Science

1. Students look out a window for 5 min. They record the number of vehicles that pass, the type of vehicle (car, pickup truck, motorcycle, and so on), and the color of the vehicle. What are the students doing? 

• observing
• concluding 
• experimenting
• predicting

2. Each measuring tool is designed to measure a specific property of an object or material. Which of these tools can be used to measure the volume of a material?

• measuring cup
• measuring tape
• pan balance
• thermometer

Lily wants to determine how color affects the ability of a material to absorb heat. She places a sheet of white construction paper under a lamp and a sheet of black construction paper in a closet. She places a thermometer on both sheets of paper and records the temperatures. After ten minutes, she records the temperatures again. Lily concludes that white objects absorb heat better than black objects. She shares her results with the class. Is her conclusion valid?

• Yes, because she analyzes data. 
• No, because she does not control variables. 
• Yes, because she communicates her results. 
• Yes, because she set up an experiment using two different colors.

Models allow scientists to test things that might be too expensive or difficult to test using the real item. Which of the following would be an investigation that could use a model? 

• whether a new spray will repel mosquitoes
• how many times per day a robin leaves her nest 
• how much water a cubic meter of sand can hold 
• How much weight can a new bridge support 

A scientific method is a way to investigate a scientific problem. Although the order of steps can vary, the tasks performed during each step often stay the same. During which step of the scientific method would a scientist collect data?

• developing a plan 
• forming a prediction
• testing the prediction
• communicating the results

Scientists want to determine if walls that are painted a certain color will raise a person's blood pressure. They plan to set up four rooms. Which variable should change in each room?

• the type of room used 
• the color used 
• the instruments used to test the blood pressure
• the amount of time the person spends in the room 

Rosa conducts an experiment. Her results do not support her prediction. What should she do?

• Repeat the experiment to check for errors.
• Change the results to support the prediction
• Discard the data because it does not agree with her prediction. 
• Try to make an experiment that will give her the results she wants.

. A scientist explained that the frog population in a pond was getting smaller. She proposed that the cause was an increase in the water temperature. The scientist collected information and recorded it in the following table.
Week Average water temperature
                    ( °C) 1     18
                             2     21
                             3     22
                             4     24 
What other information should this scientist have collected to support her explanation? 

• the times the temperatures were taken
• the number of frogs she observed each week 
• the weather conditions when temperatures were taken
• the other types of organisms that were living in the pond 

Meteorologists track hurricanes as they develop over oceans. The following illustration shows the anticipated storm track of a hurricane that developed in August 2009 over the Atlantic Ocean. 
What are meteorologists doing when they create storm tracks such as this one?

• predicting
• testing their ideas 
• explaining how a hurricane develops
• gathering information to determine the strength of a hurricane 

Scientists re not the only ones who gather information. For example, historians gather information to describe what has happened in the past. However, scientists gather information differently than others. Which way of gathering information do only scientists use?

• reading 
• drawing
• recording
• experimenting