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100+ Free ILTS Science: Physics (243) Practice Questions

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: ILTS Science: Physics (243) Exam

240

Passing Scaled Score

ILTS Science: Physics (243) test page

$110

Test Fee (2026)

ILTS Science: Physics (243) test page

100 MC

Test Format

ILTS Science: Physics (243) test page

3 hr 15 min

Testing Time

ILTS Science: Physics (243) test page

4 subareas

Content Domains

ILTS Science: Physics (243) test framework

37%

Disciplinary Core Ideas Weight

ILTS Science: Physics (243) test framework

100-300

Score Scale

ILTS scoring information

ILTS Science: Physics (243) is Illinois' physics content licensure test, delivered by Pearson as a computer-based exam with 100 multiple-choice questions and a passing scaled score of 240 on a 100-300 scale. The four subareas are weighted as follows: Science Process Skills 23%, Disciplinary Core Ideas 37%, Physics Skills Motion Forces and Waves 20%, and Thermodynamics Electromagnetism and Modern Physics 20%. Candidates have 3 hours 15 minutes of testing time within a 3 hour 30 minute appointment. The current registration fee is $110. This free 100-question bank mirrors the official subarea weighting so candidates can practice across every subarea.

Sample ILTS Science: Physics (243) Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your ILTS Science: Physics (243) exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A student claims that a heavier ball will hit the ground before a lighter ball when both are dropped from the same height in a vacuum. Which of the following best describes how a teacher should guide the student to test this claim scientifically?
A.Design a controlled investigation in which mass is the only variable changed while air resistance is eliminated, then compare fall times
B.Tell the student the claim is wrong because Galileo already proved it
C.Have the student read a textbook chapter and accept its conclusion without testing
D.Drop the balls in open air on a windy day and record which lands first
Explanation: Scientific inquiry requires testing claims through controlled investigations where only the independent variable (mass) changes while confounding factors (air resistance) are controlled. In a vacuum, both objects fall with identical acceleration g, so a fair test reveals they land together regardless of mass.
2In an experiment measuring the period of a pendulum, a student measures the time for 20 complete swings rather than a single swing. What is the primary advantage of this technique?
A.It reduces the relative effect of human reaction-time error in the measurement
B.It changes the actual period of the pendulum to a more convenient value
C.It eliminates the need to control the pendulum length
D.It guarantees the result will have no systematic error
Explanation: Timing many oscillations and dividing by the number of swings spreads a fixed reaction-time uncertainty over a larger total time, reducing the percent (relative) random error in the calculated period. This is a standard precision-improving technique in physics labs.
3A measured value is reported as 4.50 cm. How many significant figures does this measurement contain, and what does the trailing zero communicate?
A.Three significant figures; the trailing zero indicates precision to the hundredths place
B.Two significant figures; the trailing zero is not significant
C.Four significant figures; both zeros are placeholders
D.One significant figure; only the leading digit counts
Explanation: In 4.50 cm, the digits 4, 5, and 0 are all significant, giving three significant figures. A trailing zero after a decimal point is significant because it conveys that the measurement was determined to the hundredths place.
4Which of the following correctly distinguishes the accuracy and precision of a set of measurements?
A.Accuracy describes how close measurements are to the true value; precision describes how close measurements are to one another
B.Accuracy describes how close measurements are to each other; precision describes closeness to the true value
C.Accuracy and precision are synonyms in measurement science
D.Precision refers only to the number of decimal places shown on a digital readout
Explanation: Accuracy measures how close a result is to the accepted true value, while precision measures the reproducibility or spread among repeated measurements. A set of readings can be precise (tightly clustered) but inaccurate (clustered far from the true value).
5A graph of an object's position versus time produces a straight line passing through the origin with a positive slope. What does the slope of this line represent?
A.The constant velocity of the object
B.The constant acceleration of the object
C.The total distance the object has traveled
D.The object's displacement at time zero
Explanation: On a position-versus-time graph, slope equals change in position divided by change in time, which is velocity. A straight line means the slope is constant, so the object moves at constant velocity.
6Using dimensional analysis, which combination of base SI units is equivalent to the newton, the unit of force?
A.kilogram times meter per second squared
B.kilogram times meter per second
C.kilogram per meter per second squared
D.kilogram times meter squared per second
Explanation: From Newton's second law, F = ma, force has units of mass times acceleration. Acceleration is meters per second squared, so a newton equals kg·m/s², the correct base-unit expression.
7A crosscutting concept emphasized across science and engineering disciplines is cause and effect. Which classroom activity best illustrates students using this crosscutting concept in physics?
A.Investigating how changing the applied force on a cart affects its measured acceleration
B.Memorizing the value of the gravitational constant to five decimal places
C.Copying definitions of vocabulary terms from a glossary
D.Watching a video about the history of physics without analysis
Explanation: Cause and effect is a crosscutting concept in which students identify how changing one factor produces a measurable change in another. Varying applied force and measuring the resulting acceleration directly probes the causal relationship F = ma.
8In the context of science and engineering practices, what is the key difference between a scientific theory and a scientific hypothesis?
A.A theory is a well-substantiated explanation supported by a large body of evidence, while a hypothesis is a testable, tentative explanation for a specific observation
B.A theory is just a guess, while a hypothesis is proven fact
C.A theory cannot be tested, while a hypothesis is never tested
D.A theory and a hypothesis are identical and the terms are interchangeable
Explanation: In science, a theory is a broad, repeatedly tested and well-supported explanatory framework (e.g., the theory of electromagnetism), whereas a hypothesis is a narrower, testable, tentative proposed explanation. The everyday use of theory as a mere guess is a common misconception teachers must correct.
9A student collects current-versus-voltage data for a resistor and wants to determine the resistance. Which graphical analysis correctly yields the resistance?
A.Plot voltage on the vertical axis and current on the horizontal axis; the slope equals the resistance
B.Plot voltage versus current; the y-intercept equals the resistance
C.Plot current versus voltage; the slope equals the resistance
D.Plot current versus time; the area under the curve equals the resistance
Explanation: Ohm's law states V = IR, so a graph of V (vertical) against I (horizontal) is linear with slope R. Determining resistance from the slope is more reliable than using a single data point because it uses all the data.
10A laboratory safety rule states that students must wear safety goggles when heating liquids. What is the primary scientific and pedagogical justification for this requirement?
A.Heated liquids can splatter or boil over, posing a risk of eye injury that goggles help prevent
B.Goggles improve the accuracy of temperature measurements
C.Goggles are required only when working with magnets
D.Goggles change the chemical properties of the liquid being heated
Explanation: Safety practices are part of responsible science and engineering work. Heating liquids can cause spattering, bumping, or boil-over that may project hot droplets toward the face, so eye protection is essential to prevent injury.

About the ILTS Science: Physics (243) Exam

The ILTS Science: Physics (243) test is the content-area assessment for the Illinois physics teaching endorsement, administered for the Illinois State Board of Education by Pearson (Evaluation Systems). The computer-based test contains 100 multiple-choice questions organized into four subareas spanning science process skills, integrated disciplinary core ideas, physics motion forces and waves, and thermodynamics electromagnetism and modern physics.

Questions

100 scored questions

Time Limit

3 hours 15 minutes of testing (3 hours 30 minutes total appointment)

Passing Score

240 scaled score

Exam Fee

$110 (Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) / Pearson)

ILTS Science: Physics (243) Exam Content Outline

23% of this test

Science Process Skills (Subarea 1)

Practices of science and engineering, crosscutting concepts and their applications across disciplines, and reading processes for science. Includes measurement, significant figures, accuracy and precision, dimensional analysis, graphing and data analysis, experimental design with controlled variables, scientific models, the nature of science, and laboratory safety.

37% of this test

Disciplinary Core Ideas (Subarea 2)

Core disciplinary ideas integrating physics with chemistry, biology, Earth and space science, and environmental science. Covers motion and forces, energy and its conservation and transformation, waves, matter and its interactions, atomic and nuclear structure, fundamental forces, and real-world applications such as energy resources and the water cycle.

20% of this test

Physics Skills, Motion, Forces, and Waves (Subarea 3)

Skills required to practice physics, kinematics and mechanics including projectile and circular motion, Newton's laws and free-body analysis, momentum and impulse, torque, work, power, kinetic and potential energy, and the properties of mechanical and electromagnetic waves including interference, the Doppler effect, resonance, and standing waves.

20% of this test

Thermodynamics, Electromagnetism, and Modern Physics (Subarea 4)

Principles of thermodynamics including the first and second laws, specific heat, latent heat, and the ideal gas law; static and moving electric charges with Coulomb's law, Ohm's law, and series and parallel circuits; magnetism, electromagnetic induction, transformers, motors, and generators; and modern physics including the photoelectric effect, radioactivity, fission and fusion, relativity, and the Bohr model.

How to Pass the ILTS Science: Physics (243) Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 240 scaled score
  • Exam length: 100 questions
  • Time limit: 3 hours 15 minutes of testing (3 hours 30 minutes total appointment)
  • Exam fee: $110

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

ILTS Science: Physics (243) Study Tips from Top Performers

1Allocate study time by subarea weight: Disciplinary Core Ideas is the heaviest at 37 percent, followed by Science Process Skills at 23 percent
2Practice multi-step problems in kinematics, Newton's laws, circuits, energy, and thermodynamics because the test rewards calculation fluency
3Review integrated science content because Disciplinary Core Ideas spans chemistry, biology, and Earth and space science in addition to physics
4Master core relationships such as v = f times lambda, F = ma, Ohm's law, and KE = half m v squared while relying on the provided reference sheet for less common constants
5Use dimensional analysis and unit conversion to check answers quickly under time pressure
6Study common student misconceptions in mechanics and electricity, since the framework emphasizes science teaching practices

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on the ILTS Science: Physics (243) test?

The test covers four subareas: Science Process Skills (23%), Disciplinary Core Ideas (37%), Physics Skills, Motion, Forces, and Waves (20%), and Thermodynamics, Electromagnetism, and Modern Physics (20%). All questions are multiple-choice, and the Disciplinary Core Ideas subarea integrates physics with chemistry, biology, and Earth and space science.

How many questions are on the ILTS Physics (243) test and what is the format?

The computer-based ILTS Science: Physics (243) test has 100 multiple-choice questions. There are no open-response or constructed-response assignments; the entire test is selected-response.

What is the passing score for ILTS Physics (243)?

You need a scaled score of 240 or higher to pass the ILTS Science: Physics (243) test. Scores are reported on a scale of 100 to 300, and 240 is the standard ILTS passing score.

How much does the ILTS Physics (243) test cost in 2026?

The current registration fee for the ILTS Science: Physics (243) test is $110, after ILTS reduced fees for its test titles. Some older prep sources still list $122, so always confirm the exact amount in your Pearson registration portal before checkout.

How long is the ILTS Physics (243) test appointment?

You have 3 hours and 15 minutes of actual testing time, within a total appointment of 3 hours and 30 minutes that includes about 15 minutes for the tutorial and nondisclosure agreement. Budget your time across all 100 multiple-choice questions.

Is a calculator allowed on the ILTS Physics (243) test?

ILTS science tests provide an on-screen calculator and a reference sheet of formulas and constants within the computer-based testing platform, so you do not bring your own. Practice solving problems using the provided tools rather than memorizing every constant.