Nature of Science Review

What is the dependent variable present on this graph?

• pH

• Seawater

• Bleach

• Lemon Juice

Natalia is using a three-dimensional representation to study the parts of the human heart. Isaiah is working in a laboratory to test the hypothesis that plants grow taller in green light than in the white light. Which of the following best compares their activities? 

• 1. Natalia is conducting a scientific investigation and Isaiah is not 

• Natalia is not conducting a scientific investigation while Isaiah is conducting a scientific investigation

• Natalia is conducting an experiment and Isaiah is conducting a field study

• Natalia is investigating a scientific model and Isaiah is conducting an experiment

A scientist wanted to investigate whether pesticide has an effect on the reproduction rate of mosquitos. Based on the table below, what is the independent variable? 

• amount of pesticide

• temperature

• number of eggs

• reproduction rate

Ma’Kiyah wanted to know whether the eating behavior of goldfish is affected by music. She set up a fish tank. Every day, Ma’Kiyah played music for the fish and measured how much the fish ate.

What is Ma’Kiyah missing from this experiment?

• A control group

• A measurable result

• Different types of fish

• An outcome variable (dependent variable)

Kadarius and Darlina are going to conduct an experiment to see whether salt affects the growth of plants. They assemble five groups of identical plants and give the plants in each group water with a different salt concentration. What is the outcome variable (dependent variable) for their experiment?

• Salt concentration in plant tissue

• Salt concentration in plant water

• Amount of water absorbed by plants

• Average mass of plants in each group

Yoseline wants to investigate how weather influences the temperature of soil. She takes measurements at the same time and same place in a field for five days and records her results. She also records the weather conditions at the same time of each measurement.

Which of the following best describes Yoseline’s investigation?

• It is a successful experiment that tests a hypothesis.

• 1. It is a reliable experiment because he controls variables except for one test variable (independent variable).

• It is an investigation that tests an idea without manipulating a test variable (independent variable).

• It is a model

A group of students want to investigate the effects of plant moisture on the growth of caterpillars. The students fill three identical boxes with an equal number of a kind of leaf that caterpillars eat. The students keep the leaves in the first box dry, spray the leaves in the second box with two sprays of water, and spray the leaves in the third box with four sprays of water.  Every day the length of each caterpillar is measured and recorded.  What is the test variable (independent variable) in this experiment?

• The number of leaves put in each box

• 1. The amount of water put on the leaves 

• The size of the boxes

• The change in length of the caterpillars

Which of the following is most likely to change scientific knowledge?

• more expensive experiments

• more links added to the internet

• improved methods for conducting opinion polls

• new data or interpretations of the natural world

Select all that apply. Gabriel wants to know if air temperature affects the chirping of crickets. Which of the following variables should remain constant?

• air temperature

• chirping of crickets

• type of cricket

• amount of food each group of crickets receive

Which of the following can be best concluded from the table above?

• As the pH increases, the plant growth increases

• As the pH increases, the plant growth stays the same

• The optimal (best) pH for plants to grow at is 6.6-6.8

• The optimal (best) pH for plants to grow at is 6.2-6.4