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Nature of Science (Part 1)
SC.N.1.4-SC.N.1.5 (18 Questions)
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
You want to determine if a new diet medication will make rats lose weight. What is the independent variable?
Measuring weight loss
The rats
The new diet medication
The food the rat eats
2. You want to determine if a new diet medication will help rats lose weight. What is the dependent variable?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Measuring the weight loss
The rats
The new diet medication
The food the rats eat
3. You want to determine if a new diet medication will help rats lose weight. What factors should you keep the
same throughout the experiment for both sets of rats?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Rats and medication
Food they eat and weight
Weight and medication
Rats and food they eat
4. You want to determine if a new diet medication will help rats lose weight. Why is it necessary to have two sets of
rats?
a.
b.
c.
d.
If some die, you have some left.
Some may be picky eaters.
To compare rats taking the new medication to rats without the medication
To compare the rats old diet (the food they eat) to the new food they eat
5. What factors can be changed in an experiment?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Variables
Controls
Constants
Standards
6. What is the primary difference between a scientific theory and a scientific law?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A theory does not have a large body of supporting data.
Scientific theories are absolute.
A theory explains why something happens and a law describes a pattern.
A theory describes a pattern and a scientific law describes why something happens.
7. Which of the following is not useful for showing patterns in data?
a. Chart
b. Procedure
c. Graph
d. Table
8. A(n)______________________ is something that represents an idea or object to help people better understand it.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Method
Observation
Theory
Model
9. Which of the following questions is legitimate for science to consider?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which type of orchid flower is most beautiful?
Is competition good or evil?
How many seals can a killer whale consume per day?
When is religion better than philosophy?
10. Information gathered during experiments is/are called __________________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Data
A hypothesis
Conclusions
A theory
11. What factor is not changed in an experiment?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Independent variable
Constant
Temperature
Dependent variable
STUDY GUIDE PART 2
Nature of Science
1. Design an experiment (include the independent, dependent, control group, and constants in your
description).
a. Any experiment answer would work. An example: How does fertilizer affect plant height?
b. What I change (independent variable): fertilizer brand
c. What changes as a result (dependent variable): plant height
d. What I should keep the same (constants): The amount of water I give each plant, the type of plant I use,
the amount of light the plant gets, the soil I use, the type of planter, etc.
e. What can I compare my results to (control group): I will give one plant just water, no fertilizer, so I can
compare the heights of plants with fertilizer to a plant that is not receiving any fertilizer.
Theories VS Laws
2. How do theories and laws differ?
a. Theories are explanations while laws are statements. A law is like a picture, it describes an event. A
theory is like a caption to the picture, it explains what is going on.
3. Can a theory become a law? Why or why not?
b. Theories are explanations, laws are statements. A theory is not a lesser version of a law. In the same way
that a caption cannot become a picture, a theory can never become a law.
4. Explain why theories may be modified but are rarely discarded?
c. Theories are built on a foundation of scientific knowledge. If some of that knowledge changes or is no
longer accurate, the theory is still mostly relevant and must only be changed to accept the new
information. To completely discard a theory, ALL the supporting evidence for the theory must be
falsified.
5. Why do we say that science is tentative and open to change?
d. With each new piece of technology, we can know and discover more. The more we know the more
questions we can answer. Because of this, our answers are always getting better. What may be a great
explanation now might not be sufficient in the future when newer and better technology allows us to
answer a question from a different perspective.
Models
6. Why do we use models in science? (benefits & limitations of using models?)
a. Benefits: economic (cost or time), safety, accessibility (easier to understand)
b. Limitations: inaccuracies because of assumptions, misconceptions due to inability to faithfully replicate
Earth’s Layers
7. What are the layers of the Earth? Describe each layer’s physical properties (liquid, solid, etc.)
a. Inner Core (solid, made of iron, most dense layer)
b. Outer Core (liquid made of iron)
c. Lower Mantle (solid, made of magnesium and iron silicates)
d. Upper Mantle (solid, made of magnesium and iron silicates)
e. Crust (continental and oceanic, solid, least dense layer)
Lithosphere- consists of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust
Asthenosphere- flowing plastic like part right underneath the uppermost part of the mantle
The Rock Cycle
8. Draw a diagram displaying different stages in the rock cycle.
9. Define the different types of rock.
a. Sedimentary - Type of rock that forms when layers of sediment are compacted and cemented
together.
b. Igneous - Type of rock that forms when magma/lava cools and crystallizes.
c. Metamorphic - Type of rock that forms deep within the Earth from other rocks as a result of intense
heat and pressure (but is not melted).
10. Why is heat important in the rock cycle?
a. Without heat we would be unable to form metamorphic rock, magma, or igneous rock. Heat and
pressure along with melting is seen throughout the rock cycle.
Earth’s Age
11. Explain the situations which we use the law of superposition or radioactive dating.
a. We use the law of superposition when we want to find out which fossil or rock layer is older (we cannot
use it to find the exact age of a rock or fossil) . We usually are able to use law of superposition with
sedimentary rock . We use radioactive dating when we want to know the correct age or period that a
rock came from. We usually are able to use radioactive dating with igneous rocks.
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
12. What evidence can we use to support Pangea (the supercontinent)?
a. The continents can fit together like puzzle pieces
b. Climate: evidence of glaciers in South America, Africa, India, and Australia suggests that these lands
were once connected
c. Fossils: fossil evidence of certain plants and animals can be found on many continents that are
separated by oceans
d. Rocks: There is evidence in rocks of a volcanic eruption on both the East coast of South America and the
west coast of Africa. Since the rocks are identical we think these continents
13. What evidence can we use to support plate tectonics?
a. Modern technology such as a GPS allows us to measure movement of the plates.
b. Places where we find a lot of Earthquakes we can assume there are probably plate boundaries there.
14. Why are there a lot of Earthquakes on the West coast of the United States?
a. There is a plate boundary off the West coast of the U.S. and it causes that area to experience a lot of
Earthquakes…think California!