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Sample Questions: 12th-Grade Results of Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS)

(Correct answers in red)

Mathematics General Knowledge

Calories in food portion.

If there are 300 calories in 100 grams of a certain food, how many calories are there in a 30 gram portion of that food?

  1. 90
  2. 100
  3. 900
  4. 1000
  5. 9000

SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96.

The correct answer to this proportionality problem requires calculating the number of calories in a portion of food.

U.S. Average Percent Correct: 68
International Average Percent Correct: 71

Science General Knowledge

Electrical energy and lamp.

Electrical energy is used to power a lamp.

Is the amount of light energy produced more than, less than, or the same as the amount of electrical energy used?

The amount of light energy produced is:
(check one)

___ more than
_X_ less than
 ___ the same as

the amount of electrical energy used.

Give a reason to support your answer.

SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96.

Correct responses gave reasons why the amount of light energy produced by a lamp is less than the amount of electrical energy used to power it.

U.S. Average Percent Correct: 11
International Average Percent Correct: 21

Advanced Mathematics: Derivatives

Which of the following graphs has these features: f' (0) > 0, f' (1) < 0, and f'' (x) is always negative?

SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96

Students needed to understand that the first derivative is used to tell whether a function is increasing or decreasing, and the second derivative is used to indicate the concavity of a function.

U.S. Average Percent Correct: 47
International Average Percent Correct: 45

Physics: Electricity & Magnetism

Electrons enter a uniform electric field E with a velocity v as shown in the figure. The velocity v is perpendicular to the electric field E.

What one of the dashed paths (I, II, III, IV, or V) best represents that path of the electrons in the electric field?

  1. I
  2. II
  3. III
  4. IV
  5. V

SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1994-95.

Students were provided with a diagram representing electrons moving at a given velocity and entering a perpendicular uniform electric field, and were asked to identify the path taken by the electrons in the electric field.

U.S. Average Percent Correct: 12
International Average Percent Correct: 32

Physics: Wave Phenomena

A car moving at a constant speed with a siren sounding comes toward you and then passes by. Describe how the frequency of the sound you hear changes.

Correct Answer Examples:

  • "The pitch is higher as the car comes closer and lower after it goes by."

  • "When the care approaches, the wavelength of the sound is shorter than it is when the car moves away."

SOURCE: Third International Mathematics and Science Study, 1994-1995.

U.S. Average Percent Correct: 12
International Average Percent Correct: 37


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Last Updated -- February 24, 1998, (pjk)