Worksheets1.1 What is Science?
Total questions: 24
Worksheet time: 12mins
What are the goals of science?
To provide testable explanations for events in the natural world, use explanations supported by data to understand patterns of nature, and make useful predictions about natural events.
To create fictional stories about the natural world and ignore evidence.
To rely solely on opinions and beliefs without testing them.
To discourage curiosity and prevent further investigation of natural phenomena.
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of scientific knowledge?
Always changing
Never tested
Constantly debated and revised
Accepting or rejecting explanations
Fill in the blank: Science is a process that involves ________ and asking questions, forming hypotheses, conducting controlled experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.
observing
guessing
ignoring
memorizing
Which of the following is NOT a part of scientific methodology?
A. Observing and asking questions
B. Forming hypotheses
C. Ignoring data
D. Drawing conclusions
Science deals only with the natural world and never concerns supernatural phenomena.
True
False
Define scientific theory.
A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is based on a body of evidence and has stood up to repeated testing and scrutiny.
A scientific theory is a random guess about how the world works, without any supporting evidence.
A scientific theory is a law that has been proven true in all situations.
A scientific theory is an opinion held by most scientists, regardless of evidence.
Explain why science rarely 'proves' anything.
Science rarely 'proves' anything because there is always uncertainty, and the aim is to achieve the best understanding based on available evidence.
Science rarely 'proves' anything because scientists do not use evidence in their work.
Science rarely 'proves' anything because scientific laws never change.
Science rarely 'proves' anything because experiments are always incorrect.
What is the act of noticing and describing events in a careful, orderly way called?
Hypothesis
Observation
Inference
Experimentation
Most scientific investigations begin with a(n) _________.
observation
conclusion
experiment
hypothesis
An inference is a logical interpretation based on what scientists already know.
True
False
A hypothesis is a tentative scientific explanation that can be tested by further observation or by _________?
experimentation
guesswork
imagination
discussion
Which of the following must be tested by gathering data?
Observation
Hypothesis
Inference
Control group
In a controlled experiment, the variable that is deliberately changed is called the ________ variable.
independent
dependent
controlled
responding
In a controlled experiment, the variable that is observed and that changes in response to the independent variable is called the ________ variable.
dependent
independent
manipulated
constant
Controlled experiments typically have two groups. What are they?
Experimental and Hypothesis
Control and Experimental
Independent and Dependent
Quantitative and Qualitative
Quantitative data are numbers obtained from by counting or measuring.
True
False
The larger the sample size, the more ________ the statistics.
reliable
biased
random
uncertain
What can data analysis lead to in scientific research?
Support or refute the original hypothesis
Revise the hypothesis
Devise new experiments to change controlled variables
All of the above
Scientists can purposely expose people to cancer-causing chemicals to test their hypothesis.
True
False
What is the goal of scientific theories?
To have a larger and more useful understanding of how the world works
To guess about natural events
To avoid making predictions
To prove hypotheses wrong
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a scientific theory?
A) Explanation that has not been refuted
B) Comes from many repeated observations
C) Includes well-supported hypotheses
D) Is an absolute truth
In science a testable explanation is
A hypothesis
A theory
An experiment
A conclusion
A hypothesis that survives testing can then become a ________.
theory
guess
observation
experiment
Theories can be revised or replaced by better theories if they are supported by new data.
True
False
