Scientific Method Quiz

What is the first step of the scientific method?

• Form a hypothesis

• Conduct an experiment

• Ask a question

• Analyze data

What is a hypothesis?

• A detailed procedure for an experiment

• A testable prediction or educated guess

• A summary of the experiment’s results

• A variable that is kept constant

In an experiment to test the effect of different amounts of sunlight on plant growth, what is the independent variable?

• The height of the plants after 4 weeks

• The amount of sunlight each plant receives

• The type of plants used in the experiment

• The amount of water given to each plant

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

What is the dependent variable in an experiment?

• The variable that is changed or controlled

• The variable that is measured or observed

• The variable that remains constant

• The variable that is not used

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Why is it important to have a control group in an experiment?

• To test multiple variables at once

• To have a standard for comparison

• To ensure the experiment is biased

• To increase the number of trials

A scientist is testing the effect of different fertilizers on plant growth. She uses three different types of fertilizers and measures the height of the plants after 6 weeks.

What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

• The type of fertilizer used

• The height of the plants after 6 weeks

• The amount of water given to the plants

• The type of plants used

In an experiment to determine the effect of temperature on the rate of a chemical reaction, what would be the control variable?

• The temperature at which the reaction occurs

• The rate of the chemical reaction

• The type of chemicals used in the reaction

• The amount of time the reaction is observed

A student wants to find out if listening to music while studying affects test scores. She has one group of students study with music and another group study without music, then compares their test scores.

What is the independent variable in this experiment?

• The test scores of the students

• The presence or absence of music while studying

• The amount of time spent studying

• The type of music played

In an experiment to see how the amount of sleep affects memory recall, participants are divided into groups based on how many hours they sleep (4, 6, or 8 hours). They are then given a memory test.

What is the dependent variable?

• The scores on the memory test

• The number of hours of sleep each participant gets

• The difficulty of the memory test

• The age of the participants

Jamie is testing the effectiveness of a new plant fertilizer. They have two groups of plants: one group receives the new fertilizer, and the other group receives no fertilizer. Jamie measures the growth of the plants over a month.

In Jamie’s experiment, which group is the control group?

• The group of plants that receives the new fertilizer

• The group of plants that receives no fertilizer

• The measurement of plant growth

• The duration of the experiment (one month)