Scientific Method Review

Which of the following is NOT a goal of science?

• to investigate and understand the natural world
• to explain events in the natural world
• to use data to support a particular point of view
• to use derived explanations to make useful predictions

A hypothesis

• can be completely proven
• may be disproved by a single experiment
• does not have to be tested to be accepted as probably correct
• is a proven fact

A well tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations is a

• factor
• inference
• theory
• controlled experiment

Biology is the study of 

• all the land, water, and air on Earth
• the living world
• animals and plants only
• the environment. 

Information gathered from observing a plant grow 3 cm over a two-week period results in 

• inferences
• variables
• hypotheses
• data

A controlled experiment allows scientists to isolate and test

• a conclusion
• a mass of information
• multiple factors at once
• a single variable

You suggest that the presence of water could accelerate the growth of bread mold.  This is a

• conclusion
• hypothesis
• experiment
• analysis

Which of the following is a valid hypothesis for why a plant appears to be dying?

• The plant is not being watered enough
• The plant is being watered too much
• The plant is receiving too much sunlight
• all of the above

In science, a hypothesis is useful only if 

• it is proven correct
• it can be proven incorrect
• it can be tested
• the explanation is already known

Scientists publish the details of important experiments so that 

• their work can be repeated
• their experimental procedures can be reviewed
• others can try to reporduce the results
• all of the above