Quiz 1 Study Guide – ANSWER KEY
1. Lab Safety – Know the rules and guidelines See lab safety notes
2. Would the production of solar panels be considered “science” or “technology?” Why? Technology. The goal of science is the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake while the goal of technology is to create products that solve problems and improve human life. Simply put, technology is the practical application of science
3. Why is it called a scientific process? What are the three steps (a, b, c) of the process?
Science is cyclical/dynamic. You can go from observations to hypothesis to experiment but then go back to observations or on to analysis. a-make observations, b-look for patterns in observations, c-develop/test for possible exlanations
4. Define hypothesis. Why is it important that it be testable? It’s just a suggested explanation so it’s necessary to check its correctness by performing experiments to test its validity.
5. Compare/contrast hypothesis & theory. à à à à à à try this game: http://www.texasgateway.org/node/1738
6. Define law. Summarizes results of observations, has no known exceptions because its been tested a lot. Can be changed/disproved with new information (experiments)
7. What is a scientific model? How can models be communicated (represented)? A model epresents objects, phenomena, and physical processes in a consistent and logical way. They must explain, predict & be realistic. They can be represented by graphs, diagrams or equations.
8. Which model is “right” for explaining earthquake movement? Why? Models aren’t “right” or “wrong.” They are acceptable or unacceptable. In this case, all are acceptable. Diagrams, graphs and equations all serve as valid representations of models.
9. Types of Observations (quantitative, qualitative, objective, subjective). Identify whether the following observations are quantitative/qualitative and objective/subjective.
a. It was 98⁰C in the gym. Quan/Obj d. The Steelers are the number 1 team. Quan/Subj
b. The basketball court was 32 meters long. Quan/Obj e. The uniforms are sky blue. Qual/Subj
c. The basketball was round and orange. Qual/Subj
10. What is the difference between a data table and a graph? What are the “rules” for creating a data table? What are the five main parts of a graph?
Data table must have a title and the date. Must use a ruler. A graph TALKS – title, axes with labels, key, and scale.
11. A precipitation reaction occurs when you mix solutions of silver and bromide. A scientist wants to see the effect of adding extra silver to the equation. On Tuesday she adds different concentrations of silver solution to a 1.0 M bromide solution and finds the mass of precipitate formed. When she adds 15 g/mL of silver, 24 grams of precipitate are formed. When she adds 25 g/mL of silver, 38 grams of precipitate are formed. When she adds 40 g/mL of silver, 50 grams of precipitate are formed. When she adds 50 g/mL of silver, 61 grams of precipitate are formed.
a. Create a table data for this information. – include all components!
b. Create a scatterplot graph for this information. – include all components!
12. Be able to define the different variables in an experiment:
- Independent:
- Dependent:
- Controlled:
13. Identify the variables for the following scenario: A social psychologist thinks that people are more likely to conform to a large crowd than to a single person. To test this hypothesis, the social psychologist had either one person or five persons stand on a busy walking path on campus and look up. The psychologist stood nearby and counted the number of people passing by who also looked up.
Independent variable: ___1 or 5 people looking up______
Dependent variable: __number of people who stop to look up also___
Constants or Controlled variable(s): ___time of day, location, weather___
14. Identify the variables for the following scenario: A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course. Half the students were offered $5 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money.
Independent variable: __$5 or no incentive__
Dependent variable: ___reading test score____
Constants or Controlled variable(s): ___reading level, course instruction (homework etc), test___