CliffsNotes® Praxis II®: Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (0511)

204 Pages·2009·2.967 MB·English

by  Jocelyn L. Paris, Judy L. Paris(auth.)

CliffsNotes®
Praxis II®: Fundamental Subjects Content
Knowledge (0511)
by
Jocelyn L. Paris, M.Ed.
Judy L. Paris, M.Ed.
Authors’Acknowledgments Publisher’s Acknowledgments
To my mommy, Editorial
Thanks for being a good one. Project Editor:Kelly Dobbs Henthorne
—Jocelyn
Acquisitions Editor:Greg Tubach
To my parents, Shirley and Ellsworth, who are the very Composition
reason I have accomplished my dreams. There could not Proofreader: Joni Heredia
have been a better childhood or more support as an adult.
—Judy Wiley Publishing, Inc. Composition Services
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Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Published simultaneously in Canada
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Paris, Jocelyn L., 1977–
CliffsNotes Praxis II:fundamental subjects content knowledge / by Jocelyn L. Paris, Judy L. Paris
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-44855-7
ISBN-10:0-470-44855-5
1. Teachers--United States--Examinations--Study Guides. 2. National teacher examinations--Study guides. I. Paris, Judy L. II. Title. III. Title: CliffsNotes
Praxis two.
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About the Authors
Jocelyn has had a colorful and enriching life centered around teaching. She graduated with a B.A. from the
University of Arizona and obtained her Master’s in Elementary Education at Northern Arizona University. She has
taught preschool through high school students ranging in all abilities from severe to profound, mentally retarded to
deaf to gifted and to emotionally and behaviorally challenged. Jocelyn has taught in a multitude of settings as
well: public school, charter school, residential school for the deaf and blind, private school, and Montessori
school. She also is author of Idioms, published by Butte Publications, Inc. Jocelyn loves to coach sports and
hascoached basketball, volleyball, and soccer for elementary through high school varsity teams. One of her true
passions lies with Camp Abilities, a fundamentally appropriate sports camp for the Visually Impaired. She has
been involved in these camps for the past six years in Arizona, New York, and Alaska.
For more than 35 years, Judy has been professionally involved in the field of education as a teacher, a special
education director, a principal, a superintendent, a consultant, an author, a mentor, and currently serves as adjunct
faculty for several universities. She holds degrees and certifications in special education, early childhood educa-
tion, elementary education, and educational leadership/administration. She was Teacher of the Year and currently
develops college courses and exams, teaches in summer enrichment camps, conducts professional development
workshops, and writes educational materials. She passionately endorses early childhood education as a means to
improve the capacity of our world by providing children with the foundations to be successful in life. She believes
children should learn through discovery and experience the world’s wonders every day. This has led her to a new
endeavor of establishing a children’s museum in her community.
Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Format of the Exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Multiple-Choice Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Multiple-Choice Strategy and Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Fill-in-the-Blank or Complete the Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Question/Statement or Which of the Following? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Least/Not/Except . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Time Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Content of the Exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Frequently Asked Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Using this Study Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
PART I: SUBJECT AREA REVIEWS
English Language Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Reading Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Literary Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Expository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Themes and Purposes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Types of Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Elements and Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Historical and Cultural Contexts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Comparisons of Literary Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Literary Methods and Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Point of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Setting, Tone, and Mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Imagery and Figurative Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Other Literary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Reading and Communication Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Summaries and Paraphrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Language and Words in Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Grammar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Parts of Speech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Sentence Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Organization of Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Fact versus Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Inferences and Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Purposes for Writing and Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Writing Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Web Sites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Number Sense and Basic Algebra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Multiplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Division. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
CliffsNotes PraxisII:Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (0511)
Place Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Whole Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Estimating to Solve a Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ratios, Proportions, Percents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Proportion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Percent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Problem Solving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Equivalence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Geometry and Measurement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Metric Units and Conversions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Customary Units and Conversions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Units of Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Units of Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Units of Volume/Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Units of Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Measurement as a Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Perimeter, Area, Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Data Analysis and Probability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Data Intepretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Mean, Median, Mode, Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Simple Probability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Outcomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Web sites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Citizenship and Social Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Historical Continuity and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Use of Historical Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Historical Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Historical Artifacts, Traditions, Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Historical Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Impact of People, Organizations, and Movements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Leaders and Prominent Citizens of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Leaders and Prominent Persons across the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Famous World Explorers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The Building of a World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Early Civilizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Classical Civilizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Non-European Civilizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Expansion of Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Colonization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Expansion of the Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Descriptions of Events and Movements in American History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Causes and Consequences of Historical Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Wars of the United States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
People, Places, Geographical Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The Impact of Human Activity on the Physical Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The Environment’s Impact on People’s Lives and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Major Religions of the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Human Adaptation to the Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
vi
Table of Contents
Geographic Literacy Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Types of Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Common Types of Data Graphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Civics and Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Systems of Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Distribution of Power in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Scarcity and Economic Choice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Economic Factors and Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Economic Effect on Geography, Population, Resources, and Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Web sites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Basic Understanding of Concepts and Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Systems, Orders, and Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Evidence, Models, and Explanation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Change, Constancy, and Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Evolution and Equilibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Form and Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Nature and History of Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Gathering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Elements of Scientific Inquiry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Twelve Processes of Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Scientific Events, Contributions, and Historical Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Contributions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Historical Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
A Time Table of World Discoveries and Developments through the Ages. . . . . . . . . . 108
Data Collection, Interpretation, and Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Basic Principles and Fundamentals of Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Natural Phenomena and Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Energy Relationships and Transformations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Structure and Properties of Matter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Chemistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Chemical Compounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Mechanical Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Heat Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Sound Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Light Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Magnetic Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Electrical Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chemical Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Nuclear Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Diversity and Characteristics of Living Organisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Darwin’s Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Organization of Living Things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Parts of a Cell—Animal and Plant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Structure and Function of Plants and Animals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Changes in Dominant Organisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
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CliffsNotes PraxisII:Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (0511)
The Earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Kepler’s Laws (Planetary Motion). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
The Earth within the Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Earth’s Moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
The History of the Earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Geologic Time Scale of Phanerozoic Eon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Structure of the Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
The Earth’s Plates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Processes of the Earth Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Life Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Heat Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Food Chain Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Weather/Climate Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Water (Hydrologic) Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Oxygen Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Phosphorus (Rock) Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Science, Technology, and Social Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Environment and Human Affairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Health Issues and Medical Advances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Health Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Medical Advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Social, Political, Ethical, and Economic Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Societal Demands and Technology Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Websites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
PART II: PRACTICE EXAMINATIONS WITH
ANSWER EXPLANATIONS
Practice Exam 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Language Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Social Sciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Math. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Social Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Answer Explanations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Social Sciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Practice Exam 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Language Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Math. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Social Sciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
viii
Table of Contents
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Math. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Social Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Answer Explanations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Math. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Social Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Final Thoughts and Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Studying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Testing Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
ix
CliffsNotes® Praxis II®: Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (0511)
by Jocelyn L. Paris and Judy L. Paris
Copyright © 2009 Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Introduction
Education is a profession that requires knowledge, skill, and dedication. Educators are expected to conduct on-going
self-assessments, review personal philosophies, identify personal teaching styles, select methods of instruction, and
accommodate diverse learners. The education field requires that individuals consistently increase their overall knowl-
edge of the education field and be accountable to society for their instruction to children.
The Praxis II Fundamental Subjects exam has been identified as one method of ensuring that teachers have the basic
and fundamental subject knowledge necessary to support this profession. Teachers who desire a promising career study
and prepare for it on a regular basis. Using this study guide and taking this exam are just the beginning of pursuing this
profession.
Effective educators work in a variety of educational settings using their content knowledge and applying that knowledge
and the principles to classroom environments. This elementary Praxis II Fundamental Subjects exam is focused on the
most basic content knowledge necessary for these teachers to better understand elementary students and the educational
process.
Getting Started
Whether you are a recent college graduate or an experienced teacher, taking this Praxis II Fundamental Subjects exam
accommodates certain state certification and licensure requirements. The final score on this exam will reflect what you
have gained from teacher preparation courses and from utilizing instructional practices in the classroom. To prepare for
the Praxis II 0511 exam, you may also want to review college texts, conduct Internet research, visit the library, or speak
with other professionals.
Remember that the practice exams offered in this guide provide additional information about the questions and content
included in the actual Praxis II Fundamental Subjects examination. After taking one of the practice exams in this guide,
use those answers and detailed explanations to further study specific topics. Then take the second practice exam to deter-
mine areas that need additional review. The practice exams and the actual exams differ in both content and difficulty.
Format of the Exam
The Praxis II exam focused on within this guide refers to the elementary education Praxis II exam, 0511Fundamental
Subjects: Content Knowledge. It is intended to help examinees assess their own general content knowledge regarding
instruction of elementary students. This exam has 100 multiple-choice questions. The exam questions are based on key
indicators of general knowledge and understanding specific to the education of elementary students. The questions
found within each subject area are designed to require that examinees utilize basic and fundamental skills, which are
predicated upon broad concepts of each subject.
Multiple-Choice Questions
Multiple-choice questions are designed to assess detailed knowledge of the specific subject material. They include a
stem(statement), which may be written in one of several formats, and four answer options with the correct answer
being called the key. The four possible selections that follow the stem are identified by letter selections A, B, C, and D.
The three distractors, the incorrect selections, may be related to the correct answer in some way, but examinees should
select only the bestpossible answer.
Multiple-choice questions are factually written and generally do not include opinion statements. The examination ques-
tions reflect best practicesrecommended and utilized in elementary education.
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CliffsNotes Praxis II:Fundamental Subjects Content Knowledge (0511)
In both the practice tests and the actual exam, some of the multiple-choice questions are based on possible classroom
situations. Examinees should read the brief excerpts and think about how the posed question should be answered in ref-
erence to only the information that is provided. Consider what an educator should do if placed in this particular circum-
stance and think carefully when making final answer selections.
Multiple-Choice Strategy and Formats
Strong reading skills are a basic requirement for answering discrete multiple-choice questions correctly on an examina-
tion. Comprehending the basic premise of each question and retrieving content knowledge of the area tested is essential.
When taking an exam with multiple-choice questions, an examinee should read and then reread each question. The
individual should think about the answer before looking at the four options provided. The examinee then may check to
see whether her choice is listed in the four options, which will make selecting the best answer an easier task. If the
information in the question is unknown, an examinee should look at all of the options and use the process of elimination
to choose a response. In this situation, to help an examinee select a correct answer from fewer choices, she might first
remove any choices that seem impossible or not probable. When an examinee is unsure of the correct response for a
multiple-choice question, she should still select an answer to the question as there is no penalty for guessing an answer.
Following are the types of multiple-choice formats.
Fill-in-the-Blank or Complete the Statement
This type offers information through the delivery of a partial sentence that must be completed by the examinee using
one of the proposed options. An individual should select the best option that completes the sentence, using facts, data,
and knowledge about elementary education.
1. Graphs and tables are used to record ________________ and specific historical information.
A. mathematical
B. statistical
C. scientific
D. economic
1. B. Statistical information is used on graphs and tables to aid an individual in obtaining factual content. Often,
tables and graphs are used to record populations, weather temperatures, historical dates, and events.
2. President Lyndon Johnson became president when
A. President Kennedy was assassinated.
B. The Cold War ended.
C. President Lincoln died.
D. The Civil War concluded.
2. A. President Kennedy was assassinated during a visit to Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lyndon Johnson was the
vice president at the time of Kennedy’s death and by law was immediately sworn in as president.
Question/Statement or Which of the Following?
This type poses a short question or delivers a statement that must be answered by selecting one of the four options
provided. The most frequently used phrase is the question that begins with “Which of thefollowing . . .” To answer
thesequestions, examinees should read the question or statement carefully and think about all the given options, finally
choosing the one that is bestsuited as an answer.
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