FTCE Elementary Science Online Center
This FTCE Elementary Science Online Center brings together practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Choose the resource that matches the skill you want to work on next.
FTCE Elementary Science Practice Center
Take a full 70-minute form, read the explanation under every question you miss, then use the flashcards to close the content gaps the test found.
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Elementary Science at a glance
Half of this subtest is content you either know or do not: cells, matter, forces, the solar system. The other half is reasoning about an investigation someone else ran. The second half is where most points are won and lost, and it is the part you can improve fastest.
| Subtest | Science, part of Elementary Education K-6 (060) |
|---|---|
| Part of | The FTCE Elementary Education K-6 test, code 060, alongside Language Arts and Reading, Social Science, Science, and Mathematics. Each subtest is passed and retaken separately. |
| Number of questions | Approximately 55 multiple-choice questions |
| Answer options | Four per question (A, B, C, or D) |
| Time limit | 70 minutes |
| Format | Computer-based. Many questions attach to a described investigation or a small data table. Nothing depends on seeing a photograph. |
| Passing score | A scaled score of at least 200. |
| Retakes | Subtests are retaken individually after a 31-day wait. |
Florida does not publish how many questions come from each competency. Any percentage breakdown you see on a prep site is someone’s estimate, not an official figure, so this Online Center does not repeat one.
The five competencies, in plain language
Forty-eight skill statements, grouped into what the test actually checks.
Competency 1: Knowledge of effective science instruction
Teaching science to children, not just knowing it.
- Planning inquiry that children can actually run
- Safety in an elementary classroom and on field work
- Common misconceptions children hold, and how to surface them
- Assessment that shows what a child understands rather than what they memorized
Competency 2: Knowledge of the nature of science
What counts as evidence, and what evidence allows you to say.
- Variables, controls, and fair tests
- The difference between a hypothesis, a theory, and a law
- Correlation against causation
- Reading tables, graphs, and measurement with units
Competency 3: Knowledge of physical sciences
Matter, energy, force, and motion.
- Properties and states of matter, and physical against chemical change
- Atoms, elements, compounds, and mixtures
- Force, motion, and simple machines
- Energy forms, transfer, heat, light, sound, and basic electricity
Competency 4: Knowledge of Earth and space
The systems children can observe and the ones they cannot.
- Rocks, soil, and the processes that shape the surface
- Water cycle, weather, and climate
- Earth, Moon, and Sun: days, seasons, phases, and tides
- The solar system and the universe beyond it
Competency 5: Knowledge of life science
Living things, from cells to ecosystems.
- Cells, body systems, and how structure fits function
- Life cycles, heredity, and traits
- Adaptation, natural selection, and change over time
- Ecosystems, food webs, and human effects on them
A routine that fits a 70-minute subtest
Seventy minutes for about 55 questions is roughly 75 seconds each, and the investigation items eat more than that. Build the content knowledge first so the reasoning items get the time they need.
Complete lesson map
Forty-four lessons, grouped the way the content clusters. Each opens in a new tab.
Reading and interpreting science
Scientific reasoning
Experimental design
Data: tables, charts, and graphs
Life science
Heredity, evolution, and ecosystems
Matter and reactions
Earth and space science
- 34Earth’s Layers and Plate Tectonics↗
- 35Rocks and the Rock Cycle↗
- 36The Water Cycle and Weather↗
- 37Climate and the Greenhouse Effect↗
- 38Natural Resources↗
- 39Atmosphere, Oceans, and Earth Systems↗
- 40Natural Hazards and the Age of Earth↗
- 41The Solar System↗
- 42Earth, Moon, and Sun: Days, Seasons, Phases, Tides↗
- 43Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe↗
- 44Eclipses and Stellar Life Cycles↗
Before test day
Two habits carry this subtest. The first is checking what changed and what was held constant before you answer anything about an experiment. The second is refusing to pick an answer that goes further than the data. A choice can be true about the world and still be wrong about the study in front of you.
Watch the classic misconceptions, because the test writes distractors from them: seasons come from axial tilt and not from distance to the Sun, mass and weight are different things, and dissolving is not melting.
A USEFUL NEXT STEP
FTCE Elementary Science: study questions
What can I study in this FTCE Elementary Science Online Center?
This FTCE Elementary Science Online Center includes practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Topics on the page include Competency 1: Knowledge of effective science instruction, Competency 2: Knowledge of the nature of science, Competency 3: Knowledge of physical sciences.
How should I use the FTCE Elementary Science resources?
Choose a topic or practice activity from this Online Center. Review the linked explanation, try the practice, and use the result to decide what to study next. Check each resource’s directions for its format and access requirements.
Resources from Effortless Math · Editorial standards