Scientific Investigation Review

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

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.MS-ETS1-3

Which of the following is a valid hypothesis?

• If I give unlabeled samples of cookies, then I think my class will identify the name brand.
• Tide works best for removing grass stains.
• Miracle Gro soil is best for growing tomatoes.
• Pampers diapers absorb the most liquid.

Which of the following is not a measurement of length?

• 3 cm
• 4 m
• 6 mL
• 8 km

This variable in an experiment is the one being deliberately changed by the scientist. 

• dependent variable
• independent variable
• data
• control group

Which of the following is a quantitative observation?

• The bird is very colorful.
• The bird has 4 different colors on him.
• The bird has many, many feathers.
• It is a bird. 

What is a qualitative observation about this image? 

• There are 10 mini trees in the picture. 
• There are two color bushes in the picture. 
• There is one power line going across in the air. 
• There is art created from trees in this photo. 

A testable answer to a scientific question

• Question
• Observation
• Hypothesis
• Experiment

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

What step does every scientific experiment begin with?

• hypothesis
• question/problem
• procedures
• conclusion

What does the tool, metric ruler, measure?

• Volume
• Length
• Mass
• Temperature