CAEC Mock Exam 5

All 50 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. Which two provinces together are home to more than half of Canada's population?

   1. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by the sea
   2. Ontario and Quebec
   3. Manitoba and Saskatchewan on the Prairies
   4. Alberta and British Columbia on the west side

2. What SI unit is used to measure mass?

   1. Metre
   2. Newton
   3. Litre
   4. Kilogram

3. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

   Why does the student use 200 mL of water and 10 g of sugar in every beaker of the sugar experiment?

   1. To make the sugar take longer to dissolve completely
   2. To keep these variables controlled so the test is fair
   3. To change the independent variable between the beakers
   4. To be able to drink the sugar water results afterward

4. Let Our Libraries Lend More Than Books When the Riverside branch library began lending tools last spring, some councillors called it a gimmick. They were wrong. In its first six months, the library lent out drills, ladders and sewing machines more than 1,400 times, according to the library's own report. Think about what that means. A family that needs a ladder twice a year no longer has to buy one for $150 and store it in a crowded apartment. A student fixing a bike can borrow a wrench set instead of paying for a repair. Every tool lent is money that stays in a household budget. Critics say the city should not be in the hardware business. But libraries have always lent things people need and cannot easily afford. A century ago that meant books. Today it can also mean a stud finder. The program costs about $12,000 a year, less than one per cent of the library's budget. Council will vote on its future next month. I believe it should not only keep the program but expand it to every branch in the city. A library that lends a ladder is still doing what libraries do best: sharing.

   According to the tool-lending editorial, how many times were tools lent in the first six months?

   1. About 150 times
   2. More than 1,400 times
   3. About 12,000 times
   4. Fewer than 100 times

5. What are the three parts of Canada's Parliament?

   1. The Governor General, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court of Canada
   2. The Sovereign, the Senate and the House of Commons
   3. The Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the provincial premiers together
   4. The Supreme Court, the Senate and the municipal councils of each city

6. A fair coin is flipped and a fair six-sided die is rolled. What is the probability of heads and a 6?

   1. 1/6
   2. 2/3
   3. 1/8
   4. 1/12

7. What is the purpose of Remembrance Day on November 11?

   1. To honour those who served and died in wars
   2. To celebrate the founding of Confederation
   3. To mark the start of the federal election period
   4. To celebrate the first day of winter

8. Source: A 1918 poster reads: "Women of Canada! Fill the empty places at the factory. Every shell you make brings the boys home sooner."

   What can a historian infer from the 1918 poster?

   1. Factories were closing because of low demand
   2. The war ended in 1914 before the poster appeared
   3. Women already held most factory jobs before 1914
   4. Many factory jobs were left empty because men were at war

9. What should the introduction of a CAEC persuasive essay do?

   1. Present the issue and state a clear position
   2. Avoid saying which side the writer takes
   3. List every argument in full detail
   4. Tell a joke unrelated to the topic

10. Without a calculator, what is 2/3 + 1/4?

    1. 3/7
    2. 3/12
    3. 11/12
    4. 8/12

11. What is the surface area of a cube with edges of 4 cm?

    1. 64 cm²
    2. 96 cm²
    3. 48 cm²
    4. 16 cm²

12. A student wants to show what percent of a class prefers each of four sports. Which graph is best?

    1. A line graph
    2. A double line graph
    3. A circle graph
    4. A scatterplot

13. Bay Road Bridge to Close for Repairs The Bay Road bridge over Mill Creek will close to all traffic from May 5 to August 29 while crews replace its deck, the county announced Tuesday. The bridge, built in 1964, carries about 6,000 vehicles a day. A county inspection last fall found that salt and freeze-thaw cycles had cracked the concrete deck. "The bridge is safe today, but it will not stay safe without this work," said county engineer Hana Sato. During the closure, drivers will be detoured along Route 9 and Pine Street, adding about seven minutes to a typical trip. A temporary footbridge will let pedestrians and cyclists continue to cross. Some business owners on Bay Road are worried. "Summer is our busiest season," said Luis Ortega, who runs a bakery near the bridge. "If people can't drive past, they won't stop." The county says it chose the summer because concrete cures best in warm weather. The $3.2-million project is funded jointly by the county and the province.

    According to the news article about the Bay Road bridge, what damaged the bridge deck?

    1. Salt and freeze-thaw cycles
    2. Heavy trucks carrying concrete
    3. A flood on Mill Creek
    4. Poor work by the 1964 builders

14. Ice Road Each February my grandfather drove the ice road across the lake to the far shore, the truck groaning, the whole white world holding its breath beneath the tires. He said the ice talks if you listen: a long crack like a door far off, a hum that settles in your teeth. Most people hear danger. He heard a map. I rode beside him once, nine years old, my mittens pressed against the dashboard, counting the orange flags that marked the safe path until the far trees grew from a pencil line into pines with snow on their shoulders. Now the winters come late and leave early. The road opens for weeks, not months. I still listen to ice. It says less every year.

    In "Ice Road," which phrase gives the world a human action?

    1. "my mittens pressed against the dashboard"
    2. "The road opens for weeks, not months"
    3. "counting the orange flags"
    4. "the whole white world / holding its breath"

15. What is the capital city of Canada?

    1. Vancouver, the largest city in B.C.
    2. Toronto, the largest city in Ontario
    3. Montréal, the largest city in Quebec
    4. Ottawa

16. Let Our Libraries Lend More Than Books When the Riverside branch library began lending tools last spring, some councillors called it a gimmick. They were wrong. In its first six months, the library lent out drills, ladders and sewing machines more than 1,400 times, according to the library's own report. Think about what that means. A family that needs a ladder twice a year no longer has to buy one for $150 and store it in a crowded apartment. A student fixing a bike can borrow a wrench set instead of paying for a repair. Every tool lent is money that stays in a household budget. Critics say the city should not be in the hardware business. But libraries have always lent things people need and cannot easily afford. A century ago that meant books. Today it can also mean a stud finder. The program costs about $12,000 a year, less than one per cent of the library's budget. Council will vote on its future next month. I believe it should not only keep the program but expand it to every branch in the city. A library that lends a ladder is still doing what libraries do best: sharing.

    How does the tool-lending editorial respond to critics who say the city should not be in the hardware business?

    1. It ignores the criticism completely and changes the subject
    2. It says the critics have probably never visited a public library
    3. It agrees with them and suggests selling the tools to residents instead
    4. It argues that lending useful things has always been a library's role

17. A spinner has 8 equal sections numbered 1 to 8. What is the probability of spinning a number greater than 5?

    1. 1/2
    2. 3/8
    3. 5/8
    4. 3/5

18. In a drug trial, some patients get a sugar pill instead of the real drug. What is the sugar pill called?

    1. A placebo
    2. A sample
    3. A hypothesis
    4. A variable

19. Which piece of evidence best supports the claim that a community garden reduces food costs?

    1. Vegetables come in many colours, shapes and sizes.
    2. Members saved an average of $40 a month on vegetables last summer.
    3. Gardens are beautiful places to spend a sunny afternoon.
    4. Many people have gardened since they were children.

20. Choose the correct word: "The new policy will ___ everyone who works the night shift."

    1. effective
    2. effect
    3. affection
    4. affect

21. Public concern about a disease outbreak leads governments to fund more vaccine research. What does this show?

    1. Research topics are chosen at random
    2. Vaccines are developed without testing
    3. Science ignores what society needs
    4. Society can influence what scientists study

22. Northgate Community Centre — Winter Programs Registration opens Monday, January 6, at 9 a.m. online or at the front desk. Residents of Northgate register first; non-residents may register starting January 13. Learn to Skate (ages 4–8) Saturdays, 10:00–10:45 a.m., 8 weeks. $64. Helmets are required; CSA-approved hockey helmets are accepted. Adult Conversational French Tuesdays, 7:00–8:30 p.m., 10 weeks. $90. Beginner level; no textbook needed. Seniors' Chair Yoga (ages 60+) Mondays and Thursdays, 1:00–2:00 p.m., 8 weeks. $48 for both days or $28 for one day per week. Fee assistance: Households with low incomes may apply for a 50% reduction on program fees. Apply at the front desk with proof of income before registering. Cancellations: Full refunds are given up to seven days before a program starts. After that, refunds are given only with a medical note.

    A senior wants Chair Yoga only on Thursdays. According to the Northgate brochure, what is the fee?

    1. $28
    2. $14
    3. $48
    4. $56

23. Daily sales were 12, 15, 9, 15 and 14 items. What is the mean?

    1. 13
    2. 12
    3. 14
    4. 15

24. Why do scientists try to replicate an experiment done by another lab?

    1. To check that the results hold up when repeated
    2. To make the original results look weaker
    3. To avoid writing their own hypothesis
    4. To copy the other lab's work for credit

25. A photo 4.5 cm wide is enlarged by a scale factor of 3. How wide is the enlargement?

    1. 7.5 cm
    2. 1.5 cm
    3. 13.5 cm
    4. 12 cm

26. A city plans a dam for hydroelectric power. Which pair correctly matches a benefit and a risk?

    1. Benefit: higher water bills for residents; risk: clean energy
    2. Benefit: fewer fish in the river; risk: more electricity for homes
    3. Benefit: low-emission electricity; risk: flooding of land and habitats
    4. Benefit: more flooding of the river valley; risk: cheaper power

27. An essay is addressed to a city council. Which sentence has the most suitable tone?

    1. Council totally needs to get it together on buses, seriously.
    2. Anyone who disagrees with me about buses is clueless.
    3. We respectfully ask council to fund more evening bus routes.
    4. Buses are kind of whatever, but maybe add some?

28. Which sentence is the clearest and most concise?

    1. It was on Monday that approval of the budget was given by the committee.
    2. The committee approved the budget on Monday.
    3. On Monday, the budget was approved by the committee, which approved it.
    4. The committee, on the day of Monday, gave approval to the budget plan.

29. Which WHMIS pictogram is used for products that can burn skin and eyes or damage metal?

    1. Gas cylinder
    2. Exclamation mark
    3. Corrosion
    4. Flame over circle

30. Convert 3.6 kilometres to metres.

    1. 3 600 m
    2. 0.0036 m
    3. 360 m
    4. 36 000 m

31. A salesperson earns 4% commission on sales. Last month she sold $18,500 of furniture. What was her commission?

    1. $4,625
    2. $7,400
    3. $462.50
    4. $740

32. Apply the order of operations to fractions: 1/2 + 1/3 × 3/4.

    1. 5/8
    2. 1/4
    3. 5/6
    4. 3/4

33. Which factor most often pulls immigrants to large Canadian cities?

    1. Colder winters than in rural areas
    2. Fewer schools and hospitals nearby
    3. Lower housing costs than small towns
    4. Job opportunities

34. Evaluate 4a − 2b when a = 3 and b = −5.

    1. -22
    2. 2
    3. 1
    4. 22

35. A new video game becomes very popular, but the company made only a few copies. What is the most likely short-term result?

    1. The company is required by law to stop selling
    2. Prices fall because many copies are unsold
    3. Demand for the game drops to zero immediately
    4. Prices rise and copies sell out

36. What is inflation?

    1. A general rise in prices over time
    2. A tax added to imported goods at the border
    3. A sudden drop in the number of jobs in one city
    4. An increase in the number of banks in a country

37. Which is the best use of the last ten minutes of the 75-minute CAEC Writing test?

    1. Proofread for spelling, punctuation and sentence errors
    2. Start writing a brand-new essay on a different topic
    3. Copy the full prompt into the essay one more time
    4. Add a second thesis that argues the opposite side

38. Which sentence is a complete sentence?

    1. Although the store was busy all afternoon.
    2. The cashier, who stayed calm although busy.
    3. Staying calm while the store was very busy.
    4. Although the store was busy, the cashier stayed calm.

39. The night before her first day at the warehouse, Rosa laid out her clothes the way she used to lay out her children's school clothes: jeans, a grey sweatshirt, the steel-toed boots that still smelled of the store. She was forty-six. She had not had a paycheque of her own in nineteen years. At six-thirty the next morning, the supervisor, a tall man named Okafor, handed her a scanner the size of a brick. "Every box has a story," he said. "This tells you where it's going." Rosa nodded as if she understood. The scanner beeped at her like an impatient bird. By ten o'clock her feet ached and she had sent two boxes to the wrong bay. A young worker named Dylan, who could not have been older than her son, showed her how to tilt the scanner so the red line caught the label. "Took me a week," he said. She doubted that, but she was grateful he said it. At lunch she sat alone in her car and ate the sandwich she had made at five. Through the windshield she watched the trucks back up to the loading doors, one after another, patient as cattle. She thought about driving home. Instead, she went back inside. In the afternoon the scanner stopped sounding like a bird and started sounding like a yes. When the whistle blew at three, Okafor checked her numbers and raised his eyebrows. "Not bad for day one," he said. Rosa drove home with the window down, even though it was October.

    In the warehouse story, what does the change from the scanner sounding "like an impatient bird" to "like a yes" show?

    1. The warehouse became quieter in the afternoon
    2. The scanner was repaired during lunch
    3. Rosa has grown more confident in her work
    4. Rosa has stopped paying attention to sounds

40. A 1.8 m person casts a 1.2 m shadow. At the same time a tree casts a 15 m shadow. How tall is the tree?

    1. 16.2 m
    2. 27 m
    3. 22.5 m
    4. 10 m

41. Which transition best fits? "The apartment is small. ___, it is close to the subway and the rent is low."

    1. As a result
    2. On the other hand
    3. In addition
    4. For example

42. Northgate Community Centre — Winter Programs Registration opens Monday, January 6, at 9 a.m. online or at the front desk. Residents of Northgate register first; non-residents may register starting January 13. Learn to Skate (ages 4–8) Saturdays, 10:00–10:45 a.m., 8 weeks. $64. Helmets are required; CSA-approved hockey helmets are accepted. Adult Conversational French Tuesdays, 7:00–8:30 p.m., 10 weeks. $90. Beginner level; no textbook needed. Seniors' Chair Yoga (ages 60+) Mondays and Thursdays, 1:00–2:00 p.m., 8 weeks. $48 for both days or $28 for one day per week. Fee assistance: Households with low incomes may apply for a 50% reduction on program fees. Apply at the front desk with proof of income before registering. Cancellations: Full refunds are given up to seven days before a program starts. After that, refunds are given only with a medical note.

    A family cancels Learn to Skate three days before it starts, with no medical note. Based on the Northgate brochure, what happens?

    1. They do not receive a refund
    2. They are moved to the next session
    3. They receive a 50% refund
    4. They receive a full refund

43. A bag has 3 red, 5 blue and 2 green marbles. What is the probability of drawing a blue marble?

    1. 5/7
    2. 1/2
    3. 3/10
    4. 1/5

44. Phone plan A costs $30 plus $5 per GB. Plan B costs $50 plus $1 per GB. At how many GB do they cost the same?

    1. 10 GB
    2. 20 GB
    3. 5 GB
    4. 4 GB

45. The night before her first day at the warehouse, Rosa laid out her clothes the way she used to lay out her children's school clothes: jeans, a grey sweatshirt, the steel-toed boots that still smelled of the store. She was forty-six. She had not had a paycheque of her own in nineteen years. At six-thirty the next morning, the supervisor, a tall man named Okafor, handed her a scanner the size of a brick. "Every box has a story," he said. "This tells you where it's going." Rosa nodded as if she understood. The scanner beeped at her like an impatient bird. By ten o'clock her feet ached and she had sent two boxes to the wrong bay. A young worker named Dylan, who could not have been older than her son, showed her how to tilt the scanner so the red line caught the label. "Took me a week," he said. She doubted that, but she was grateful he said it. At lunch she sat alone in her car and ate the sandwich she had made at five. Through the windshield she watched the trucks back up to the loading doors, one after another, patient as cattle. She thought about driving home. Instead, she went back inside. In the afternoon the scanner stopped sounding like a bird and started sounding like a yes. When the whistle blew at three, Okafor checked her numbers and raised his eyebrows. "Not bad for day one," he said. Rosa drove home with the window down, even though it was October.

    What does the last line of the warehouse story, driving "with the window down, even though it was October," suggest?

    1. Rosa's car heater is broken
    2. Rosa feels free and proud after the day
    3. Rosa wants to hear the trucks again
    4. Rosa is worried about the cold weather

46. Which item is a need rather than a want?

    1. A larger television for the living room
    2. A new video game console
    3. Tickets to a professional hockey game
    4. Safe housing

47. Which is a primary source about life in Upper Canada in the 1830s?

    1. A settler's diary written in 1834
    2. A modern film based on settler life
    3. A 2020 textbook chapter about the colony
    4. An encyclopedia article written last year

48. A negative integer is divided by a positive one: −45 ÷ 9. What is the quotient?

    1. −36
    2. −54
    3. −5
    4. 5

49. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

    How could the sugar experiment be made more reliable?

    1. Stop the timer whenever the student starts to feel tired
    2. Test only one water temperature many times in a row instead
    3. Use a different amount of sugar in each of the three beakers
    4. Repeat each temperature several times and average the times

50. Which statement is an inference rather than an observation?

    1. The plant is probably getting too much water.
    2. The soil in the pot feels wet when touched.
    3. The plant measures exactly 24 cm tall.
    4. Three of the lower leaves have brown spots.