FCAT Nature of Science

Michaela is conducting an experiment on the speed of toy cars on different surfaces. For each trial, she uses a ramp covered in different substance. Michaela uses a different type of toy car for each trial to make sure it is free from an materials from the previous trial. Michaela measures the distance traveled and time of each car. Which of the following is a change Michaela should make in her investigation in order to achieve more valid results?

https://tinyurl.com/k8n857h

• She should measure the force each car exerts on each surface

• She should measure the direction in which the cars are traveling

• She should use the same material for each trial of her investigation

• She should use the same type of car for each trial of her investigation

Prior to the 15th century, most people believed Earth was the center of the universe. In the late 1600's, the telescope came into use for astronomical observations. Explain the result of the telescope

https://tinyurl.com/t7akeew

• Astronomers could gather more evidence about our solar system and so went from a geocentric to a heliocentric model

• The invention of the telescope resulted in few changes to our theory that the solar system was geocentric

A scientist testing the effects of a new medicine that will treat anemia, a blood disorder, uses the sample size of 15 patients for a study. All of the patients are from the same large city, are of varying ages, and are male. Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding this investigation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZV5140OykE

• Using a sample size of 15 people is too small. The investigation will not be reliable and valid test of the medicine

• Using a sample of people of the same gender always allows scientists to obtain the most accurate data for the study

• Using varying ages of people will add necessary data to this study causing the investigation's results to be informative and useful

• Using a sample from the same city is necessary to allow the scientist to control for all other factors that may have an effect on the medicine's effectiveness

Tamika is conducting an investigation on the effect of different types of soil on the growth of Bermuda grass. Which of the following describes the methodology she should use in her investigation?

https://tinyurl.com/4soq36p

• She should repeat her investigation several times for reliability of results

• She should check the growth of her plants once a month and record her findings

• She should keep each plant in a separate room so that they are not influenced by one another

• She should provide each plant with enough fertilizer to keep it growing at the same rate as the other plants

Justin wants to make candy canes for his family. He knows that one step is to dissolve sugar in water so that he will get a syrup. Justin wants to know the most effective way to perform this step, so he is testing how temperature affects the rate at which sugar dissolves in water. What is a variable he needs to keep constant?

https://tinyurl.com/w7ahpfk

• type of sugar

• temperature

• color of the candy

• flavor of candy

Marcus is completing a science experiment for class. He wants to see what effect water temperature has on plants. If his experiment contains one independent variable, which of the following would NOT be a constant in his experiment?

https://tinyurl.com/zyheyl5

https://tinyurl.com/2d85ny7

• The type of plant used

• The water temperature

• The room temperature

• The pot used for the plants

Miranda performed an experiment to determine what makes an object sink or float in water. She experimented with 10 different items and recorded the results. Which of the following is correct?

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/density

• The object's shape is the only determining factor

• The size of the object determines if it will sink or float

• The mass and volume of an object determine if it will sink or float

• Light-colored objects tend to float more easily than darker-colored objects

When Julian compares his physics lab report to Kate's biology report, he realizes that they were different. Julian also notices that the same method of experiment was used in both labs. Why would Julian and Kate use the same method for different subjects?

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/physics

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/biology

• Both subjects use common scientific principles

• Biology and physics use the same types of intstruments

• They have the same teacher who uses identical methods

• They were doing a lab on the effect of light on an organism based on mass

Two students prepare lab reports, one for physics class and the other for a biology class. Which of the following items will both reports contain?

• Mathematical equations

• The results of an investigation

• Measurements of energy levels

• The scientific name of an organism

A scientist studying cold medicines hypothesizes that one particular medicine is more effective than the others in the study. He attempts the experiment several times. Each attempt produces a different result. What should he do next?

• The scientist should give up since consistent results are not happening

• He should change the data in his experiment in order to get the results he expected

• He should determine whether the variation in his results are important through further investigation

• He should prevent other scientists from attempting the experiment until he gets the results he expected