Eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, KS. USA.
It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per bu., deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per m?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per are, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates:

• 1607
• 1620
• 1800
• 1849
• 1865

Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, and linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, none, inter, mono, super.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.


I tried it...I would have failed.....

im not even going to try i know that i failed just by lookin at the questions

This is the reason why the U.S. has to go back to the basics...

Yeah, had this one already on the boards. Shocking.

Honestly not that difficult... but then I'm a teacher now and my grandmother was a teacher in rural Kansas for 33 years. I learned this stuff, but not in school.

nope not that difficult, point is.... can 8th graders do this now AND IN TIME ALLOTTED?...and remember, this would have been taken during springtime (planting season)...

Uuuuhhh! "I" before "e" except after "c". That's about all I remember.

Arithmetic
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton. A. $20.16
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per are, the distance around which is 640 rods? The perimeter is 640 rods. one rod =33 feet. 640 X 33 = 21120. the farm is square therefore all four sides are equal. 21120/4 = 5280 feet. the farm is one square mile. there are 640 acres in a square mile. 640 X $15 per acre = $9600

Orthography
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each. A. Gnu - an African animal and Know. the G and the K are silent.

U.S. History
8. Name events connected with the following dates:
1607 settlement @ Jamestown
1620 Pilgrims landed @ Plymouth rock
1800 ?
1849 ?
1865 Civil War ended.
Geography
4. Describe the mountains of North America. The Appalchian Mountains run from Maine to Georgia. The Rocky Mountains in the west are often called the Continental Divide since they run North to South. The Sierra Nevada range of mountains run along the coast of California Oregon and Washington state.


Yeah, I am sure I would have flunked!

where's the crib sheet?

Well now...I should've paid more attention in school.

Point is Steliga, they DONT teach this anymore.