6th Grade ELA – Post-test Assessment 5

1. Question

Part A

According to the author of “Mapping the Invisible,” why was Heymans’s work on dark matter important?

A. It proved that the Hawaiian telescope could record images of dark matter.
B. It confirmed what the telescope in New Mexico found to be true of dark matter.
C. It showed scientists what they should pursue in future research about dark matter.
D. It gave evidence to support what scientists already believed about dark matter.

2. Question

Part B

Which two sentences from the article support the answer to Part A?

A. Two other groups used a telescope on top of a mountain in New Mexico, which watched the sky for nine years.” (paragraph 5)
B. “She worked on the project that used data from the Hawaiian telescope.” (paragraph 8)
C. “Even though scientists already suspected that dark matter and ordinary matter show up in much the same places, it was reassuring to see the same connection in the maps.” (paragraph 9)
D. “‘We are very happy that this is very similar to what we’ve been expecting,’ Ludovic Van Waerbeke of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver told Science News.” (paragraph 10)
E. “One of the new maps shows dark matter in a swath of sky that to the naked eye is more than 600 times as large as a full moon.” (paragraph 11)
F. “The astronomers want to conduct further studies to better understand those invisible lumps and hope to survey the whole sky within 10 years or so.” (paragraph 11)

3. Question

Part A

What is the central idea of “Mapping the Invisible”?

A. Dark matter is so dark that it is invisible to the human eye.
B. Scientists have determined how to locate areas of dark matter.
C. Maps are usually made to show where places are and how to get there.
D. Scientists can see dark matter by looking through powerful telescopes.

4. Question

Part B

Which two sentences from the article give details that support the answer to Part A?

A. “Most maps, however, were not made by astronomers—physicists who study stars and galaxies far, far, far away.” (paragraph 1)
B. “These maps show where dark matter, giant globs of invisible stuff, lurks.” (paragraph 1)
C. “This matter hides all throughout the universe, although you’ll never see it no matter how hard you look.” (paragraph 2)
D. “Dark matter is literally the darkest stuff imaginable.” (paragraph 3)
E. “These telescopes recorded light that came from galaxies billions of light-years away.” (paragraph 6)
F. “By studying how the light changed as it traveled through space, the astronomers could estimate the rough location and shape of dark matter clumps.” (paragraph 6)

5. Question

Part A

How does paragraph 4 contribute to the author’s explanation of how scientists study dark matter?

A. It contrasts dark matter with ordinary matter.
B. It gives examples of places where dark matter is found.
C. It compares the study of dark matter to a familiar experience.
D. It offers information about what dark matter looks like.

6. Question

Part B

Which information from the article supports the answer to Part A?

A. Long strings of dark matter are found in huge clusters.
B. People cannot see wind, but they can see a windmill spinning.
C. Like dark matter, ordinary matter has gravity.
D. People can use telescopes to understand the universe.

7. Question

Part A

Read the sentence from paragraph 5.

According to the article, what is distorted light?

A. Light that is barely visible.
B. Light that curves.
C. Light that is distant.
D. Light that shines brightly.

8. Question

Which phrase from the article best helps the reader determine the meaning of the word distorted?

A. “. . . by observing how the invisible stuff affects things we can see.” (paragraph 4)
B. “. . . bends rays of light as they stream past . . .” (paragraph 4)
C. “. . . recorded light from stars and other celestial bodies.” (paragraph 5)
D. “. . . light that came from galaxies billions of light-years away.” (paragraph 6)

9. Question

Which three sentences belong in a summary of “Mapping the Invisible”?

A. Scientists have been able to create maps that show where dark matter is located.
B. An atlas, globe, and street guide are types of maps.
C. Scientists cannot see dark matter, but they can see how it affects things around it.
D. People cannot see wind, but they can feel it.
E. One telescope used to study dark matter was perched on top of a Hawaiian volcano.
F. A light-year is the distance traveled by light in one year.
G. Dark matter is one of the most common materials in the universe.

10. Question

Part A

What is the author’s primary purpose in writing “Mapping the Invisible”?

A. To explain the success some scientists are having in their work on dark matter.
B. To explain why scientists believe that it is becoming easy to understand dark matter.
C. To explain that scientists have been researching what they think dark matter is.
D. To explain which scientists are most responsible for new discoveries about dark matter.

11. Question

Part B

Which sentence from the article supports the author’s primary purpose for writing “Mapping the Invisible”?

A. “Scientific measurements show that the universe holds about five times as much dark matter as ordinary matter.” (paragraph 3)
B. “By studying how the light changed as it traveled through space, the astronomers could estimate the rough location and shape of dark matter clumps.” (paragraph 6)
C. “‘You can imagine that dark matter is leaving its signature on the images of very distant galaxies,’ said Catherine Heymans of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.” (paragraph 8)
D. “The astronomers want to conduct further studies to better understand those invisible lumps and hope to survey the whole sky within 10 years or so.” (paragraph 11)