Monday, November 24, 2014

Lydia's Grade Eight, Term One exam questions

These examination questions are in the format used on the Ambleside Online website, and some of the questions are from the Year 8 examinations.  Others were drawn from original PUS programmes, and some came from our own term's work.

Bible and Christian Studies
1. Tell about something new that you have noticed or learned from this term's Bible reading assignments.
2. Explain the roles of the oral and written traditions in the writing of the Old Testament books  (The Bible Through the Ages)
Writing/Penmanship
Write 8-10 lines of poetry from memory.
Composition/Literature
1. Write a scene for acting from Hamilton's Mythology or Westward Ho! (this was found in one of the Form III PUS programmes)
2.  Choose something that you've found or that you see outdoors. Write about it, using words that are "resonant...carrying meanings that go beyond the literal." How is a poet's lens "more like a kaleidoscope than a microscope?"  (from The Roar on the Other Side)
English Grammar
1. Write the "Cumulative Test, Adjective Unit" on pages 25-28 of the Easy Grammar Plus Student Test Booklet.
English History
1. "'You know,' Grant said, 'from the police point of view there is no case against Richard at all. And I mean that literally. It isn't that the case isn't good enough. Good enough to bring into court, I mean. There, quite literally, isn't any case against him at all.'" (Daughter of Time) Explain this in as much detail as you can.
2. Explain the disagreement between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More, and tell how it ended.
3.  Describe briefly (a) the preparations made i) in Spain ii) in England for the Armada, and b) why the Armada failed. (from a PUS programme)
World History
1.   Tell what you know of the Renaissance, and how it affected life in a) Italy, b) England.
Geography
1. Summarize a day at sea on the Kon Tiki.
2. Describe Easter Island.
3. Describe a Polynesian Island. 
Ecology and Physical Science
1. Tell what you know about light and the rhythms of life.
2. Explain these terms: ecosystem, biotic and abiotic factors.  Name and describe some terrestrial ecosystems.
3  In the section called "Global Warming," Dr Wile says, "Although the fear that too much carbon dioxide in the air could lead to global warming is based on sound scientific reasoning, reality is...more complex than that." Explain in as much detail as you can.
4. Write the test for Exploring Creation Through Physical Science, Module 3.
Citizenship/Government (Plutarch)
1. Plutarch's Life of Crassus Why does Plutarch say that Crassus "shewed greater courage in this misfortune [the death of his son], than he before had done in all the war beside," or in Dryden's words, "outdid himself in this calamity?" 
2. "Before the terrorism, I used to carry a heavy bag to school, and I used to learn every day, but I did not know how important education is until we were stopped, because I realized the terrorists are against education, and especially girls' education, because they are afraid of it." Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, in a 2013 CBC interview.  Tell as much of Malala's story as you know, and write your thoughts about the above quote.
3.  "Then, when conscience says nothing we are all right? you ask.  By no means, for the verdict of conscience depends upon what we know and what we habitually allow." (Charlotte Mason, Ourselves Book II)  Explain what is meant here; give examples.
Reading Skill
Father to choose an unseen passage, giving marks for enunciation.
Mathematics
1. "The 100th term of the arithmetic sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... is obvious; it is 100.  The 100th term of the arithmetic sequence 2, 5, 8, 11, 14... however, is not obvious at all.  One way to find out what it is would be to continue writing the sequence until we arrive at it.   There is an easier way, however."   Explain.
2. Deductive reasoning:  If there's a big cube made out of a lot of little cubes, and each side is 12 little cubes across, how many little cubes are in the big cube, how many corner cubes, how many edge cubes, how many other outside cubes, and how many inside cubes that you can't see?  
3. Explain what you know about two of the following: a) functions, b) the Cartesian graph, c) binary numbers, d) the Fibonacci sequence.
French
1. Translate the following: a) La bonté de l'Éternel remplit la terre.   b) Mon bien-aimé est descendu à son jardin... pour cueillir des lis. c) ...un temps pour planter, et un temps pour arracher ce qui a été planté... 
2.  Tell the story of Maupassant's "The Necklace."  OR translate the following paragraph:
C'était une de ces jolies et charmantes filles, nées, comme par une erreur du destin, dans une famille d'employés. Elle n'avait pas de dot, pas d'espérances, aucun moyen d'être connue, comprise, aimée, épousée par un homme riche et distingué; et elle se laissa marier avec un petit commis du ministère de l'Instruction publique. 
Picture Study
1. Describe "The Three Ages of Man" by Titian, OR "The Madonna of the Rabbit" ("Madonna and Child with St. Catherine and a Rabbit.")
Recitation
Father should choose a poem, two Bible verses and/or a scene from Shakespeare learned this term for student to recite.
Music Appreciation
What a) operas b) other works by Richard Wagner have you heard? Write notes on one of each. (from a PUS programme)

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