Scientific Knowledge, Empirical Evidence

The pictures below show the continents moving on Earth's surface over time. Use the picture to answer any questions that follow. Which theory does this picture depict?

• the theory of evolution

• the theory of superposition

• the theory of buoyancy

• the theory of plate tectonics

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

NGSS.HS-ESS2-1

About 1.5 million Americans are afflicted with a disorder called Alzheimer's disease. The disease is associated with memory loss and dementia. When scientists began studying the disease, they found that Alzheimer's patients had elevated levels of aluminum in their brains. This caused some people to believe that ingesting aluminum leads to Alzheimer's. Some people quit drinking out of aluminum cans; others threw away their aluminum cookware. Later research found that certain proteins are more closely associated with Alzheimer's than the concentration of aluminum in the brain. Which of the following does this example best illustrate?

• Science is a static field that does not accept new theories.

• Science is an ever-changing field in which new evidence can invalidate existing theories.

• Science is a static field in which data are collected to fit existing theories.

• Science is an ever-changing field in which new theories are always more valid than old theories.

Many early medical practitioners believed that illness and disease were caused by evil spirits. Many patients suffered from treatments that were more deadly than their original illnesses. Researchers who supported the germ theory of disease were often ridiculed during these early times. Many scientists had to be convinced that germ theory was correct before the crude medical practices were stopped. Which of the following best describes what this story illustrates?

• Evil spirits correctly explained the pathology of most diseases until germs were discovered.

• Early medical practitioners did not care about the health and well-being of their patients.

• Society is to blame for most medical errors.

• Changes in accepted scientific theories occur slowly and require consensus in the scientific community

Which statement correctly compares a scientific theory with a scientific law?

• A scientific theory is an observation of specific natural events under given circumstances, while a scientific law is a broad explanation of how all objects behave.

• A scientific theory is a broad explanation of phenomena, while a scientific law is an observation of specific natural events under given circumstances.

• A scientific theory is a vague idea about the natural world, while scientific law is based on rigorous testing involving multiple experiments.

• A scientific theory is a specific explanation of a single event, while scientific law is a broad description of many events happening in a row

The picture below shows a mole rat, a mammal that lives underground, that still has eyes but is blind. The presence of useless eyes on a mole rat is evidence of which scientific theory?

• the theory of cells

• the theory of relativity

• the theory of evolution

• the theory of superposition

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

What must always be present in order to form a true scientific explanation?

• controlled variables

• subjective evidence

• empirical evidence

• dependent variables

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-PS1-2

Which is an example of scientists using empirical evidence while researching dinosaurs?

• scientist reading information about a book on the structures of dinosaurs

• scientists creating descriptions based on their opinions and knowledge

• scientists speaking to and learning from a fellow scientist about dinosaurs

• scientists making observations from the fossils they have collected

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

What is empirical evidence?

• information obtained from a written scientific document

• a cumulative body of observations of a natural phenomenon

• a description or short narrative about a natural phenomenon

• one persons insight about an experiment that is being conducted

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

Shelly wants to show an example of empirical evidence to her science teacher about how sunlight affects plant growth. Which of the following is empirical evidence that she could show her science teacher?

• a page of a textbook that describes how sunlight is needed by plants

• a picture of two different types of plants that are growing in the school yard outside of her science class

• a data table of her experiment on plant height when she varied the amount of sunlight received by four plants

• a video of a professor explaining how sunlight affects plant growth

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Read the information below.

Empirical

Evidence = ?

Which of the following is missing from the box?

• evidence generated by general conversations with an expert in a field of science

• false evidence that some scientists use when they purposely add bias to data they have collected

• valid data generated from direct observation or experimentation as part of a scientific process

• information collected from textbooks that validates scientific research

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-PS2-5