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WorksheetsThe Practice of Science
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 25mins
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.
Use teas instead of coffee.
Use a different thermometer.
Conduct their investigation in a colder room.
Jane is investigating to find out if bean plants grow taller in ordinary topsoil 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
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 the ramp separately one time, and time them with the second hand on his watch.
Roll both cars down the ramp together five times and record which gets to the bottom first each time.
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
Which of these is NOT a practice of science?
asking questions
analyzing data
making claims without evidence
carrying out investigations
Which of these is NOT a practice of science?
asking questions
analyzing data
making claims without evidence
carrying out investigations
Which of these fields of science doesn't use controlled experiments?
astronomy
chemistry
physics
biology
Which of these fields of science doesn't use controlled experiments?
astronomy
chemistry
physics
biology
When a another scientist does someone's experiment to see if the results are valid?
repetition
replication
experimental method
controlled variable
Scientists frequently repeat the experiments of others scientists. Why is this important in science?
Scientists often ask each other for help in performing experiments.
Replication of experiments helps to confirm and verify results.
Scientists frequently perform other scientists’ experiments in order to practice their technique.
Repeating experiments is an effective way to make sure a laboratory is in optimal condition.
Dr. Smith has been reading about another scientist’s research in a physics journal. He plans to do these experiments himself and see if he gets the same result.
repetition
replication
The summary at the end of an experiment that explains the results, and referrers to the hypothesis using data.
conclusion
procedures
materials
responding variable
This part of the experiment serves as a basis of comparison; the one variable being tested has been omitted. (not changed)
experimental group
control group
data
variables
A series of steps used by scientists to solve a problem or answer a question.
scientific method
recipe
data collection
metric system
The test of a hypothesis is called a
control
dependent variable
conclusion
experiment
Things that stay the same throughout the whole experiment are called
controls
conclusions
independent variables
constants
The name of the information that you get from your experiment (you organize it into charts and graphs).
observations
conclusion
data
variables
hypothesis
Which of the following is a key characteristic of a scientific hypothesis?
It must be testable and falsifiable.
It should be a proven fact.
It must be complex and detailed.
It should be based on personal beliefs.
What is the primary purpose of a control group in an experiment?
To provide a standard for comparison.
To introduce new variables.
To ensure the experiment is biased.
To increase the complexity of the experiment.
In a scientific experiment, what is the dependent variable?
The variable that is changed or controlled.
The variable that is measured and affected.
The variable that remains constant.
The variable that is irrelevant to the experiment.
Why is replication important in scientific research?
To confirm the reliability and validity of results.
To make the experiment more complicated.
To ensure only one scientist can perform the experiment.
To reduce the cost of the experiment.
Which of the following best describes a scientific theory?
A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world.
A random guess about how things work.
An untested idea or opinion.
A simple observation of a phenomenon.
What is the role of peer review in the scientific process?
To evaluate the quality and validity of research before publication.
To ensure all scientists agree on the results.
To make the research more expensive.
To delay the publication of research.
When analyzing data, what is the significance of a p-value less than 0.05?
It indicates strong evidence against the null hypothesis.
It shows the experiment was poorly designed.
It means the results are not statistically significant.
It suggests the hypothesis is incorrect.
What is the first step in the scientific method?
Formulating a hypothesis.
Conducting an experiment.
Making an observation.
Analyzing data.
