Development of Scientific Knowledge

Which of the following most likely caused the transitions between stages?

• Sick patients showed different symptoms, so scientists made many theories to fit each illness.

• More popular scientists came up simpler ideas that were easier to understand.

• New technology could not prove the old theory, so new ones were made up by scientists.

• New evidence or interpretation changed fundamental scientific knowledge.

What is the best way for the scientists to gain confirmed scientific knowledge about the fossil?

• by comparing the dinosaur fossil to any other bone in a collection of dinosaur bones at a museum

• by reading a paper published by a professor at a university and basing all further decisions about the fossils on only that one paper

• by picking one expert on fossils to decide which scientist came up with the best idea about the fossil

• by including additional scientists from around the world into an open discussions to contribute and add knowledge about the fossil until a universal decision is made

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

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

Select all of the following that scientific knowledge is based on.

• empirical evidence

• logical reasoning

• beliefs

• opinions

• predictions and models

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NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Scientific knowledge may change as new evidence or information is discovered. Which of the following would NOT be a result of new scientific research and information?

• Binomial nomenclature is assigned to a recently identified plant species

• An endangered monkey species is put in a reserve for protection from extinction

• A newly discovered chemical element will be added to the periodic table of the elements

• A nonnative plant species will begin to reproduce rapidly after being introduced into a swamp ecosystem

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Until the 1500s, doctors thought diseases were caused spontaneously. Scientists began proposing that diseases were caused by seed-like entities that could be passed among people. After the invention of the microscope, doctors came to know that many diseases were actually caused by microscopic living organisms, like bacteria. What does this suggest about the nature of scientific knowledge?

• Scientific knowledge should not be considered valid because it changes over time.

• Technology has improved enough that scientific knowledge can stop changing.

• New discoveries and evidence are more important than repeatable results.

• Scientific knowledge changes over time based on evidence.

Scientific knowledge may change as new evidence or information is discovered. Which of the following would NOT be a result of new scientific research and information?

• The process of binomial nomenclature is used to assign a name to a recently identified plant species.

• An endangered monkey species is put in a reserve for protection from extinction.

• A newly discovered chemical element will be added to the periodic table of elements.

• A nonnative plant species will begin to reproduce rapidly after being introduced into a swamp ecosystem.

Scientists once believed that an atom was a solid sphere that couldn't be split up any further. After several experiments, scientists discovered that an atom is made up of even smaller particles. Which of the following statements best describes how scientific knowledge changes as new information is discovered?

• It is accepted as true permanently.

• It helps advance scientific knowledge.

• It is thrown out to preserve the old information.

• It hinders the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Do scientific facts ever change?

• yes, when there is new evidence

• no, they never change

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4