SCIENTIFIC METHOD TEST – INTEGRATED QUESTIONS
- Students in a science class placed ice cubes in a cup. They were studying variables that affect how long it takes the ice to melt.
Select the variable that would most likely NOT affect the time it takes the ice to melt.
a)Size of cup
b)Number of students
c)Size of the ice cubes
d)Temperature of the room
Questions 2-3 refer to the following situation.
The superintendent is concerned about the accidents in schools. He makes the hypothesis that safety advertising will reduce school accidents. He decides to test the hypothesis in four middle schools. Each school will use a different number of safety posters to see if the number of accidents are reduced. Each school nurse will keep a record of students that come to the office because of an accident.
- How is safety advertising measured in this study?
a)Number of accidents reported to the nurse
b)Number of middle schools involved
c)Number of safety posters in each school
d)Number of accidents in the school
- How are the school accidents measured in this study?
a)Number of accidents reported to the nurse
b)Number of middle schools involved
c)Number of safety posters in each school
d)Number of accidents in the school
- The Jones family is worried. The monthly bills for heating their house are larger than for their neighbors. They make hypotheses about factors that affect their heating bill. Which of the statements is NOT a suitable hypothesis that they could test?
a)The fewer trees around a house the larger the heating bill.
b)The more doors and windows there are in a house the larger the heating bills.
c)The heating bills are larger in houses that are larger.
d)The larger the heating bills the more likely a family will seek cheaper heating methods.
- Students in a science class did an experiment. In it they pointed a flashlight at a screen. They then measured the size of the lighted spot.
Which of the following would be an appropriate measure of the size of the lighted spot?
a)The diameter of the flashlight
b)The size of the batteries in the flashlight
c)The size of the screen
d)The radius of the spot on the screen
- A science class was studying pressure and volume with balloons. They did an experiment in which they changed the pressure on a balloon and then measured its volume. The results are given in the table.
Pressure on balloon (N/cm2) / Volume of balloon (ml)
.35 / 980
.70 / 400
1.03 / 320
1.40 / 220
1.72 / 180
Which of the graphs shows the data correctly?
a)b)c)d)
- Ms. Henry waters her lawn the same amount each week with the same lawn sprinkler. But some weeks her grass grows tall and other weeks it does not. She likes to mow her grass when it isn’t too long.
Choose the variable that might cause her grass to be different lengths at different times.
a)The type of grass
b)The type of sprinkler
c)The amount of sunshine
d)Time to mow the grass
- An ecology club studies factors that might affect pollution of Harding Creek. Fertilizer, sewage, and trash from a garbage dump are possible polluting factors. Chemicals in the creek are not a problem because there are no chemical plants in the area.
Which of the following is a hypothesis they could test?
a)The more fertilizer in a stream, the more crops will grow along the stream.
b)The more chemical plants there are the more chemical pollution that results.
c)The more trash sent to the garbage dump, the higher the income of the family.
d)The more sewage in a stream, the more pollution in the stream.
- Some chickens lay an egg almost every day. Other chickens produce few eggs. A study is planned to examine factors that might affect the number of eggs produced by chickens. Which of the following is NOT a suitable hypothesis for the study?
a)More eggs are produced by chickens that receive more hours of light.
b)The more eggs produced by chickens the more weight they lose.
c)The larger the cage for chickens the more eggs they will produce.
d)The more protein there is in the feed the more eggs produced.
- Suppose you wanted to test the following hypothesis:
The hotter the water, the faster sugar will dissolve.
Which would be the best plan to test the hypothesis?
a)Set up four beakers of water; #1 at a temperature of 20ºC, #2 at a temperature of 40ºC, #3 at a temperature of 60ºC, #4 at a temperature of 80ºC. Use one teaspoon of sugar in each beaker and time the dissolving.
b)Set up two beakers of water; #1 at a temperature of 20ºC, #2 at a temperature of 30ºC. Use one teaspoon of sugar in each beaker and time the dissolving. The beakers should be the same kind.
c)Set up three beaker of water all at the same temperature. Put on teaspoon of sugar in each beaker. Heat beaker #1 over low heat. Heat beaker #2 over high heat. Do not heat beaker #3. Time each one until the sugar is dissolved.
d)Set up four beakers of water. In beaker #1, put one teaspoon of sugar. In beaker #2, put two teaspoons of sugar. In beaker #3, put three teaspoons of sugar. In beaker #4, put 4 teaspoons of sugar. Time all four until the sugar has dissolved.
11. Hoses of 5 different sizes are used to pump gasoline from a tank. The same pump is
used for each hose. The graph below shows the findings in the study.
Which statement describes the relationship between the variables?
a) The larger the diameter of the hose the more gasoline pumped each minute.
b) The more gasoline pumped each minute the more time is needed.
c) The smaller the diameter of the hose the more gasoline pumped each minute.
d) The smaller the amount of gasoline pumped the larger the diameter of the
hose.
12. The Following graph shows the relationship of plant growth to light intensity:
The relationship between light intensity and plant growth can be stated:
a)As light intensity increases, plant growth increases.
b)As plant growth increases, light intensity increases to a point, then decreases.
c)As light intensity increases, plant growth increases to a point, then decreases.
d)As plant growth increases, light intensity increases.
Questions 13-17 refer to the following situation.
Sarah wanted to find out if temperature has an effect on the growth of bread mold. She grew the mold in nine containers containing the same amount and type of nutrients. Three containers were kept at 0ºC, three were kept at 90ºC, and three were kept at room temperature (about 27ºC). The containers were examined and the growth of the bread mold was recorded at the end of four days.
13. Which of the following is her hypothesis?
a) The type of nutrient used will cause differences in the amount of bread mold.
b) The amount of bread mold is affected by the temperature.
c) The amount of bread mold is determined by the amount of nutrient used.
d) The number of containers influences the amount of bread mold.
14. The Controlled variable is:
a) temperature of the containers
b) type of container used
c) temperature of the bread mold
d) amount of bread mold
15.The dependent or responding variable is:
a) growth of bread mold
b) amount of nutrients in each container
c) temperature of the container
d) number of containers at each temperature
16. The independent or manipulated variable is:
a)temperature of the containers
b)amount of nutrients in each container
c)growth of bread mold
d)number of containers at each temperature
17. Which of the following would NOT be a suitable way to measure growth of
breadmold in this experiment?
a)the number of spots of bread mold
b)the size of the bread mold spots
c)the diameter of the bread mold spots
d)the color of the bread mold spots
18. John cuts grass for seven different neighbors. Each week he makes the rounds with
his lawn mower. The grass is usually different in the lawns. In some lawns it is tall
but not in others. He begins to make hypotheses about the height of the grass. Which
of the following is a suitable hypothesis he could test?
a)Lawn mowing is more difficult when the weather is warm.
b)The amount of fertilizer a lawn receives is important.
c)Lawns that receive more water have longer grass.
d)The more hills there are in a lawn the harder it is to cut.
19. The effect of exercise on pulse rate is studied by a science class. Students do different
numbers of jumping jacks and then measure pulse rate. One group does jumping jacks
for one minute. A second group does them for two minutes. A third group jumps for
three minutes. A forth group does not jump.
How would you measure the pulse rate in this study?
a)by counting the number of jumping jacks for one minute
b)by counting the number of heart beats in one minute
c)by counting the number of jumping jacks done by each group
d)by counting the number of exercises for each group
20. Some students are studying lighting condition for plants. They choose twelve plants
of about the same height. They place six of the plants in a sunny window. They keep
the other six in a dark cabinet. Plant height is measured daily for three weeks.
Temperature and humidity are also measured and recorded daily. All plants are
watered regularly. After one week, the plants in the dark cabinet look sickly.
The growth of the plants is determined in this experiment by:
a) counting the number of leaves on each plant
b) measuring environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity
c) measuring the distance from the soil surface to the tip of the plant
d) measuring the length of the time the plants are exposed to light
21. A science class wanted to test variables that might affect plant height. The following
is a list of variables they felt could be tested: amount of light, amount of moisture,
soil type, and change in temperature.
Which of the following could be possible hypothesis for the class?
a) an increase in temperature will cause an increase in plant height
b) a plant left in light will be greener than a plant left in the dark
c) an increase in sunlight causes an increase in plant moisture loss
d) a plant in sandy soil loses more water than a plant in clay soil
22. A lady grows violets as a hobby. She has six red violets and six white violets. A
friend told her that violets produce more flowers when they receive morning
sunlight. She then made the following hypothesis:
When violets receive morning sunlight rather than afternoon sunlight, they will produce more flowers.
Which plan should she choose to test her hypothesis?
a)Set all of her violet plants in the morning sun. Count the number of flowers produced by each. Do this for a period of four months. Then find the average number of blossoms produced by each kind of plant.
b)Set three white violets in the morning sun and the other three white violets in the afternoon sun. Do not study the red violets at all. Count the number of flowers produced by each white violet for four months.
c)Set all of her plants in the morning sunlight for four months. Count the number of flowers produced during this time. Then set all of the plants in the afternoon sunlight for four months. Count the number of flowers produced during this time.
d)Set three red and three white violets in the morning sunlight and three red and three white violets in the afternoon sunlight. Count the number of flowers produced by each plant for four months.
23. A student has been playing with a water rocket. He can change the amount of
water in the rocket and the angle at which he releases the rocket. He can also
change the weight of the rocket by adding sand in the nose cone. He wants to see
what might affect the height to which the rocket will rise.
Which of the following is a hypothesis he could test?
a)Rockets with warm water will rise higher than rockets with cold water.
b)Rockets with four tail fins will rise higher than rockets with two tail fins.
c)Rockets with pointed nose cones will rise higher than rockets with rounded nose cones.
d)Rockets with more water will rise higher than rockets with less water.
24. John wonders what affects the time it takes ice cubes to melt. He thinks that the
size of the ice cube, temperature of the room, and shape of the ice cube are all
factors that might affect the melting time. He finally decides to test the hypothesis
that shape of an ice cube affects the time it takes to melt.
Which design should John select to test his hypothesis?
a) Use five ice cubes, each with a different shape and weight. Use five
identical containers, all at the same temperature. Observe the melting time
of the ice cubes.
b) Use five ice cubes, all having the same shape, but each having a different
weight. Use five identical containers, all at the same temperature. Observe
the melting time of the ice cubes.
c) Use five ice cubes, all having the same weight, but each having a different
shape. Use five identical containers, all at the same temperature. Observe
the melting time of the ice cubes.
d) Use five ice cubes, all having the same weight, but each having a different
shape. Use five identical containers, each at a different temperature.
Observe the melting time of the ice cubes.
25. Sue wants to find out what might affect the length of bean seedlings. She places a
bean wrapped in moist tissue paper in each of ten identical test tubes. She puts
five of the tubes in a rack in a sunny window. She puts the other five tubes in a
rack in a dark refrigerator. She measures the lengths of the bean seedlings in each
group after one week.
Which of the following variables might affect the length of the bean seedlings?
a) temperature and moisture
b) moisture and length of test tubes
c) light and temperature
d) light and amount of time
Questions 26-29 refer to the following situation
A forest fire destroys trees in a large area. The forest rangers use the burned area to study the effect of different types of grasses on soil erosion. They choose ten plots of ground that are the same size. Each of these plots receives the same amount of sun. Each of these plots also has the same kind of soil and the same slope. The rangers plant each plot with a different type of grass. Measurements of soil erosion are made every week for the entire summer.
26. What is the independent or manipulated variable in this study?
a) the size of the plots
b) the types of grasses
c) the amount of soil erosion
d) the type of soil in the plots
27. What is the dependent or responding variable in this study?
a) the size of the plots
b) the types of the grasses
c) the amount of soil erosion
d) the type of soil in the plots
28. What hypothesis is being tested in this study?
a) some types of grass reduce soil erosion more than others
b) soil erosion is affected by the slope of the land
c) burned over areas have greater erosion than forested areas
d) planting grass will reduce the amount of soil erosion
29. Which of the following variables is NOT controlled in this study?
a) the size of the plots
b) the type of soil in the plots
c) the amount of soil erosion
d) the amount of sun the plots receive
30. Mr. Jordan is experimenting in his garden. He adds different amounts of fertilizer
to his soil to see how it affects his potato production. This year he has four
different potato patches. Each patch is the same size but each receives a different
amount of fertilizer.
Patch / Pounds offertilizer added / Pounds of
potatoes produced
1 / 0 / 47
2 / 50 / 68
3 / 150 / 96
4 / 400 / 140
Which of these graphs correctly represents Mr. Jordan’s information?
a)b)
c)d)
31. The average number of arrows that hit a target in an archery contest is measured.
The arrows are shot at different distances from the target. These data are shown in
the graph below.
Which of the following statements correctly states the relationship between the variables?
a)As the distance from the target increases, the average number of hits increases
b)As the average number of hits increases, the distance from the target increases
c)As the distance from the target increases, the average number of hits decreases
d)As the number of hits decreases, the distance from the target decreases
Questions 32-35 refer to the following situation.
A laboratory study is done with white rats. The scientist wants to know if the amount of vitamin A mother rats receive affects the number of offspring born. He uses the same breed of rats in the study. Each rat gets the same amount of food and the same amount of daily exercise. The temperature in all the cages is the same.