Grade 8 · Science

Grade 8 Science questions and answers

Cells, genetics, body systems, and Earth science. Written in American English for students, parents, and teachers in the United States.

Topics

Practice quiz

Question and answer list

Open a card to see the answer. These are original practice items for US elementary students — not a state test copy.

1. Genes are made of

Answer: DNA

DNA carries hereditary information.

2. A trait is

Answer: a characteristic that can be inherited

Eye color is a classic example.

3. Alleles are

Answer: different versions of a gene

You inherit alleles from each parent.

4. In a Punnett square, a capital letter often means

Answer: a dominant allele

Dominant traits can show with one copy.

5. A recessive trait shows when

Answer: both alleles are recessive

Two lowercase letters, like aa.

6. Genotype is the

Answer: allele combination

Phenotype is what you see.

7. Humans typically have how many chromosomes in most body cells?

Answer: 46

Gametes have 23.

8. Mitosis produces

Answer: two identical body cells

Meiosis makes sex cells.

9. Plate tectonics explains

Answer: earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building

Earth’s crust is in moving plates.

10. The rock cycle includes

Answer: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks

Heat, pressure, and weathering change rocks.

11. Igneous rocks form from

Answer: cooled magma or lava

Granite and basalt are igneous.

12. A fossil is most often found in

Answer: sedimentary rock

Layers can bury remains.

13. The water cycle includes

Answer: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

The Sun drives evaporation.

14. Weather is

Answer: the short-term condition of the atmosphere

Climate is the long-term pattern.

15. The greenhouse effect

Answer: traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere

Gases like CO₂ absorb outgoing heat.

16. A transform boundary is where plates

Answer: slide past each other

The San Andreas Fault is a famous example.