Scientific Investigation Practice

Anything that can change in an experiment is called...

• a variable

• an aim

• a hypothesis

• a conclusion

A hypothesis is...

• a question you are trying to answer

• a statement of a possible outcome for the experiment

• the method for the experiment

• what you want to find out in the experiment

What is the dependant variable in this graph?

• temperature

• sugar and salt

• amount of solute

• amount of water

The type of graph shown here is a bar graph. This data is shown as a bar graph because...

• the data is all numbers

• there are categories and numbers

• the data is percentages

• the trash is different colours

What was the temperature recorded in August 2011?

• 75 degrees

• 79 degrees

• 80 degrees

• 83 degrees

The result at the end of an experiment is called...

• a prediction

• an observation

• a conclusion

• an aim

Safiya wants to test which brand of popcorn pops the most kernels. She picked a store brand, Orville Redenbacher, and PopSecret. All three bags started with the same number of kernels. She popped each for 3 minutes in the same microwave, and then counted the number of kernels left over. What is her independent variable?

• Brand of popcorn

• Number of kernels left over

• Number of kernels before popping

• Length of time the popcorn was in the microwave

Florence wants to test the effects of type of exercise on heart rate. What is the dependent variable in this investigation?

• heart rate

• type of exercise

• amount of exercise

• time of day exercise occurs

Tara conducted an experiment to test the movement of a marble through four different liquid substances. Looking at the figure designed by the student, what is an error in her experiment?

• The amount of liquid substances in each test tube is not the same.

• The type of marble used in each test tube is not the same.

• The type of liquid substances are not labeled correctly.

• The marbles are not dropped from the same distance.

What is the independent variable in the following hypothesis?

HYPOTHESIS: If I spend more time studying, then my marks in Natural Sciences will improve.

• An improvement in marks

• Location for studying Natural Sciences

• Time spent studying

• Playing soft music in the background