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Env. Science · FRQ Trainer

Free-response 1 of 13 · Aquatic & Terrestrial Pollution

10 pts our rubric

The real Env. Science Section II is 3 free-response questions in 70 minutes, 40% of your score. Three 10-point questions: design an investigation, analyze a problem using models, analyze a problem using calculations. This prompt is ours, written to the same skills — score it against the rubric below, not against that structure.

Prompt

A city plans to build a coal-fired power plant beside a wetland. Ecologists worry that acid deposition will lower the pH of the wetland and reduce amphibian egg survival. Before construction, the city funds a two-year study of amphibian breeding pools.

aIdentify the independent variable the researchers should measure.1 pt

bIdentify ONE dependent variable they should measure.1 pt

cDescribe an appropriate control or comparison group for this investigation.1 pt

dExplain why that comparison group must otherwise resemble the treatment pools.1 pt

eIdentify ONE variable that must be held constant across sampling sites.1 pt

fJustify why that variable must be held constant.1 pt

gDescribe the method and instrument the team should use to collect the pH data.1 pt

hState how often and at what time of day the samples should be taken.1 pt

iMake a prediction about the results if the acid-deposition hypothesis is correct.1 pt

jIdentify ONE limitation of this investigation and explain why it weakens a claim that the plant CAUSED any change.1 pt

Keep writing to unlock scoring (0/120)

Write your response first — then grade it with AI or self-score against the rubric.