100+ Free STAAR Science Practice Questions

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Which measurement tool is most appropriate for finding the mass of a mineral sample before and after it is heated?

Triple-beam balance

Graduated cylinder

Spring scale only

Thermometer

to track

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: STAAR Science Exam

24-26

questions on grade 5 science, worth 30 points

TEA STAAR Elementary Science Blueprint

28-30

questions on grade 8 science, worth 35 points

TEA STAAR Middle School Science Blueprint

33-35

questions on Biology EOC, worth 40 points

TEA STAAR Biology Blueprint

reported performance levels: Did Not Meet, Approaches, Meets, Masters

TEA STAAR Performance Standards

3-4 hours

recommended scheduled STAAR test-session length

TEA District and Campus Coordinator Resources

$8.06

TEA 2025-26 private-school cost per student for grade 5 science, grade 8 science, and Biology

TEA 2025-2026 Private Schools Test Administration Information

For 2025-26, STAAR Science includes grade 5 science, grade 8 science, and Biology EOC. The official blueprints list variable form lengths: 24-26 questions/30 points for grade 5, 28-30 questions/35 points for grade 8, and 33-35 questions/40 points for Biology. STAAR is primarily online, and science forms may include multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, hot spot, inline choice, match table grid, multipart, multiselect, short constructed response, text entry where applicable, and cluster question sets. Students generally complete STAAR in about three hours, but TEA allows same-day completion up to the end of the school day and no more than seven hours. Passing is reported as Approaches Grade Level or higher.

Sample STAAR Science Practice Questions

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

1A student wants to test whether the amount of sunlight affects bean plant growth. Which setup best isolates sunlight as the variable being tested?

A.Use the same type of bean, soil, pot size, and water amount for all plants, but place groups in different hours of light

B.Use different types of beans in the same window and water each group when the soil looks dry

C.Place one plant in sunlight and one plant in shade, then add fertilizer only to the shaded plant

D.Grow one plant in sand and one plant in potting soil, both under the same lamp

Explanation: A fair test changes only the independent variable, which is the amount of sunlight in this investigation. Keeping plant type, soil, pot size, and water the same makes differences in growth more likely to be caused by light exposure.

2A class measures the time for a toy car to roll 2 meters on three ramp heights: 10 cm = 4.0 s, 20 cm = 2.8 s, 30 cm = 2.1 s. Which claim is best supported by the data?

A.Increasing ramp height makes the car take longer to travel 2 meters

B.Increasing ramp height makes the car travel the 2 meters in less time

C.Ramp height has no effect because every trial used the same distance

D.The car's mass must have decreased as the ramp got higher

Explanation: The measured time decreases as ramp height increases, from 4.0 seconds to 2.1 seconds. For the same distance, less time means the car's average speed increased on the higher ramps.

3A graph shows that a pond's dissolved oxygen drops sharply after a large amount of fertilizer washes into it. Which evidence would most directly support the explanation that algae growth caused the oxygen drop?

A.The pond water became colder after the storm

B.Algae coverage increased greatly before the dissolved oxygen reached its lowest level

C.The pond's depth stayed the same during the week

D.Fish were seen near the surface after oxygen levels were already low

Explanation: Fertilizer can add nutrients that trigger algal blooms. If algae increased before oxygen reached its minimum, that timing supports a causal explanation because decomposers and nighttime respiration can reduce dissolved oxygen.

4Students model erosion by pouring the same amount of water over trays of sand. Tray A is bare sand, Tray B has plastic mesh pressed into the sand, and Tray C has small pebbles on top. Which change would best improve the investigation's reliability?

A.Use a different water amount for each tray so every tray looks realistic

B.Record only the tray that loses the most sand

C.Repeat each tray setup several times and compare the average amount of sand moved

D.Replace the sand with soil halfway through the investigation

Explanation: Repeating trials and averaging results reduces the effect of random error, such as a slightly uneven pour. Reliability improves when the same procedure produces similar results across repeated trials.

5Which measurement tool is most appropriate for finding the mass of a mineral sample before and after it is heated?

A.Graduated cylinder

B.Thermometer

C.Triple-beam balance

D.Spring scale only

Explanation: A balance measures mass, which is the amount of matter in the sample. Measuring mass before and after heating can help determine whether matter was lost, gained, or conserved.

6A student concludes that a new sports drink improves running speed after one runner drinks it and runs faster than the day before. What is the biggest weakness in this conclusion?

A.The conclusion uses too many controlled variables

B.The investigation lacks repeated trials and a comparison group

C.Running speed cannot be measured with standard tools

D.Sports drinks cannot be tested scientifically

Explanation: One runner on one day is not enough evidence to support a broad conclusion. A stronger design would include repeated trials, multiple runners, and a control group that does not receive the drink.

7A data table shows that a solution's temperature increased from 22 C to 33 C during a chemical reaction while the beaker was not heated. Which explanation is most consistent with the data?

A.The reaction absorbed thermal energy from the surroundings

B.The reaction released thermal energy to the solution

C.The mass of the solution doubled

D.The particles in the solution stopped moving

Explanation: A temperature increase without external heating indicates that energy was released during the reaction and transferred to the solution. This is evidence of an exothermic process.

8A model shows arrows from the Sun to grass, from grass to rabbits, and from rabbits to hawks. What does the model best represent?

A.Matter being destroyed at each step

B.Energy moving through a food chain

C.Hawks giving energy directly to the Sun

D.All organisms using the same food source

Explanation: Arrows in a food chain usually show the direction of energy transfer from a source to consumers. Energy enters through producers such as grass and moves to herbivores and then predators.

9A student wears goggles while heating a small sample in a lab. Which safety reason best explains this procedure?

A.Goggles keep the sample at a constant temperature

B.Goggles protect eyes from splashes or particles

C.Goggles make measurements more precise

D.Goggles prevent all chemical reactions

Explanation: Heating can cause liquids to splash or small particles to move unexpectedly. Safety goggles protect the eyes from these hazards during investigations.

10Two students study how salt affects the freezing point of water. Student 1 tests 0 g, 5 g, and 10 g of salt one time each. Student 2 tests the same salt amounts three times each and averages the freezing temperatures. Why is Student 2's evidence stronger?

A.Averaging repeated trials can reduce the influence of random measurement error

B.Testing more trials changes the independent variable

C.Repeating trials guarantees the hypothesis is correct

D.The average always equals the true freezing point exactly

Explanation: Repeated trials help reveal whether a pattern is consistent rather than the result of one unusual measurement. Averaging can reduce random error, making the evidence stronger.

About the STAAR Science Exam

STAAR Science measures how well Texas students can apply science TEKS in grade 5 science, grade 8 science, and the high school Biology end-of-course assessment. Current official blueprints effective in 2025-26 organize grade 5 and grade 8 science around Matter and Energy, Force, Motion, and Energy, Earth and Space, and Organisms and Environments. Biology is organized around Biological Structures, Functions, and Processes; Mechanisms of Genetics; Biological Evolution; and Interdependence within Environmental Systems. STAAR is administered primarily online and includes multiple-choice, technology-enhanced, constructed-response, and cluster question formats.

Assessment

STAAR Science is not one single fixed-length test. Grade 5 science has 24-26 questions for 30 points, grade 8 science has 28-30 questions for 35 points, and Biology has 33-35 questions for 40 points. Official forms include multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items, short constructed response items, and cluster question sets.

Time Limit

Scheduled for 3-4 hours; students may continue until the end of the same school day, with no more than 7 hours of testing time.

Passing Score

Approaches Grade Level or higher; performance levels are Did Not Meet, Approaches, Meets, and Masters Grade Level.

Exam Fee

No direct student fee for Texas public school administrations; TEA's 2025-26 private-school cost schedule lists $8.06 per student for grade 5 science, grade 8 science, and Biology. (Texas Education Agency (TEA))

STAAR Science Exam Content Outline

Grade 5: 3-5 questions / 4-7 points; Grade 8: 5-7 questions / 6-9 points

Matter and Energy

Grade 5 emphasizes measurable physical properties, mixtures, solutions, and conservation of matter in solutions. Grade 8 adds chemical formulas, conservation of mass in reactions, physical and chemical changes, periodic-table classification, density, and evidence of new substances.

Grade 5: 4-6 questions / 5-8 points; Grade 8: 6-8 questions / 7-10 points

Force, Motion, and Energy

Grade 5 covers equal and unequal forces, investigations of force effects, complete circuits, energy transformations, and light behavior. Grade 8 adds Newton's laws, acceleration from net force and mass, speed and velocity, distance-time graphs, thermal transfer, wave characteristics, and energy conservation.

Grade 5: 10-12 questions / 11-15 points; Grade 8: 7-9 questions / 8-12 points

Earth and Space

Grade 5 focuses on Sun-Earth-Moon patterns, the water cycle, weather, sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels, surface changes, landforms, resources, and solar-system order. Grade 8 focuses on star life cycles and H-R diagrams, galaxies, weather and climate interactions, ocean-atmosphere systems, tropical cyclones, gravity, plate tectonics, Earth layers, seasons, and tides.

Grade 5: 4-6 questions / 5-8 points; Grade 8: 7-9 questions / 8-12 points

Organisms and Environments

Grade 5 covers ecosystem interactions, biotic and abiotic factors, organism structures, food webs, energy flow, and fossils. Grade 8 adds succession, biodiversity, ecosystem stability, cell organelles, genes, inherited traits, adaptation, body systems, reproduction, and natural/artificial selection.

Biology: 12-14 questions / 13-16 points

Biological Structures, Functions, and Processes

Biomolecules, cells, viruses, cell cycle, differentiation, cancer, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, enzymes, and interactions among plant and animal systems.

Biology: 7-9 questions / 8-11 points

Mechanisms of Genetics

DNA components, nucleotide sequence and traits, gene expression, protein synthesis, mutations, meiosis, chromosome reduction, independent assortment, crossing-over, Mendelian and non-Mendelian crosses, sex-linked traits, and multiple alleles.

Biology: 7-9 questions / 8-11 points

Biological Evolution

Fossil, biogeographic, anatomical, molecular, and developmental evidence for common ancestry; fossil-record rates of change; natural selection; speciation; genetic drift; gene flow; mutation; and recombination.

Biology: 5-7 questions / 6-9 points

Interdependence within Environmental Systems

Predation, parasitism, commensalism, mutualism, competition, ecosystem stability, matter cycling, energy flow through trophic levels, carbon and nitrogen cycles, environmental change, human activity, biodiversity, and stability.

How to Pass the STAAR Science Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Approaches Grade Level or higher; performance levels are Did Not Meet, Approaches, Meets, and Masters Grade Level.
Assessment: STAAR Science is not one single fixed-length test. Grade 5 science has 24-26 questions for 30 points, grade 8 science has 28-30 questions for 35 points, and Biology has 33-35 questions for 40 points. Official forms include multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items, short constructed response items, and cluster question sets.
Time limit: Scheduled for 3-4 hours; students may continue until the end of the same school day, with no more than 7 hours of testing time.
Exam fee: No direct student fee for Texas public school administrations; TEA's 2025-26 private-school cost schedule lists $8.06 per student for grade 5 science, grade 8 science, and Biology.

Keys to Passing

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

STAAR Science Study Tips from Top Performers

1Study from the correct grade or course blueprint. Grade 5, grade 8, and Biology do not have the same content distribution or number of points.

2Practice reading scenarios, tables, models, and data displays before answering; STAAR Science often asks students to use evidence from a stimulus, not just recall a fact.

3For grade 5, give extra review time to Earth and Space because it has the largest blueprint range on the elementary science assessment.

4For grade 8, practice multi-step reasoning with Newton's laws, chemical reactions, Earth-space models, cells, ecosystems, and graph interpretation.

5For Biology, connect cell structures and processes to genetics, evolution, and ecology rather than memorizing each unit in isolation.

6Use claims-evidence-reasoning practice: identify the claim, choose the data that supports it, and explain why the evidence fits the science concept.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which STAAR Science tests are included here?

This practice bank covers the current TEA STAAR science assessments for grade 5 science, grade 8 science, and the high school Biology end-of-course assessment.

How many questions are on STAAR Science?

The number varies by assessment. The 2025-26 blueprints list 24-26 questions for grade 5 science, 28-30 questions for grade 8 science, and 33-35 questions for Biology.

How is STAAR Science scored?

TEA reports performance in four levels: Did Not Meet Grade Level, Approaches Grade Level, Meets Grade Level, and Masters Grade Level. Students who achieve Approaches Grade Level or higher have passed the test.

Is STAAR Science online?

Yes. STAAR is administered primarily online. Paper may be available in limited circumstances such as required accommodations, technology access issues, or paper by request.

How much time do students have for STAAR Science?

Districts schedule STAAR sessions for three to four hours because students are expected to complete assessments in about three hours. Students who need more time may continue until the end of the same school day, but may not spend more than seven hours working on the assessment.

Are calculators allowed on STAAR Science?

Calculators are not permitted on grade 5 science unless the student qualifies for a calculator accommodation. Calculators are required for grade 8 science and Biology, and the online platform provides appropriate calculator tools.

100+ Free STAAR Science Practice Questions

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