the process of soldering when joining metal?

  1. Soldering employs high pressures and temperatures to join metal surfaces without using filler metal and without melting the base metal.
  2. Soldering uses high temperatures to melt and fuse together the adjacent base metal surfaces that are to be joined.
  3. Soldering uses a low-melting-point filler metal to join metal surfaces together without melting the base metal.
  4. Soldering uses low temperatures to melt an alloy that will coat the base metal surfaces and prevent oxidation during high-temperature welding.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option C is correct.

Domain V—Natural Resources and Environmental Science

Competency 016—Demonstrate an understanding of ecological principles and their relationship to agriculture and the environment.

15. Which of the following best explains why long-lived pesticides such as DDT affect populations of raptors, such as eagles and ospreys, to a greater extent than populations of finches and warblers?

  1. Raptors and other large birds have slower metabolisms than smaller birds and are unable to break down pesticides as effectively.
  2. Toxic chemicals are unevenly distributed in the environment, and raptors live, feed, and nest in areas where concentrations are highest.
  3. Raptors are long-lived birds and are likely to be exposed to these pesticides for a longer time during the course of their lives.
  4. Toxic chemicals become more concentrated as they move up the food chain, and raptors are top predators in most ecosystems.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

Competency 017—Demonstrate an understanding of relationships between agriculture and the environment.

16. Which of the following crop production practices is most likely to increase soil erosion in an agricultural field?

  1. using sprinkler systems to irrigate a growing crop
  2. harvesting more than one crop from a field in a single year
  3. using plastic or natural mulches to control weeds
  4. leaving fallow fields uncovered by vegetation or crop residues
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option D is correct.

Competency 018—Demonstrate an understanding of natural resource management.

17. Which of the following forest management practices is most likely to improve wildlife habitat and increase the diversity of plant and animal species that inhabit an area?

  1. controlling insect pests by spraying infested sections of the forest
  2. opening the forest canopy by harvesting small patches of trees
  3. preventing wildfires by removing dead standing and fallen trees
  4. planting non-native vegetation that is well adapted to the area
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.

Domain VI—Agricultural Business

Competency 019—Demonstrate an understanding of agricultural business management and entrepreneurship.

18. Which of the following is the best example of an agricultural cooperative?

  1. A group of independent dairy farmers buys feed in bulk, distributes its products under the same label, and shares the profits.
  2. An entrepreneur sets up a roadside stand to market his own vegetables and those he has purchased from neighboring farmers.
  3. Several investors purchase a swine production facility and share in the profits according to the amount each has invested in the business.
  4. A supermarket chain contracts with local growers to supply one of its stores with fresh produce throughout the growing season.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Competency 020—Demonstrate an understanding of principles of economics and their role in agricultural business.

19. A farmer decides to convert some marginal agricultural land to wildlife habitat. Which of the following represents the opportunity cost to the farmer of the decision to take the marginal land out of production?

  1. the profit that would have been made if the land had been planted
  2. the direct costs of converting the land to wildlife habitat
  3. the average profit that is made per acre of land on the farm
  4. the costs of planting the land to a crop in the previous year
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option A is correct.

Competency 021—Demonstrate knowledge of agricultural marketing and sales.

20. A price-skimming strategy is one in which high prices are charged for a product in order to ensure high profits or recover high production costs. This type of pricing strategy is likely to be most effective for an agriculture product when:

  1. a product is sold to a wholesaler or processor before being sold to the public.
  2. a new product has little or no competition from similar products already on the market.
  3. a product is marketed through the Internet or a catalog rather than through a retail store.
  4. a new product is introduced to help prop up a line of related products that are experiencing lagging sales.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Option B is correct.
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