Unit 1: Lesson 3 How Do Scientists Use Tools?

Which measuring tool should you use to find the mass of a rock?

• balance

• graduated cylinder

• meter stick

• thermometer

Reggie and Kara are looking at an ant on the playground. They are not sure how many legs the ant really has. What tool can they use to see the details of the ant better?

• balance

• hand lens

• meter stick

• thermometer

Mark and his classmate are doing an experiment. Their teacher told them to use 50 mL of water. Which tool will they use?

• hand lens

• graduated cylinder

• meter stick

• thermometer

It is important to use the proper measuring tool. Which measuring tool should you use to find the length of a pencil?

• balance

• measuring cup

• ruler

• thermometer

Mike is playing in the creek behind his house and has caught a frog. He is curious about how many centimeters is the frog's front leg. What science tool should he use to measure the length?

• ruler

• thermometer

• spring scale

• pan balance

Josh wanted to see how much water fills different bottles. He did two tests. He filled five bottles all the way to the top with water. Then he used a measuring cup to find out how many milliliters of water were in each bottle. He then filled the same five bottles to the top with water again. This time, instead of measuring volume, he measured the weight of the water. What could explain the difference in results Josh got when he made the two tests?

• the type of bottle he tested

• the kind of liquid he measured

• the way that he measured the water

• the number of times he made the measurement

Scientists make observations and measurements. How do scientists use this information?

• as tools

• as models

• as evidence

• as predictions

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

What is a tool?

• It is a copy of something.

• It is an answer to a problem.

• It is a way to ask questions.

• It is an object used to do work.

Shanna and her classmate are gathering the tools they will need to conduct an experiment. They want to know what temperature and amount of water would be best to make the biggest bubbles. What tools should they gather to best conduct the experiment?

• graduated cylinder, thermometer

• graduated cylinder, hand lens

• pan balance, thermometer

• thermometer, hand lens

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

When scientists compare, they are trying to find similarities in their observations. When scientists contrast, they are trying to observe what is different between observations.

• True

• False