Language Standards: Determining Meanings of Words and Phrases (CCSS.L.8.4) Practice Test

In our journalism elective, the editor-in-chief reminded us that the first version of any article is rarely perfect. I turned in my draft about the robotics team, and she circled places where my quotes needed better transitions and my statistics needed sources. She told me to revise the structure, cut repetitive sentences, and check the caption under the photo. Only after two rounds of edits, she said, would the piece be ready for layout. By the time I submitted the revised version, the article was tighter and clearer, showing how much careful editing can improve a piece of writing.

In our lab, we compared two beakers of hydrogen peroxide. The first sat untouched; the second received a small pinch of manganese dioxide, a black powder. Immediately, bubbles streamed up as oxygen formed more rapidly. The powder was called a catalyst because it made the reaction proceed faster, yet it remained unchanged at the end. We even weighed it afterward and found no loss of mass. By speeding the process without being used up itself, the substance allowed us to finish the demonstration in minutes instead of waiting much longer.