Science test
Your nameDate
ISN’T THERE A STANDARDIZED TEST SOMEWHERE FOR THIS PURPOSE?
Goals
- Test your knowledge of how science works.
Notes
1)Scientists must be honest because
a)otherwise they’re just wasting everybody’s time.
b)other people will test their work and find out if they’re lying.
c)if they lie no one will trust them so they won’t be able to work as scientists.
d)you can’t fool Mother NaturePeople make important decisions based on their work.
e)all of the above.
2)A scientific hypothesis may turn out to be right or it may turn out to be wrong. If it is a valid hypothesis, there must be a test for proving it
a)right.
b)wrong.
3)A scientific idea that is so well established that it cannot be questioned is
a)a law
b)an impossibility.
c)a hypothesis.
d)a theory.
4)Which of the following is a scientific hypothesis?
a)There are parts of the universe that will never be found by man.
b)The moon is made of green cheese.
c)Matter is filled with undetectable particles.
d)There are things we will never know about.
e)none of these
5)How many tests does it take to absolutely prove a hypothesis correctright or wrong?
a)1
b)32
c)3 10
d)10 you can only prove it wrong
e)it can’t be done
6)How many tests does it take to prove a hypothesis wrong?What is the first step to take in a scientific study
a)1Write a grant to get some money
b)2Make some observations about the world around you
c)3Find out what other people are doing, so you don’t have to do as much work
d)10Make a hypothesis
e)it can’t be doneDesign an experiment
7)Which is usually the best explanation of a phenomenon?
a)the most complicated
b)the simplest
c)the newest
d)the oldest
e)the one from the smartest person
8)What does science consist of? THIS QUESTION NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
a)Facts, theories, and observations
b)Theories, questions, and observations
c)Scientists experiments, observations, and questions
d)Experiments, theories, and questions
all of the above
9)If your data doesn’t support your hypothesis, what should you do? I LIKE THIS QUESTION
a)throw out your data
b)test again
c)examine your procedure
d)a & b
e)b & c
10)If some of your data is inconsistent with the rest of your data, what should you do?
a)Assume you made a mistake when gathering that data.
b)Throw that data out.
c)Try to find an explanation that would include that data.
d)Assume that data is correct.
e)Start all over.
11)If your tests show a result that differs from other peoples’ tests, you should
a)assume that you’re right.
b)compare your methods.
c)assume that the oldest or smartest person is right.
d)assume that you’re both wrong.
e)play jan ken po to see who’s right.
12)Suppose your data matches your hypothesis. How do you know if you’re hypothesis is right?
a)if your data matches your hypothesis, you ARE right!
b)by publishing your results to see if other scientists agree
c)just keep it to yourself and enjoy your success
d)by running the test again
e)you can never determine with absolute certainty if your hypothesis is right.
13)If someone else can’t repeat your experiment, will other scientists accept your results?
a)it depends on your reputation.
b)yes, if your experiment was good enough.
c)no, if no one else can repeat it, it won’t be accepted
d)it depends on how well you write your report
e)it all comes back to money
14)When you run an experiment, what is the ideal number of variables?
a)0
b)1
c)2
d)3
e)as many as you think are appropriate for your experiment
15)How does the knowledge in science increase?
a)by people studying hard
b)by lots of experiments
c)by the appearance of really smart people once in a while, like Einstein
d)by people sharing what they know with each other
e)by the passage of time
16)If something happens every time something else happens, you can say
a)the first one causes the second one
b)the second one causes the first one
c)the two are related somehow
17)The amount of ice cream eaten in Chicago and the number of murders in Chicago always increase and decrease at the same time. Therefore, you can say
a)that eating ice cream causes violence.
b)that murderers like ice cream.
c)that when people are scared, they eat more ice cream.
d)Nothing, there may be an additional variable we don’t know about that is affecting both.
e)that there must be some connection between ice cream and murders.
18)Dr. Wong is studying worms. He wants to know if worms living in sand grow longer than worms living in mud. He employs two graduate students, Jason and Marla, to measure the worms. Jason measures the worms in the sand, and Marla measures the worms in the mud. Because Marla’s measurements are a little longer on average than Jason’s, Dr. Wong concludes that worms grow longer when they live in mud. What can be done to improve this experiment?
a)The same person should measure the worms.
b)Worms are boring, study another animal.
c)Dr. Wong should do the measuring himself. Graduate students are untrustworthy
d)He should keep the worms in the lab under the same conditions.
e)The experiment is fine the way it is.
19)What is wrong with the following data?
Tiger shark tooth measurements 15 inches, 12 inches, 4 inches, 13 inches, 13 inches.
a)the 4 inch measurement is obviously an error
b)the data is in inches, not centimeters
c)we don’t know which tiger shark goes with which tooth measurement
d)a and b
e)b and c
Read the following description of a scientific study and use it to answer the following questions:
A study to determine if the growth of cancer cells slowed when patients were treated with different chemotherapeutic regimes. Women between the ages of 40 and 45 were given three different prescriptions to treat melanoma (skin cancer). A fourth group was given a placebo (sugar pill). No group knew which treatment they received. All patients followed the same diet and exercise regimes. Lab Technician X conducted all analysis of cancerous cells, and measured them by counting cancerous cells in a square millimeter. Midway through the study, it was discovered that patients on prescription #2 were not improving, so they were switched to a placebo.
20)What are independent variables?
a)age
b)sex
c)rate of cancer cell growth
d)prescription type
a)e)diet and exercise
21)What are dependent variables?
a)age
b)sex
c)rate of cancer cell growth
d)prescription type
a)e)diet and exercise
22)What are controls?
a)age
b)sex
c)diet and exercise
d)type of cancer
e)all of the above
23)Is this a well-designed experiment?
a)yes, it is perfect
b)it is a pretty well designed study, some room for improvement
c)it is terrible, everything should be changed
24)What is wrong with the following experiment?
a)Women and men should be tested
b)The group on prescription #2 should not have been switched
c)It is unethical to give people placebos
d)Lab technician X is overworked and could make mistakes
a)e)None of the above, the experiment is perfect
Answer key
Designer notes
- Scientific method
- Science is only interested in things that can be proven wrong.
- Replication
- Controls
- Variables
- Hypothesis
- Theory
- Nothing is absolute
- Lurking variables
- Honesty
- Test procedure
- Test methods/ data
- quantification
- qualitative data
- sharing
- Occam’s razor
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