Praxis General Science Online Center
This Praxis General 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.
Praxis General Science Practice Center
Take a full 150-minute form, then read the explanation under every question you missed. Physical science is more than a third of this test and it covers both chemistry and physics, so score that block separately from life and earth science.
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Praxis General Science at a glance
Check the number on your study guide before you do anything else. ETS has withdrawn every document for the old code 5435, and the live test is 5436 with a four-category framework. Several prep sites are still selling 5435 material under the old number, and it prepares you for five categories that no longer exist, including a standalone scientific methodology section that is now folded into category one.
| Test code | 5436 (General Science). ETS dropped the words Content Knowledge from the title. |
|---|---|
| Replaces | 5435, General Science: Content Knowledge. ETS has removed the 5435 test page, study companion, and practice test entirely. |
| Number of questions | 135 selected-response questions. There is no constructed response. |
| Time limit | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Calculator | Not provided and not needed. |
| Reference materials | A periodic table is provided on the Help screen, along with a table of physical constants. |
| Format | Computer-delivered |
| Score scale | 100 to 200 |
| Passing score | ETS does not set one. Each state sets its own qualifying score. |
| How it is asked | More than 40 percent of the questions integrate a science and engineering practice, and about 30 percent assess a task of teaching science. |
ETS publishes counts and percentages for all four categories: Nature and Impact of Science and Engineering 20 questions and 15 percent, Physical Science 50 and 37 percent, Life Science 35 and 26 percent, and Earth and Space Science 30 and 22 percent. Physical science is the biggest by a distance, and it is doing double duty: chemistry and physics are both inside it, and ETS does not publish how the fifty questions split between them.
The four categories, in plain language
ETS lists each category and the topics under it. Here is what each one asks of you.
II. Physical science (37 percent, 50 questions)
Chemistry and physics together, and the largest block on the test.
- Atomic structure, the periodic table, and bonding
- Chemical reactions, balancing, and the mole in outline
- States of matter, solutions, acids and bases
- Motion, Newton’s laws, and forces
- Work, energy, power, and momentum
- Waves, sound, light, and optics
- Electricity, magnetism, and circuits
- Heat and thermodynamics
III. Life science (26 percent, 35 questions)
Cells through ecosystems.
- Cell structure and cell processes
- Photosynthesis and cellular respiration
- Mitosis, meiosis, and genetics
- DNA, protein synthesis, and heredity
- Evolution and natural selection
- Classification and organismal biology
- Human body systems and homeostasis
- Ecology, cycles, and human impact
IV. Earth and space science (22 percent, 30 questions)
The planet and the sky.
- Minerals, rocks, and the rock cycle
- Plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes
- Weathering, erosion, and landforms
- Geologic time and the fossil record
- The water cycle, oceans, and the atmosphere
- Weather systems and climate
- The Earth, moon, and sun system
- The solar system, stars, and the universe
I. Nature and impact of science and engineering (15 percent, 20 questions)
Now includes what used to be two separate categories.
- Science and engineering practices
- Experimental design, variables, and controls
- Measurement, units, and data analysis
- Engineering design, criteria, and constraints
- Laboratory safety
- Science, technology, and society
A study routine for a broad survey test
This test is wide and shallow. That is good news: nothing on it is deep enough to need weeks, and the winning strategy is coverage rather than mastery.
Complete topic map
Every topic ETS lists under the four categories of the current 5436 framework.
Nature and impact of science and engineering (15 percent, about 20 questions)
- 01Recognize that scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence collected through observation or experimentation
- 02Explain how major scientific concepts develop and change over time based on new evidence
- 03Ask questions and form hypotheses
- 04Use laws and theories to describe and explain natural phenomena, and develop and apply models to explain them
- 05Apply science process skills including observing, categorizing, comparing, generalizing, inferring, and concluding
- 06Use standard units of measurement, dimensional analysis, unit conversion, scientific notation, and significant figures
- 07Design an investigation, including identifying variables, planning data collection, and showing how the design supports answering the question or testing the hypothesis
- 08Process, organize, and report data
- 09Perform error analysis, including accuracy and precision, mean, and percent error
- 10Identify the sources and effects of error, including systematic, random, and sampling error
- 11Interpret, extrapolate, and draw conclusions from data
- 12Follow correct procedures for the preparation, use, storage, and disposal of materials in the laboratory and field
- 13Select, use, calibrate, and maintain equipment appropriately
- 14Apply safety procedures and precautions
Physical science (37 percent, about 50 questions)
- 15Describe the current model of atomic structure, including the location of protons, neutrons, and electrons, atomic number, atomic mass, isotopes, and electron configurations of the elements
- 16Explain the uses of absorption and emission spectra in science
- 17Describe radioactivity and radioactive decay processes, distinguish alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma radiation, apply half-life, analyze fission and fusion, and balance nuclear reactions
- 18Organize matter as pure substances (elements and compounds) and mixtures (homogeneous, heterogeneous, solutions, suspensions, colloids), and identify states of matter including plasma, and atoms, ions, and molecules
- 19Distinguish chemical from physical properties and changes, and intensive from extensive properties
- 20Apply conservation of matter and of energy in chemical and physical processes
- 21Distinguish kinetic from potential mechanical energy and identify other forms of energy including chemical, electrical, thermal, electromagnetic, and nuclear, and transformations between them
- 22Use temperature scales, describe conduction, convection, and radiation as mechanisms of energy transfer, and apply heat capacity, specific heat, and calorimetry
- 23Analyze phase changes using particulate and mathematical models, including phase diagrams, heats of vaporization and fusion, and heating curves
- 24Apply the kinetic molecular theory, including its assumptions, ideal gas behavior, and the ideal gas laws
- 25Relate thermodynamics to chemical and physical processes through changes in entropy, exothermic and endothermic processes, reaction progress diagrams, and the energy absorbed in breaking bonds and released in forming bonds
- 26Apply the mole concept, Avogadro’s number, molar mass, mole conversions, percent composition, and chemical formulas
- 27Interpret chemical formulas, name compounds from formulas, write formulas from names, and use structural formulas such as Lewis electron-dot diagrams
- 28Distinguish ionic, covalent (polar and nonpolar), and metallic bonding and compare relative bond strengths
Life science (26 percent, about 35 questions)
- 29Describe the structure and function of cell membranes, including the phospholipid bilayer, passive and active transport, and homeostasis
- 30Describe the structure and function of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell organelles
- 31Identify the levels of organization from cells to tissues, organs, and organ systems
- 32Identify major features of common animal cell types including blood, muscle, nerve, epithelial, and gamete cells
- 33Distinguish prokaryotes (eubacteria and archaea) from eukaryotes (animals, plants, fungi, protists)
- 34Describe cell reproduction and division, including the cell cycle phases, mitosis, meiosis, cytokinesis, and binary fission
- 35Explain aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration and photosynthesis
- 36Identify biological molecules including nucleic acids, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids
- 37Describe the structure, function, and replication of DNA and the structure and function of RNA
- 38Explain the central dogma through transcription and translation
- 39Apply the concepts of chromosomes, genes, alleles, and dominant and recessive traits
- 40Solve Mendelian inheritance problems using genotype, phenotype, Punnett squares, sex-linked traits, pedigrees, and probability
- 41Analyze non-Mendelian inheritance including incomplete dominance and codominance
- 42Explain mutations, chromosomal abnormalities, common genetic disorders, and genetic counseling
Earth and space science (22 percent, about 30 questions)
- 43Describe Earth’s rotation and revolution and the effects of axial tilt, including seasons, solstices, and equinoxes
- 44Explain relationships within the Sun-Earth-Moon system, including the causes and cycles of tides and spring and neap tides, solar and lunar eclipses, and phases of the Moon
- 45Describe the effects of solar wind on Earth, including communication satellites, blackouts, and auroras
- 46Explain the formation and organization of the solar system
- 47Describe the structure and characteristics of the Sun, including its layers, sunspots, and nuclear fusion
- 48Identify the location and orbits of the planets and the Moon, applying Kepler’s laws of planetary motion
- 49Compare the characteristics of solar-system objects including planets, asteroids, moons, comets, and dwarf planets
- 50Describe the life cycle of stars, including main sequence, white dwarf, supernova, and black holes
- 51Compare the characteristics of stars including mass, color, temperature, and brightness, and interpret the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
- 52Explain nuclear fusion and the formation of elements such as carbon and iron
- 53Describe the characteristics of the universe and of galaxies including the Milky Way
- 54Explain the big bang theory and the evidence for the origin and evolution of the universe, including redshift and cosmic background radiation
- 55Apply the theory of plate tectonics, including plate movement and potential driving forces such as slab pull, ridge push, and convection
- 56Identify convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries and evaluate seismic, geomagnetic reversal, and fossil evidence for plate tectonics
Before test day
The first thing to check is that you are studying the right test, because 5435 material is still circulating and it has a different framework. After that, this comes down to breadth and to the classic misconceptions, which is where the distractors live. Seasons are caused by axial tilt and not by distance from the sun; moon phases are caused by the geometry of the sun, Earth, and moon and not by Earth’s shadow; and heat and temperature are not the same thing.
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