4.1 and 5.1 Scientific Investigation

Which item is an inference?

• I hear a dog barking.

• I saw 6 students running in the hallway.

• It must be time to buy new tires.

• I smell cookies baking in the oven.

2. What you hear, feel, see and taste is called _______

• an observation

• a hypothesis

• a prediction

• an inference

Tags

NGSS.4-LS1-2

Sabrina wants to test which brand of popcorn pops the most kernels.  She picked a store brand, Orville Redenbacher, and PopSecret.  All three bags started with the same number of kernels.  She popped each for 3 minutes in the same microwave, and then counted the number of kernels left over.  What is her independent variable?

• Number of kernels left over
• Brand of popcorn
• number of kernels before popping
• length of time cooking

Tags

NGSS.3-5-ETS1-3

Matt wants to test which liquid freezes first: Pepsi, milk, or apple juice.  He poured 50 mL of each into separate glasses and placed them in his freezer.  Every ten minutes, he checked his freezer and recorded his observations.  Pepsi froze first, followed by apple juice and then milk.  What is his dependent variable?

• type of liquid
• length of time until frozen
• amount of liquid
• location of freezer

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Betty wants to test which type of phone has the longest battery life. She is comparing iPhone X Plus and the Samsung Note 20. She bought each phone new and charged them completely to 100%. Then, she turned each phone on and timed how long until the battery ran out. What is the independent variable in her experiment?

• brand of phone

• time until battery ran out

• time it took to charge to 100%

• outlet used for charging

Tags

NGSS.3-5-ETS1-3

Grace wanted to see if her plants would grow faster if they were placed under an artificial growing lamp instead of sunlight. She placed half of her plants in a room with two windows and an artificial growing lamp. She placed the other half of the plants in a room with six windows. What is one major mistake Grace made when setting up this experiment?

• The plants receiving light from the artificial lamp were placed in different sized containers.

• All of the plants received equal amounts of fertilizer.

• All of the plants were watered the same amount.

• She used two different kinds of plants

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

What is the independent variable in the following hypothesis?
HYPOTHESIS: If I spend more time studying, then my grades in science will improve.

• An improvement in grades
•  Location for studying science
• Time spent studying
•  Playing soft music in the background

An experiment is performed on plants to see how different liquids affect plant growth. Each plant in the experiment is given a different liquid: water, apple juice, or milk. What variables should be kept constant?

• type of plant, flower pot, soil, and amount of sunlight

• water, apple juice, milk

• only the amount of sunlight

• type of plant only

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

These kind of observations are made using instruments such as rulers, balances and thermometers.

• qualitative

• quantitative

Tags

NGSS.5-PS1-3

The leaf is 5 mm wide.

• qualitative

• quantitative