Scientific Explanation and Model

What is a scientific explanation?

• Any explanation that a scientist makes.

• An idea (or hypothesis) about how the natural world might work.

• Any explanation that fits some of the data.

• An explanation based on observations and measurements that fits all the data.

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What is science?

• The study of the natural world by any means.

• A body of knowledge about how the world works.

• The study of the natural world through observation and experiment.

• None of the other answers are correct.

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Which of the following is NOT a scientific explanation?

• Things fall to the ground because of force of gravity causes all objects in the universe to attract each other.

• Sugar is bad for you because it makes you hyper.

• Water forms droplets because it has a high surface tension due to the attraction between the molecules.

• The sky is blue because blue light is scattered by the air molecules.

How are scientific explanations evaluated?

• They are checked to see if they fit the current evidence, and any predictions they make are tested with more experiments.

• None of the other answers are correct.

• They are checked to see if they fit the current evidence.

• Any predictions they make are tested with more experiments.

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Why should a scientific explanation make testable predictions?

• Because scientists are more interested in the future than the past.

• None of the other answers are correct.

• Because otherwise there's usually no way to check if it's true or not.

• It doesn't need to make testable predictions.

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NGSS.MS-LS1-5

Why do scientists revise models?

• Because science is always open to new data, and sometimes our understanding is simplified or limited.

• Because the way the natural world works changes over time.

• To fit their personal ideologies.

• Because scientists often turn out to be wrong.

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NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

Which of the following is NOT an example of a potential use of a computer model?

• Simulating car crashes for safety tests

• Predicting the course of climate change

• Modeling fire for a Hollywood movie

• Creating a flowchart of how an office works

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NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

Which of the following is the main benefit of a visual model?

• It makes things easier to understand, and so can be used for communication and education.

• It's a perfectly accurate depiction of the real world.

• None of the other answers are correct.

• It allows you to make predictions more quickly then the human brain is able to.

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What is a scientific model?

• A person who is showing off the latest styles in lab coats

• A set of mathematics that describe a particular situation

• Any physical form created by scientists to represent something

• A representation of a particular phenomena using something else to make it easier to understand

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Which of the following is NOT a type of scientific model?

• Mathematical model

• Visual model

• Photograph model

• Computer model

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