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WorksheetsNature of Science Q2 Review 2025
Total questions: 6
Worksheet time: 3mins
Colin decided to investigate how different types of gloves would affect how fast a person could put snap beads together. He tried three types of gloves and counted the number of bead pairs that were put together in 30 seconds. What was his test variable (independent variable)?
The type of glove.
The type of snap beads.
The color of snap beads.
The number of beads that were paired when time was up.
A scientist wants to investigate how the amount of sunlight affects the growth rate of a specific type of plant. They set up an experiment where 30 identical plant seedlings are divided into three groups. Group A receives 4 hours of sunlight daily, Group B receives 8 hours, and Group C receives 12 hours. All other conditions, such as water, soil type, and temperature, are kept constant for all groups. After four weeks, the height of each plant is measured. In this experiment, what are the independent and dependent variables?
Independent Variable: Plant height; Dependent Variable: Amount of sunlight
Independent Variable: Type of soil; Dependent Variable: Temperature
Independent Variable: Amount of sunlight; Dependent Variable: Plant height
Independent Variable: Water amount; Dependent Variable: Number of plants
Which of the following best describes the core methods scientists use across fields like biology, geology, and physics to pursue scientific explanations?
All scientific fields primarily rely on controlled laboratory experiments to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Scientific explanations are developed exclusively through mathematical modeling and theoretical predictions, with observation playing a minor role.
Each scientific field uses entirely unique and unrelated methods, making it impossible to generalize about the pursuit of scientific explanation.
Scientists universally apply a systematic process that often involves observation, hypothesis formation, experimentation (where possible), data analysis, and peer review to build and refine explanations.
A meteorologist uses a weather map to forecast the weather for the upcoming week. This map displays symbols for high and low pressure systems, fronts, temperature, and precipitation, acting as a visual representation of atmospheric conditions.
It can be used to control real-world atmospheric conditions directly
It guarantees absolute certainty in predicting all future weather events
It eliminates the need for any further human observation of the weather
It allows for the visualization of complex atmospheric data to predict future weather trends
Long ago, a scientist named Wegener had an idea: he thought that the huge land parts of Earth, called continents, slowly move around. At first, many other scientists didn't believe him because he couldn't show how they moved. But much later, new clues were found. People found huge underwater mountains and deep ditches in the ocean. They also found special patterns in rocks on the seafloor, and saw how earthquakes happened in lines. These new clues helped scientists figure out how the continents move (like the seafloor spreading apart). Because of all these new clues, Wegener's old idea grew into the big idea we now call the Theory of Plate Tectonics. What does this story best show about how science learns and changes?
Once scientists write down an idea, it never changes.
Science ideas can change and get much bigger or better when new clues are found or people understand old clues in a new way.
If a smart scientist says an idea, everyone just believes it.
Science ideas are just guesses that can be thrown away easily.
Consider two fundamental concepts in geology: 1. The Law of Superposition: This states that in undisturbed layers of rock, the oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest layers are at the top. It describes an observed pattern in the arrangement of rock layers. 2. The Theory of Plate Tectonics: This explains why the continents move, how mountains form, why volcanoes erupt in certain places, and how earthquakes occur, based on the movement and interaction of large plates on Earth's surface. What do these two examples best illustrate about the difference between scientific laws and theories?
A scientific law is an initial guess, and a theory is a proven fact.
A scientific law is more important and has more evidence than a scientific theory.
A scientific theory is a simple idea, while a scientific law is a complex explanation.
A scientific law describes what happens under certain conditions, while a scientific theory explains why or how it happens.
