Nature of Science

Given that scientific evidence either supports or does not support a hypothesis, what can you infer from the following statement?

A hypothesis can never be proved.

• The only way to prove a hypothesis is to test it many times.

• Even if the results of a test do not support the hypothesis, the hypothesis cannot be disproved.

• Scientists are always discovering new information, which may affect or change an accepted hypothesis.

• It only takes one supported hypothesis to formulate a scientific theory.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Above are the plastic disks at different masses.

A student conducted an experiment to determine how the mass of a plastic disk affects its motion. The student pushed five similar plastic disks, each with a different

mass, across a wooden floor.

The student recorded the distance that each disk traveled and then repeated the experiment 5 more times. The student concluded that there was no relationship

between mass and the distance traveled by the disks. Which of these best describes an error in the experiment?

• The student performed too few trials.

  
  

• The student should have used disks that were the same mass.

  
  

• The student should have pushed the disks across different surfaces.

• The student failed to control the amount of force applied.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Isabella carried out an experiment to test her hypothesis. She repeated the experiment three times. None of the experiments supported her hypothesis. What should she do?

• Repeat the experiment again.

  
  

• Revise her hypothesis and test the new hypothesis.

  
  

• Use her friend’s data because it supports her hypothesis.

  
  

• Have someone watch her to make sure she is following the steps properly.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

People once believed that insects could spontaneously appear on rotting meat. Which of the following is the most likely reason that this belief was modified?

• People saw fish appear from mud.

• Microscopes and other tools were invented.

• Many more people observed insects appear on rotten meat.

• New observations and data that did not support that hypothesis were made when an experiment was conducted to test it.

Which of the following best explains how a scientific theory might be changed?

• All scientists agree to change the theory.

• Several scientists propose a new theory.

• Data from new experiments could lead to revisions of the theory.

• Theories do not change because they are based on well-tested hypotheses.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Nikki and Lisa wanted to see if different size wheels made their skateboards go faster. They always used the same course. Their results are shown in the table below.

Which of the following conclusions is supported by Nikki and Lisa’s data?

• Skateboards with big wheels move faster.

• Skateboards with small wheels move faster.

• Wheel size does not affect the speed of a skateboard.

• What the wheels are made from has more of an effect than their size

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

Hannah conducted an experiment to determine the temperature at which an unknown substance freezes. She conducted multiple trials of her experiment. Then Angel followed Hannah's procedure to verify her results. Which of the following statements best compares what Hannah and Angel did?

• Hannah repeated her experiment, and Angel replicated it.

• Hannah replicated her experiment, and Angel repeated it.

• Hannah and Angel both replicated the experiment.

• Hannah and Angel both repeated the experiment.

Christopher states the hypothesis that a mouse's body temperature decreases as the air temperature around the mouse decreases. He wants to design an experiment to test his hypothesis. What should the dependent variable be in this experiment?

• The air temperature

• The mass of the mouse

• The mouse's body temperature

• The amount of the for the experiment

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

Christian conducts an experiment to test the hypothesis that adding sugar to water increases it boiling point. Christian conducts several trials of the experiment. What does conducting the trials allow Christian to do?

• Choose different variables to test

• Make sure the results are reliable

• Change the hypothesis based on the results

• Change the results at the end of the experiment

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Read the scenario below and identify if it is a model, scientific investigation, controlled experiments.

• Scientific Model

• Scientific Investigation

• Controlled Experiment

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

NGSS.MS-ETS1-4