Scientific Investigation and Data Interpretation

Which question would best be answered with an experimental investigation?

• • How many days does it take for a sunflower to bloom?

• • How does sunlight affect the growth of bean plants?

• • Do oak trees grow taller than pine trees?

• • Do bean plants have wider leaves than pea plants?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

A student wants to know if birds visit the school garden more often in the morning or in the afternoon. Which would be the best way to investigate her question scientifically?

• • Observe and record the number of birds in the garden at set times in the morning and afternoon each day for two weeks.

• • Ask friends to guess whether birds come more often in the morning or afternoon.

• • Look up online information about bird activity during the day.

• • Count how many bird feeders are in the garden and compare them to other gardens.

Dana counts the number of flowers that grow around the pond in her backyard every spring. She compares those numbers to the amount of rain that has fallen. She makes the following table:

• 2016 had the most pansies and the least rainfall.

• 2017 had the most crocuses and the most rainfall.

• 2018 had the least daisies and the least rainfall.

• 2016 had the most daisies and the most rainfall.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Carlos and Tia were testing the effects of the amount of water on bean plant growth. Which plants would be best for use as a control group?

• • plants given the same amount of water each day

• • plants given no water at all

• • plants given double the normal amount of water

• • plants given only a few drops of water every other day

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

A student has a friend who performs the same experiment measuring how temperature affects crystal growth, using the exact same steps. Why does the friend expect the results from both tests to be the same?

• • The friend copied the experiment without permission.

• • The student made an error in recording the results.

• • The crystals will always grow the same way no matter the conditions.

• • Scientific experiments should produce similar results when repeated.

Which of these is NOT a reason why it is important for Liam’s investigation about how magnets affect a compass to be repeated by someone else?

• • so others can change the steps of the investigation

• • so others can see if they get similar results 

• • so others can check if his results were accurate

• • so others can design their own studies using different types of magnets

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

Why would Britni want to do his experiment with the rubber ball again?

• • Repeating experiments is a waste of time.

• • Multiple trials and repetition make results more reliable.

• • Only one trial is needed to prove a hypothesis.

• • Experiments are more fun when repeated.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-4

Lena thinks her goldfish will prefer cooler water to warmer water. She sets up four small tanks: one with cold water, one with warm water, one with hot water, and one with room temperature water. She measures how long the fish spends swimming in each tank. In this experiment, which is the control group?

• • The hot water, because it is the most extreme.

• • The cold water, because it contrasts the warm water.

• • The room temperature water, because it is the normal condition.

• • The warm water, because it matches Lena’s hypothesis.

Which statement is an opinion rather than a fact?

• • Penguins spend much of their life in the water.

• • Penguins use their wings to swim.

• • Penguins live in large colonies.

• • Penguins are the cutest birds in the world. 

A student measures how far a marble rolls across a table when the table has different coverings on it. The student puts the data into a table. Which is the best prediction for how far the marble will roll on the tablecloth for trial 3?

• 12 cm

• 7 cm

• 18 cm

• 22 cm

Tags

NGSS.3-PS2-1

NGSS.3-PS2-2