Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions

A scientist tracked the summer eating habits of brown bears. His results are shown in the graph below.

If the brown bears’ reliance on leaves increased by 14 percent, how would the combined total of all the percentages be affected?

• It would increase by 14 percent.

• It would decrease to 86 percent.

• It would remain at 100 percent.

• It would change to 114 percent.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Francis was recording plant heights for an experiment. Each time that she took a measurement, she wrote it down. Then, she measured the plant again and compared the new measurement to the one that she had recorded in her notebook. What was she most likely trying to do?

• revise her hypothesis

  check her memory

  make the data more valid

  form a conclusion

• check her memory

• make the data more valid

• form a conclusion

For a conclusion to be accepted by the scientific community, the data must be accurate, free from error, and

• reproducible.

• varied.

  unique.

  surprising.

• unique.

• surprising.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

What is the most important reason to control the conditions of an experiment?

• to make the experiment easier to repeat

• to reduce the amount of data that must be recorded

• because this is necessary for graphing the data

• because this is necessary for the data to be valid

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

What is the best definition of a conclusion?

• a written description of events that occurred during an experiment

• an act of recognizing and noting an occurrence by using the senses

• a possible explanation of a scientific question based on observation

• an explanation that uses data to support or reject a hypothesis

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

A good conclusion restates the hypothesis so that the reader

• does not have to return to the beginning of the report.

• sees how the scientist applied the results to the hypothesis.

• understands how the methods relate to the hypothesis.

  .

• recognizes that the hypothesis was correct

Anjuli performed an experiment to determine the respiration rate of yeast. She determined this by measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) production over time. Then, she produced the following graph.

Her teacher suggested that she redraw her graph as a line graph. Why should she redraw the graph?

• A line graph looks better in a scientific report.

• She was measuring a rate of change.

• She had graphed the wrong relationship.

• Her experiment had many different variables.

Maria wanted to learn more about the birds that visit her backyard. She installed several bird feeders and offered the same variety of bird seed mixes in each feeder in order to attract a mix of bird species. For a month, she observed the bird feeders three times a day for an hour each day and counted the types of birds that visited the feeders. Then, she made a pie chart to compare the numbers of birds of each species that visited the feeders.

What is the most likely reason that she chose a pie chart?

• To show the total number of birds that she observed.

• To show the number of times that each bird visited the feeders.

• To show which bird species were most common.

• To show how the bird species changed over time.

A geologist and a biologist performed an experiment together and examined the data. Each scientist formed a different conclusion. Both conclusions were supported by the evidence. How is this possible?

• Both conclusions are the same but have different wording.

• If more than one conclusion is supported, the hypothesis is invalid.

• There can be alternative explanations for the same evidence.

• Each conclusion is based on different data.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

How can evidence from an experiment be explained in relationship to the hypothesis?

• as a prediction

• as a question

• as an inference

• as a conclusion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-5