Nature of Science

Leslie and her friend are investigating which paper airplane design will fly the farthest. Which of the following would be the best place for Leslie and her friend to conduct their experiment?

• An uneven field

• A wide open space outdoors

• A long, narrow hallway

• A wide open space indoors

If Henry concludes an investigation with different results than other scientists conducting the same investigation, what should he do next?

• Henry should change his results to match the others

• Henry should publish his results in a journal

• The other scientists should question Henry's results

• The other scientists should forget about Henry's results

Kenny notices a lot of insects around his tomato plants. He sets up bright lights around the plants and predicts that they will keep the insects away. Which observation below would support Kenny's hypothesis?

• There were 25 insects in the tomato plants before Kenny set up the lights, and now there are still 25.

• There were 25 insects in the tomato plants before Kenny set up the lights, and now there are 8.

• There were 10 tomatoes on each tomato plant before Kenny set up the lights, and now there are 9.

• There were 10 tomatoes on each tomato plant before Kenny set up the lights, and now there are 11.

Lena was testing the absorbency of different paper towels. Below is her data. Lena has concluded that paper towel 3 is better than all other paper towels. Is Lena's conclusion supported by her results?

• Yes, because towel 3 absorbed more than towels 1 and 2.

• Yes, because 3 types of paper towels were tested.

• No, because the student did not test all paper towels.

• No, because towel 3 absorbed less than towels 1 and 2.

Clyde was playing video games during a thunderstorm. After a big crash of lightning, the power went out. When Clyde looked out the window, he saw that other houses lost their power, as well. Clyde concluded that thunder always makes the power go out. Is Clyde's conclusion fair?

• Yes, because he used observations instead of his opinion.

• No, because he would need to observe the power going out every time it thundered.

• Yes, because his neighbors also lost their power, so that counts as multiple trials.

• No, because he made an inference.

A scientist wanted to investigate the effects of pollution on a certain species of fish. As the scientist observed the fish over 15 years, they concluded the average annual population decreases every year. This scientist, however, did not conduct an experiment. Is their conclusion still valid?

• Yes, not every investigation requires all steps of the scientific method.

• No, an experiment is required in order for results to be valid.

• Yes, the scientific method is no longer being used.

• No, every scientist needs to follow the same rules.

What is the most important reason to conduct multiple trials in an experiment?

• Other scientists will respect your results because you have so many.

• The more work you do in an experiment, the more valid your results are.

• Multiple trials increase the validity of your experiment.

• You know that your data and results are accurate if you conduct multiple trials.

Tessa shook the jar below for 3 minutes, then set the jar on the table for 10 minutes. Which of the following statements would be an accurate observation?

• The particles seemed to have dissolved into the liquid.

• No particles can be seen.

• The particles must have been too large to dissolve into the liquid.

• The particles have collected at the bottom of the jar.

Which graduated cylinder displays a measurement of 40 mL of liquid?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Tags

CCSS.3.MD.A.2

Chelsea says that building an airplane out of popsicle sticks is an experimental investigation. Marina disagrees. Who is correct and why?

• Chelsea is correct- she is learning about the structure of an airplane as she builds it.

• Marina is correct- there are no variables.

• Chelsea is correct- she will be able to show her built airplane to other scientists.

• Marina is correct- models that are built by the scientist cannot be used in an investigation.