Nature of Science - Answers

1. Justin completes an experiment length of time a paper airplane stays in flight. He records his results in a data table. These results are known as _______results.

A.written B. tabledC. qualitative D.quantitative

2. What word best describes a Scientific Theory?A. Information

B. Evidence

C. Explanation

D. Fact

3. Sophia noticed that the kindergartens pick through the candy bucket until they get a red candy. What is an inference she could make from this observation?

A. The kids do not like candy.

B. The kids prefer the red candy

C. The candy is crunchy.

4. Jane is investigating to find out if bean plants grow taller in ordinary soil or special potting soil over a three week period. She sets up her investigation with 10 bean plants of equal size in each type of soil. What should Jane do each day to make sure she gets valid results?

A. Calculate the average plant height for each soil type.

B. Move the plants in ordinary topsoil to different locations.

C. Guess the height of each plant's stem and record the estimate.

5. Jordan wants to find out if a hamster can learn a maze as quickly as a mouse can. She has researched mice and hamsters and predicts which rodent she thinks will learn more quickly. What should her next step be?

A. analyze hamster behavior in the maze

B. research how a rabbit would behave in a maze

C. observe the behavior of both rodents in the maze

D. make conclusions about rodent behavior in the maze

6. What two layers of the Earth are responsible for the movement of the tectonic plates?

A. Crust and Mantle

B. Core and Mantle

C. Core and Crust

7. Kevin wanted to find out which of his toy cars, the Corvette or the Mustang, would roll downhill faster. He made a ramp by putting several books under one end of a board so that the board was slanted. Which would be the best way for him to perform his experiment?

A. Roll each car down the ramp separately five times and estimate which car looked faster.

B. Roll both cars down the ramp together one time and see which one gets to the bottom first.

C. Roll each car down the ramp separately one time, and time them with the second hand on his watch.

D. Roll both cars down the ramp together five times and record which gets to the bottom first each time.

8. Jonathan and Sarah have performed an experiment and are not sure their results are valid. What should they do to check their results?

A. average their data

B. change their lab report

C. perform a new experiment

D. repeat the same experiment

9. Which of the following must be true for scientific results to be valid? A. The results should be drawn in a graph.

B. The results should be based on evidence.

C. The results should support the ideas of other scientists.

D. The results should match the predictions of the scientist.

10. Which of the following questions could be answered using observational research?

A. What is first graders favorite color?

B. What treat do dogs like the best?

C. What soda erodes teeth the most?

D. What causes some metals to rust?

11. Which of the following is the main purpose of a scientific investigation?

A. to prove a scientific law

B. to determine the investigator's opinion

C. to answer questions about the natural world

D. to support results from previous investigations

12. What is the difference between and Scientific Law and Scientific Theory?

• A law is simple and is always observed true, while a theory is complex and must be tested many times.

13. Why do scientist all over the world use the SI systems to gather measurements and data?

• So that they can communicate with one another without confusion.

14. What is the independent variable for the following problem?

• Do more birds sing when it is sunny?• IDV: Whether or not it is sunny

15. What is the dependent variable for the following problem?

• Do more birds sing when it is sunny?• DV: how many birds are singing

16.What happens if you test a hypothesis multiple times and the data doesn’t support your prediction?

A. Change the data to support your prediction

B. Conclude your hypothesis was incorrect and re-think your hypothesis

C. Conclude you did the experiment all wrong

17. If you were running an experiment to determine the temperature at which beans sprout the fastest, what would be the independent variable?

• The temperature at which each bean is kept

18. If you were running an experiment to determine the temperature at which beans sprout the fastest, what would be two controls for the experiment?

• the type of beans

• amount of water the beans received

• the conditions the beans are grown

• The amount of light the beans receive

19. What must you do before you make a hypothesis?• Create a problem and research the problem

20. Scientist believe scientific knowledge should be based onA. Many years of experience

B. Experiments that record accurate data

C. A vote by an educated group of people

21. Determine whether the statement below is an example of a problem, hypothesis, or conclusion.

• Which brand of laundry detergent will clean your clothes better?

• Problem

22. Determine whether the statement below is an example of a problem, hypothesis, or conclusion.

Dorothy observed her garden for 6 months and determined that hummingbirds preferred flowers that are blue versus other colors. During the 6 months, she observed a total of 100 hummingbirds and only 20 of them visited a flower that was not blue.

Conclusion

23. What is the independent and dependent variable for the scenario below

Dorothy observed her garden for 6 months and determined that hummingbirds preferred flowers that are blue versus other colors.

IDV – The different colors of the flower

DV – Which color the hummingbirds visited

24. What is one conclusion can be draw regarding Car A and Car C?

Car A travelled down the ramp faster than car C every trial.

Motion of objects traveling down a ramp

Mass

(grams)

Trial 1

Time (s)

Trial 2

Time (s)

Trial 3

Time (s)

Car A 15.5 4.7 4.9 4.7

Car B 20.2 3.3 2.0 3.1

Car C 7.9 5.9 5.6 5.8

25.A physicist at a respected research laboratory reports a startling new discovery. Her conclusions are based on data from many trials. However, other scientists are unable to reproduce the results of the experiment. Which statement tells why the original experiment might be faulty?

A. The experimental results cannot be reproduced.