The Nature of Science

Summative Assessment

For questions #1-6, match the letters below to the correct description of the step in the scientific method. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided.

A. Ask a question

B. Form a hypothesis

C. Test the hypothesis

D. Analyze the results

E. Draw a conclusion

F. Communicate the results

1. _______ You and a friend think that Coke will shoot out of a bottle of Coke after Mentos is added because a chemical reaction will occur.

2. _______ You gather Coke and the candy, Mentos, and perform an experiment by dropping the candy into the Coke.

3. _______ This experiment is so cool that you update your status on Facebook telling your friends about what happened. You also share your experiment with your family.

4. _______ While the experiment is occurring, you write down your observations and gather data about the experiment.

5._______ After seeing the experiment and looking at your notes you and your friend find out that you were correct, and that Coke does shoot out of the bottle after Mentos are added.

6._______ You and a friend wonder what will happen with you put the candy, Mentos, into a bottle of Coke.

Questions #7 - 18 are multiple choice and relate to the scientific method. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided on the left.

7. _______ A hypothesis is

1. An idea
2. A testable question
3. A proven answer
4. An educated guess

8. _______ Select the best hypothesis from the choices below:

1. If rabbits have longer legs than turtles, then they are faster than turtles.
2. If rabbits are faster than turtles, then they have longer legs than turtles.
3. I think that rabbits are faster than turtles because they have longer legs.
4. Rabbits are faster than turtles because they have longer legs.

9. _______The process of asking questions and finding answers in a systematic way about the natural world is called

1. Science
2. Philosophy
3. Thinking
4. Being Creative

10. _______Xavier wonders if his favorite animal, the ant, is found more often in the woods or in the fields of Minnesota. Which method would be the best way for him to investigate this question?

1. Collect ants and place them in a container with soil from a forest and place the other half in a container filled with soil from the field and see how big the ant colonies get.
2. Conduct a field study and survey (count) how many ants are found in the woods and how many are in the field.
3. Collect ants from the woods and the field and record how fast they grow. Give each set of ants different amounts of food and water.
4. Collect ants form the woods and the field and record how long they live. Give each set of ants the same amounts of food and water.

11. _______There are two main categories of science. The category of science that focuses on living things is called

1. Geology
2. Chemistry
3. Biology
4. Physics

12. _______Which of the following is the only thing that differs among experimental groups in a controlled experiment?

1. Control group
2. factor
3. Hypothesis
4. Variable

13. _______Which could be an example of bias from an experiment?

1. The person was not accurate while collecting data.
2. There was a medium sample size used in the experiment.
3. The experiment has been replicated by many scientists and different results were achieved each time.
4. The scientist was being paid by the company, and only reported certain results.

14. _____ What are scientists deciding when they draw conclusions?

      A. whether to put the data in a graph

      B. which factor is the variable

      C. whether the results support or reject the hypothesis

      D. which group should be the control group

15. _____ What do scientists usually do with their results?

       A. Ignore them

       B. share them

       C. Only share with other scientists

       D. destroy them

16. _____ What is a representation of an object or system called?

       A. a model

       B. a hypothesis

       C. a theory

       D. a discovery

17. _____ What kind of model is made of numbers and equations?

       A. mathematical model

       B. scientific method

       C. physical model

       D. conceptual model

18. _____ What kind of scientific idea very rarely changes?

       A. a law

       B. a discovery

       C. a hypothesis

       D. an idea

Questions #19 - 26 are multiple choice and relate to the metric system. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided on the left.

19. _____ Which of the following units is used to measure volume?

               A. decimeter

               B. kiloliter

               C. hectometer

               D. gram

20. _____Which of the following term refers to the amount of space an object takes up?

               A. mass

               B. area

               C. volume

               D. length

21. _____ Which of the following terms refers to the amount of matter in an object?

               A. length

               B. volume

               C. area

               D. mass

22. _____ SI units are

               A. based on standardized measurements of sand.

               B. almost always based on the number 10.

               C. used only to measure volume.

               D. Units that have been adopted by the United States.

23. _____ Which of the following is an advantage of the SI system of measurement?

               A. it is based on volume.

               B. it helps scientists share information more easily.

               C. is based on the greek philosophy and mathematics.

               D. it only makes sense to mathematically inclined people.

24. _____ Which of the following units is used for measuring length?

               A. grams

               B. meters

               C. liters

               D. kiloliter

25. Identify the mean of the following data:        2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 9

1. 4.8
2. 5
3. 7
4. 62

26. Identify the range of the following data:        2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 9

1. 4.8
2. 5
3. 7
4. 6

Questions #27 - 34 pertain to measurement. You will need the following objects to answer the questions: ruler, small paper clip, unsharpened pencil, and a piece of string. Be sure to include the unit in your answer.

27. How many millimeters long is the small paperclip? _____________

28. How many centimeters long is the small paperclip? _____________

29. How many millimeters long is the unsharpened pencil? _____________

30. How many centimeters long is the unsharpened pencil? _____________

31. How many millimeters long is the piece of string? _____________

32. How many centimeters long is the piece of string? _____________

33. How many millimeters wide is this test? _____________

34. How many centimeters wide is this test? _____________

For Questions #35 - 39 Complete the chart below by identifying the basic unit of measure and the abbreviation for each of the following types of measurements.

Measurement                                    Unit                                                Abbreviation

Length                                 35. ___________________                           ___________

Liquid Volume                       36. ___________________                           ___________

Solid Volume                        37. ___________________                           ___________

Mass                                    38. ___________________                          ___________

Temperature                         39. ___________________                          ___________

Questions #40 - 41 are on metric unit conversions. Be sure to show your work for each problem (SI prefixes chart, movement of decimals, units). Circle or box your final answer.

40. Your brother made you a milkshake that fit into a 0.75 liter container. How many milliliters of milkshake did he make you?

41. You have to walk 1.4 km to the mall to meet your friends. How many meters do you have to walk to get to the mall?

For questions #42 - 45, match the correct measurement tool with the appropriate scenario. Select the corresponding letter (a-f) for the correct tool used in each question. Write the letter in the space provided

^[1]                                                              1                                                                                                    1

A. Thermometer                                 B. Ruler                                         C. Graduated cylinder        

                                        1                                                                             1                                                                                                  1                                                                                                                                        

D. Microscope                                 E. Stopwatch/Timer                                 F. Balance

42. _________ You are studying the rate of growth of a fish species. Which tool would you use to measure their mass at the beginning of the season and their mass at the end of the season?

43. _________ You are germinating (growing) four seeds and are trying to determine the effect of water on seed growth. What tool would you use to measure the amount of water to use on each plant?

44. _________ Bubbles are released from a water plant on the lake floor. Which measurement tool would you use to measure how quickly the bubbles rise from the plant to the surface which is a distance of 6 meters?

45. _________ You are doing an ecological study on the flower, Hollyhock, throughout Minnesota and are comparing the size of the flowers. What tool would you use to measure each flower on the plant?

For Question #46, select the graph that best fits the scenario being described.

46. Which graph below shows the change of heart rate in an athlete as they move from rest to an intense workout and then back to a resting state?

^[2]

Questions #47 is a short answer. Be sure to use complete sentences when answering the question.

What is the difference between scientific law and scientific theory?

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Questions #48 - 51 are short answer on the scientific method. Be sure to use complete sentences when answering the questions.

Imagine that you will be conducting an experiment that compares the growth of bean plants in different types of soil. You are trying to answer the question: “How does the different types of soil a bean plant is grown in affect how fast the bean plant grows?”

48. What is the independent variable? ________________________________

49. What is the dependent variable? __________________________________

50. Write a hypothesis for the question above. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

51. Describe how you would setup a controlled experiment to answer the question: “How does the different types of soil a bean plant is grown in affect how fast the bean plant grows?” Be sure to include all of the parts required for it to be a controlled experiment!

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If necessary, draw a diagram of your experiment on the back of this page.