Indiana Core Science Earth/Space Science Secrets: Indiana Core Test Review for the Indiana Core Assessments for Educator Licensure Paperback – Import, 14 July 2014

The Mometrix Guide:Old data. Wrong data. Incomplete explanations. Mistaken terminology. Lack of visuals. Typos. Inconsistent formatting. Expensive. Perhaps worst of all, the sample test questions do not match the style of questions you will face on the exam.Old dataThis Mometrix guide is supposed to for the all-new Indiana CORE exams, which began less than a year ago. The guide itself has a July, 2014 publication date.However, the guide appears to be either a recycled version of previous material, or written by someone with an outdated education and/or source material. And the editing is atrocious.A few examples.Mometrix says, `Jupiter has 16 satellites.' Actually, 67 are currently known, the 16th and 17th of which were discovered in 1979, 35 years before this guide was officially published! I suspect the guide has been revised since 1979, sure, but, at the very least, this is really, really poor editing-- and it is far from an isolated oversight.As this guide appears to be reused, outdated material, Climate Change receives far too little coverage. Here, though, we find other clues as to the age of the guide material: on page 80 we're told Earth's climate has warmed .6 C these past 100 years. This was indeed the estimate from the 1990s, which, along with the mention of Jupiter's "16 satellites," places this guide's original authorship decades in the past.The guide also lacks for discussion of the role of oceans in regulating climate. Again, as this has been a major focus of climate science these past 20 years, not surprising the guide pretty much ignores the topic.Wrong data"The galaxy's mass... is about 1,011 Solar masses." (p. 19) The actual estimate is 5.8 x 10 (to the 11th power) Solar Masses, so the guide is way, way off. Even on the face of it, 1,011 seems a ludicrous number, given the billions of stars in the galaxy. Where are the editors? Now that I see it here, maybe 10 to the 11th power became 1,011 because the editor and/or the word processing software at Mometrix's office wouldn't do exponents-- like Amazon's review page! Still, what happened to the 5.8, Mometrix? And how could you let 1,011 stand?The guide says the zone of aeration is "the area below the water table." (p. 70) No.Says "Earth's thermosphere is subdivided into the ionosphere and the exosphere" (p.71). No.On page 74 we learn "air tends to move from areas of low pressure to areas of higher pressure." No, it's the opposite!On page 70, the Mometrix guide claims the global climate has `cooled since 1950', and that "many glaciers have expanded or at least halted their recessions". Where have these authors been? Where is this data coming from? We've decades of data in direct contradiction to these statements.Incomplete explanationsIntroduces some terms without explanation, such as sial and sima, or ionized.Giving latin meanings, too, would really help learning and retention in some cases, such as "gibbous."I'm really understating the problems here, as quoting and explaining would require a lot of space.Wrong terminologyRepeatedly refers to the Sun's chromosphere as the "chronosphere." Clearly not just a typo, as this mistake is repeated, and also appears in the flash card system from the same publisher. (Incidentally, most of the flash card answers are just word-for-word repetitions from the guide itself, so they add little value.)Refers to the Moon's "gibbons" phase (p.13). It's gibbous, as in `curved.' Not likely a typo, as these letters aren't near enough to each other on the keyboard. But, hey, easy mental mistake, since "gibbons" is a word, and spellcheck won't catch it, but where are the editors?Lack of visualsThere are no visuals in the Mometrix Guide (nor in its sister flashcard system). None.Even line graphs and illustrations would help immensely, especially to help undergraduate Education majors understand certain ideas, such as the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, or the Moon-Earth-Sun relationship. Other easy line illustrations would be topo maps, topographic profile, soil horizons, drainage patterns, etc..Quick lists and tables could actually save text, and improve learning, but aren't used. Moh's hardness scale, or a table for mass wasting, would more quickly and effectively inform than does text alone. And how can you have a section on the geologic time scale without providing a visual of the scale itself?How about a few maps or figures? Is a line map of plate tectonics too much to ask? Or a simple example to demonstrate relative dating techniques in Geology?TyposVadose (Zone of Aeration) referred to as "vardose"(p.70). More editing problems--maybe they didn't bother to hire an editor? On the other hand, not sure this is just a typo, given other mistakes in terminology not (see "wrong terminology" above).Says cirrus clouds occur at "6,000 km or higher" (p. 75). They mean 6,000m (6 km). More editing problems.Inconsistent or problematic formattingOk, a minor issue, I agree, but the spacing between sections is occasionally inconsistent, such as page 73, where "Transpiration" begins directly beneath "Ozone Layer", with no space--not to mention "Ozone Layer" really ought to be a subsection of the previous section on "Earth's atmosphere". You can find similar formatting errors elsewhere, such as p. 59, 61, etc...And why is "Coasts" wedged between "Changes in Climate (subsection of "Glaciers" here)" and "Aeration Zone" (p. 70)? It could make perfect sense, yes, but you'd think there'd at least be a mention of fjords in such a case, but nope. It's just a generic few sentences on emergent and submergent coastlines, but without mention of the connection to climate change or glaciers, then we launch into groundwater-- although the new section isn't even titled.Overall, there's just no flow to the material. It's disjointed. And, as such, difficult to read for very long without getting bored--and I really LOVE Earth Science. I more novice reader would, in my opinion, be worse than bored, they'd be confused--not to mention misinformed.As you can see, I managed to draw enough examples of problems from just a short section of the guide--mostly pages in the 70s. This ought to be a clue as to how riddled with problems this `new' study guide really is.ExpensiveFor $40, frankly, it should be much better. I can purchase a 2010 edition of Tarbuck and Lutgens "Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (10th)" for just $20. Sure, a longer read, but outstanding visuals, well-written, tons of examples, and far more informative than this Mometrix guide, and even its space science coverage is at least as good.If you don't mind spending your money on study material prepared for the previous Indiana Secondary School exams, rather than the new one, for about $8 you could supplement your learning with the kindle version of Cliff's notes for Earth/Space Science. It has quick, easy explanations, some visuals, review questions for each chapter, and even a 110-question test at the end. And it's not nearly as riddled with mistakes as this Mometrix guide.The sample testIn closing, I wanted to give the `new' Mometrix Earth/Space Science study guide 2 stars, I really did. But the sample test put the nail in that coffin. The new Indiana CORE exam series is far more geared towards application of knowledge, not straightforward facts. The new exams also pose many questions in the context of classroom application/pedagogy. The sample test in this guide does neither of these things. It is a very straightforward, spit-out-the-facts, type practice exam. Not necessarily a bad thing, IMO, especially for what is supposed to be a content exam--I'm not a particular fan of the new Indiana CORE exams. However, if the guide is supposed to prepare you to pass the new exams, and does not, then it's money wasted.Given all the problems, and the fact this guide is clearly not been especially prepared for the new exam series, rather, is an attempt to maximized profits by recycling old material--without correcting, updating, or even fixing editing problems!--I can only give this study guide 1 star.This Mometrix study guide is a kind of lie to the potential buyer. And I don't like liars. Further, if the Indiana Dept. of Education licensed this company to publish a study guide, and approved (or allowed) this one in any way, then shame on them as well.(Oh, and there's no Kindle version. In 2014.....Why?!)

It's enough to teach me things that I never knew, and it's sparked outside research on my own terms. I've enjoyed reading and learning about everything in ESS, and you do such a wonderful job of breaking down terms into simple definitions with easy-to-understand explanations. Admittedly, however, my favorite part is the assistance in learning how to study the book properly and the overcoming test anxiety portions. Having struggled with testing anxiety all my life, this has been a wonderful resource to have.

This book has good review information but certainly did not help me pass the test. I’m a good student with multiple terms on the Dean’s List in college. The best thing to do is research each standard on your own. The test is a BEAST.