Scientific Questions

Scientific questions have to be...

• Measurable 
• Easy
• Interesting

Which question is a scientific question?

• Why is it foggy?

• Is it more likely to be foggy after a drizzling rain or a thunderstorm?

• What is fog?

• How can I draw a picture of fog with colored pencils?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

Jill is testing the effect of caffeine on the breathing rate of betta fish. She sets up two fish tanks with identical conditions. She places 10 betta fish in each tank. She adds caffeine to one tank and nothing to the other tank. She then counts the operculum plate movement per minute for the fish in each tank.

What scientific question is the above experiment attempting to answer?

• What effect does caffeine have on betta fish?

• Will caffeine affect the heart rate of betta fish?

• Does caffeine affect the breathing rate of betta fish?

• Is the amount of caffeine affected by the betta fish?

John believes the water plant Elodea will produce more oxygen when placed closer to a light source. He places four Elodea plants of the same height at varying distances from a lamp: 1 meter, 2 meters, 3 meters, and 4 meters. The plants are in identical aquariums with a beaker placed over each plant. The oxygen content inside the beaker is measured after each plant sits for 8 hours.

Which question best describes John's experiment?

• Does the amount of oxygen affect the amount of light needed by the plant?

• Does a plant produce more oxygen when it is placed closer to a light source?

• How does the type of plant affect the oxygen produced when placed by a lamp?

• Will the light affect how much the Elodea plant grows when placed in the light?

Ryan wants to test which cleats enable him to run the fastest. Which question is the proper scientific question?

• "Which cleats will help me run faster?"

• "Which brand of cleats will enable Ryan to run the fastest time in 100 meters?"

• "Do different brands of cleats affect running speed?"

• "Which brand of cleats helps Ryan run better?"

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

What is the best bubble I can make?

• testable/measurable question

• non-testable/measurable question

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

NGSS.MS-ETS1-3

NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

Does food coloring affect how big a bubble is when blown?

• testable/measurable question

• non-testable/measurable question

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

What types of apples grow in Missouri?

• testable/measurable question

• non-testable/measurable question

Does the temperature of a classroom affect student test grades?

• testable/measurable question

• non-testable/measurable question

Why do people smoke?

• testable/measurable question

• non-testable/measurable question