Challenge 1: Nature of Science

Jane is investigating to find out if bean plants grow taller in ordinary top soil or special potting soil over a three week period. She sets up her investigation with 10 bean plants of equal size in each type of soil.

What should Jane do each day to make sure she gets valid results?

• Water only the plants in special potting soil.

• Calculate the average plant height for each soil type.

• Move the plants in ordinary topsoil to different locations.

• Estimate the height of each plant's stem and record the estimate.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Sonya wanted to know if mowing the grass affects the health of the grass during a drought. To find out, she collected data on how often her neighbors mowed their grass. Based on the information she collected, what is the BEST next step?

• Report her findings to her neighbors.

• Develop a plan to save everyone's lawns.

• Stop her neighbors from mowing their lawns.

• Find out if other things might be affecting the grass (fertilizer, watering, etc)

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Thomas and Julie wanted to find out which material would insulate their teacher's coffee cup and keep the coffee hot for the longest period of time. They first wrapped her cup with bubble wrap and recorded the temperature of the coffee once every 15 minutes for 2 hours. They repeated the investigation, this time using newspaper instead of bubble wrap, but they got the same results for both materials. What could they do to make sure their results are valid?

• Repeat their experiment at least 3 times.

• Use tea instead of coffee.

• Use a different thermometer.

• Conduct their investigation in a colder room.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-3

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

Brianna's class wants to determine if boys or girls recycled more paper each day. They set up separate recycling bins in the classroom and labeled them "Boys" and "Girls". The students then placed their paper items in the right bins. Which of the following should the students do each day before emptying the bins?

• Make lists of the different types of paper in each bin.

• Count and record the number of paper items recycled in each bin.

• Make a list of which student recycled which paper item in each of the bins.

• Record their estimate of the number of times students placed items in each bin.

Kevin wanted to find out which of his toy cars, the Corvette or the Mustang, would roll downhill faster. He made a ramp by putting several books under one end of a board so that the board was slanted. Which would be the best way for him to perform his experiment?

• Roll each car down the ramp separately five times and estimate which car looked faster.

• Roll both cars down the ramp together one time and see which one gets to the bottom first.

• Roll each car down separately one time, and time them.

• Roll both cars down the ramp together five times and record which gets to the bottom first each time.

Tags

NGSS.3-5-ETS1-2

NGSS.3-PS2-1

NGSS.3-PS2-2

Jonathan and Sarah have performed an experiment and are not sure their results are valid. What should they do to check their results?

• Average their data

• Change their lab report

• Perform a new experiment

• Repeat the same experiment

Jordan wants to find out if a hamster can learn a maze as quickly as a mouse can. She has researched mice and hamsters and predicts which rodent she thinks will learn more quickly. What should her next step be?

• Analyze hamster behavior in the maze.

• Research how a rabbit would behave in a maze

• Observe the behavior of both rodents in the maze.

• Make conclusions about rodent behavior in the maze.

For her science fair project, Marcy is investigating how levels of carbon dioxide affect plant growth. Which of the following is most important for Marcy to do?

• She needs to make sure her results match her prediction.

• She needs to make sure that her results contain both words and numbers.

• She needs to make sure that the explanation of her results is based on evidence.

• She needs to make sure her results get published so that everyone can read them.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Which of the following must be true for scientific results to be valid?

• The results should be drawn in a graph.

• The results should be based on evidence.

• The results should support the ideas of other scientists.

• The results should match the predictions of the scientists.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

When conducting an investigation, a scientist's main goal should be which of the following?

• The scientist should include his opinions in the results.

• The scientist should aim to become famous for his work.

• The scientist should follow a very specific scientific method.

• The scientist should aim to answer questions about the natural world.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS2-5