Nature of Science Practice test

Which of the following is NOT a goal of science?

• a. to investigate and understand the natural world

• b. to explain events in the natural world

• c. to establish a collection of unchanging truths

• d. to use derived explanations to make useful predictions

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

Science differs from other disciplines, such as history and the arts, because science relies on

• a. facts.

• b. testing explanations.

• c. observations.

• d. theories.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-6

NGSS.HS-PS1-2

Scientists will never know for sure why dinosaurs became extinct. Therefore, scientists should

• a. stop studying dinosaurs and study only living animals.

• b. work to raise live dinosaurs to study.

• c. continue to learn as much as they can about dinosaur extinction.

• d. accept the current theory about dinosaur extinction as the best possible theory.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

Science is best described as a

• a. set of facts.

• b. way of knowing.

• c. collection of beliefs.

• d. list of rules.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

The work of scientists usually begins with

• a. testing a hypothesis.

• b. careful observations.

• c. creating experiments

• d. drawing conclusions.

Information gathered from observing a plant grow 3 cm over a two-week period is called

• a. inferences.

• b. variables.

• c. hypotheses.

• d. data.

Based on your observations, you suggest that the presence of water could accelerate the growth of bread

mold. This is

• a. a conclusion.

• b. a hypothesis.

• c. an experiment.

• d. an analysis.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

A scientific hypothesis

• a. can be based on personal beliefs or opinions.

• b. can be tested by experiments or observations.

• c. does not have to be tested to be accepted as correct.

• d. is a proven fact with much evidence to support it.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-2

During a controlled experiment, a scientist isolates and tests

• a. a conclusion.

• b. a mass of information.

• c. a control group.

• d. a single variable.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

A student sees a bee on a flower. The student wonders how the bee finds flowers. This student is displaying the scientific attitude of

• a. creativity.

• b. curiosity.

• c. open-mindedness.

• d. skepticism.