MoCA Test 2025 Complete Study Guide and Cognitive Assessment Overview
Notes
Use the diagram below to answer the question that follows.
Flat
Which of the following numbers is modeled using the base-ten blocks if a "flat" represents one
unit?
A 31.52
B. 31.502
C. 301.52
D. 3,152 - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: A. (Competency 0001) A "lat" represents one
unil. Ten flats equal one large cube, so each large cube represents 10 units; three large cubes
equal 30 unite Each tall stack is one-tenth of a flat, five tall stacks equal five-tenths of a unit.
Each of the smallest cubes is one-tenth of a tall stack, or one-hundredth of a unit, two tiny
cubes equal two-hundredths of a unit
First-grade students have been learning about the physical and human characteristics of their
community. While completing a physical and human characteristics word sort, the teacher hears
a student voice the following thoughts:
A river must be a physical characteristic because it shapes the earth. A skyscraper, hmm, that is
a physical characteristic because it shapes our cities and towns. A mountain is physical, and clay
is human because humans can shape it.
The student's misconception is based on:
A. an invalid extrapolation
B. overgeneralization
C. a misunderstanding of terminology
D. circular reasoning - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: C. (Competency 0014) The
student's misconception is in their comprehension of the geographical terminology of physical
and human characteristics. They interpreted the term physical to mean things that shape Earth
or human life and the term human to mean things that are shaped by humans. Physical
,characteristics are those created naturally, and human characteristics are those created by
humans.
1. A student performs addition of the numbers a and b as follows:
a + ba + (b + c) − c
Which of the following arithmetic strategies is the student implementing by introducing the
number c into the expression as shown?
A. counting on
B. compensation
C. counting back
D. constant differences - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: B. This is the addition strategy of
compensation. The expressions a + b and a + (b + c) − c are equivalent. The difference is that a is
added to (b + c) first and then this sum is reduced by c. For example, 17 + 19 may be changed to
17 + 20 − 1 without affecting the sum.
Fifth-grade students will explore volume by stacking small cubes inside of several different
square prisms. Which of the following mathematical concepts would best prepare students to
understand the relationship between the volume of the prism and the number of small cubes it
contains?
A. describing measurements with units
B. using exponents to simplify repeated multiplication
C. substituting variables in equations
D. evaluating multiplication expressions - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: A. When the
students completely fill the prism with smaller cubes, they can describe the volume of the prism
by the number of small cubes within it. The volume of each individual cube becomes a unit of
measurement. Students who are comfortable with the concept of measurement being
iterations of a particular unit should be comfortable exploring volume in this activity.
Use the information below to answer the question that follows.
,ChoiceFrequencyFirst Week20Second Week30Third Week50Fourth Week100
A group of students then attempted to represent this information by creating the following pie
chart.
The students may fix the error in each angle measure by multiplying the values by which of the
following amounts and then adjusting the size of each sector accordingly?
A. 1.5
B. 1.8
C. 3.0
D. 3.6 - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: D. The frequency of each choice in the table and
the angle of its corresponding sector in the pie chart follows a 2:1 ratio. Additionally, the sum of
the angles for each sector is 100°, which could indicate a misconception with the magnitude of
a circle's central angle. The circle will be completely covered, and each sector will be the proper
size, when each angle shown is multiplied by 3.6.
Which of the following student statements is an example of a misconception about physical
science?
A. When a ball is at rest, there are no forces acting upon it.
B. Gravity continues to act on a dropped ball once it hits the ground.
C. In order to change the motion of a ball, a force needs to be applied to it.
D. A ball released by an astronaut on the moon will fall to the surface of the moon. - correct
answer ✔✔Correct Response: A. When a ball is a rest, this means that the forces acting on the
ball are in equilibrium and not that there are no forces acting upon it. There will be a
gravitational force, as well as a normal force that is pushing back perpendicular to the surface
the ball is resting on, such as the ground. There may even be a frictional force or other balanced
forces acting upon the ball in addition.
Fifth-grade students are using mealworms as part of a life science investigation about behaviors
that help organisms maintain homeostasis. Students place 20 mealworms on a piece of paper in
the center of a box, and half of the paper is dampened with water. The number of mealworms
, in each half of the box is recorded every minute for 10 minutes. This investigation addresses
which of the following student hypotheses?
A. Mealworms prefer to inhabit a moist environment.
B. Mealworms use visual cues to respond to stimuli.
C. Mealworms learn to respond to environmental changes.
D. Mealworms show similar behaviors to earthworms. - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response:
A. A hypothesis is an educated guess that is used as the starting point for an investigation. The
investigation must have a control and a test section. In this case, examining whether
mealworms prefer a moist environment will rely on having the control dry side of the box and
the tested wet side of the box. The way that the experiment is set up will allow the mealworms
to move freely between the dry and wet sides of the box. By recording the position of the
mealworms, the students can see what environment is preferred over time.
Which of the following examples represents an interaction between the biosphere and the
atmosphere?
A. Carbon dioxide is produced as a result of the eruption of a volcano.
B. Remains of plants form coal after being subjected to heat and pressure over time.
C. Animals produce moisture as they undergo the process of respiration.
D. Warm air temperatures increase the rate of evaporation from bodies of water. - correct
answer ✔✔Correct Response: C. Many elements and compounds move between the biosphere
and the atmosphere, with some of the reservoirs that move in this way being water, oxygen,
and carbon dioxide. In particular, respiration produces water and carbon dioxide, which enter
the atmosphere and continue in their respective cycles.
Use the information below to answer the questions that follow.
A particular section of a field receives 4.7 kWh/m24.7 K W H per M squared of sunlight a day.
This energy is converted directly into sugars and plant biomass by the first trophic level.
However, when those plants are consumed, only 10%10 percent of their energy will move into
the next trophic level. Successively, organisms that consume them will only gain about 10%10
percent of the last trophic level's energy. This is known as the 10%10 percent Rule in ecology
and is true with every increasing trophic level.
Notes
Use the diagram below to answer the question that follows.
Flat
Which of the following numbers is modeled using the base-ten blocks if a "flat" represents one
unit?
A 31.52
B. 31.502
C. 301.52
D. 3,152 - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: A. (Competency 0001) A "lat" represents one
unil. Ten flats equal one large cube, so each large cube represents 10 units; three large cubes
equal 30 unite Each tall stack is one-tenth of a flat, five tall stacks equal five-tenths of a unit.
Each of the smallest cubes is one-tenth of a tall stack, or one-hundredth of a unit, two tiny
cubes equal two-hundredths of a unit
First-grade students have been learning about the physical and human characteristics of their
community. While completing a physical and human characteristics word sort, the teacher hears
a student voice the following thoughts:
A river must be a physical characteristic because it shapes the earth. A skyscraper, hmm, that is
a physical characteristic because it shapes our cities and towns. A mountain is physical, and clay
is human because humans can shape it.
The student's misconception is based on:
A. an invalid extrapolation
B. overgeneralization
C. a misunderstanding of terminology
D. circular reasoning - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: C. (Competency 0014) The
student's misconception is in their comprehension of the geographical terminology of physical
and human characteristics. They interpreted the term physical to mean things that shape Earth
or human life and the term human to mean things that are shaped by humans. Physical
,characteristics are those created naturally, and human characteristics are those created by
humans.
1. A student performs addition of the numbers a and b as follows:
a + ba + (b + c) − c
Which of the following arithmetic strategies is the student implementing by introducing the
number c into the expression as shown?
A. counting on
B. compensation
C. counting back
D. constant differences - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: B. This is the addition strategy of
compensation. The expressions a + b and a + (b + c) − c are equivalent. The difference is that a is
added to (b + c) first and then this sum is reduced by c. For example, 17 + 19 may be changed to
17 + 20 − 1 without affecting the sum.
Fifth-grade students will explore volume by stacking small cubes inside of several different
square prisms. Which of the following mathematical concepts would best prepare students to
understand the relationship between the volume of the prism and the number of small cubes it
contains?
A. describing measurements with units
B. using exponents to simplify repeated multiplication
C. substituting variables in equations
D. evaluating multiplication expressions - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: A. When the
students completely fill the prism with smaller cubes, they can describe the volume of the prism
by the number of small cubes within it. The volume of each individual cube becomes a unit of
measurement. Students who are comfortable with the concept of measurement being
iterations of a particular unit should be comfortable exploring volume in this activity.
Use the information below to answer the question that follows.
,ChoiceFrequencyFirst Week20Second Week30Third Week50Fourth Week100
A group of students then attempted to represent this information by creating the following pie
chart.
The students may fix the error in each angle measure by multiplying the values by which of the
following amounts and then adjusting the size of each sector accordingly?
A. 1.5
B. 1.8
C. 3.0
D. 3.6 - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response: D. The frequency of each choice in the table and
the angle of its corresponding sector in the pie chart follows a 2:1 ratio. Additionally, the sum of
the angles for each sector is 100°, which could indicate a misconception with the magnitude of
a circle's central angle. The circle will be completely covered, and each sector will be the proper
size, when each angle shown is multiplied by 3.6.
Which of the following student statements is an example of a misconception about physical
science?
A. When a ball is at rest, there are no forces acting upon it.
B. Gravity continues to act on a dropped ball once it hits the ground.
C. In order to change the motion of a ball, a force needs to be applied to it.
D. A ball released by an astronaut on the moon will fall to the surface of the moon. - correct
answer ✔✔Correct Response: A. When a ball is a rest, this means that the forces acting on the
ball are in equilibrium and not that there are no forces acting upon it. There will be a
gravitational force, as well as a normal force that is pushing back perpendicular to the surface
the ball is resting on, such as the ground. There may even be a frictional force or other balanced
forces acting upon the ball in addition.
Fifth-grade students are using mealworms as part of a life science investigation about behaviors
that help organisms maintain homeostasis. Students place 20 mealworms on a piece of paper in
the center of a box, and half of the paper is dampened with water. The number of mealworms
, in each half of the box is recorded every minute for 10 minutes. This investigation addresses
which of the following student hypotheses?
A. Mealworms prefer to inhabit a moist environment.
B. Mealworms use visual cues to respond to stimuli.
C. Mealworms learn to respond to environmental changes.
D. Mealworms show similar behaviors to earthworms. - correct answer ✔✔Correct Response:
A. A hypothesis is an educated guess that is used as the starting point for an investigation. The
investigation must have a control and a test section. In this case, examining whether
mealworms prefer a moist environment will rely on having the control dry side of the box and
the tested wet side of the box. The way that the experiment is set up will allow the mealworms
to move freely between the dry and wet sides of the box. By recording the position of the
mealworms, the students can see what environment is preferred over time.
Which of the following examples represents an interaction between the biosphere and the
atmosphere?
A. Carbon dioxide is produced as a result of the eruption of a volcano.
B. Remains of plants form coal after being subjected to heat and pressure over time.
C. Animals produce moisture as they undergo the process of respiration.
D. Warm air temperatures increase the rate of evaporation from bodies of water. - correct
answer ✔✔Correct Response: C. Many elements and compounds move between the biosphere
and the atmosphere, with some of the reservoirs that move in this way being water, oxygen,
and carbon dioxide. In particular, respiration produces water and carbon dioxide, which enter
the atmosphere and continue in their respective cycles.
Use the information below to answer the questions that follow.
A particular section of a field receives 4.7 kWh/m24.7 K W H per M squared of sunlight a day.
This energy is converted directly into sugars and plant biomass by the first trophic level.
However, when those plants are consumed, only 10%10 percent of their energy will move into
the next trophic level. Successively, organisms that consume them will only gain about 10%10
percent of the last trophic level's energy. This is known as the 10%10 percent Rule in ecology
and is true with every increasing trophic level.
