Unit 1 Review: Nature of Science

An investigation in which all conditions are controlled is a(n)

• control

• evidence

• experiment

• variable

Any condition in an experiment that can be changed is a(n)

• control

• evidence

• experiment

• variable

The information that scientists gather during an investigation is called

• control

• evidence

• experiment

• variable

The setup or condition to which you compare all the others in an experiment is the

• control

• evidence

• experiment

• variable

Students look out the window for 5 minutes. In their notebooks, they record the number, type, and color of the vehicles that pass. What are they doing?

• concluding

• observing

• hypothesizing

• experimenting

Which is the best explanation for the observation that clothes hung in the sun dry faster than those hung in the shade?

• Sunshine causes air to flow around the clothes, carrying the water away.

• Air in the shade is more humid than air in the sun, so water can't change to a gas as quickly.

• More energy strikes the clothes in the sun, so water changes to a gas more quickly.

• The light from the sun works with the heat to make the clothes dry faster.

Fahim wants to know more about how birds protect their nests. Which equipment should Fahim choose for his experiment?

• a recorder and a collecting net

• a camera and a notebook

• a hand lens and a stopwatch

• a calculator and a clock

Scientists communicate valid conclusions in written form. Why is it important for scientists to do this?

• to learn from each other

• to keep their work a secret

• to compete with other scientists

• to avoid repeating experiments

Although scientific experiments and other kinds of investigations can be very different, they all start the same way. Which of these would you do first in any scientific investigation?

• Draw a conclusion

• Write a hypothesis

• Ask a well-defined question

• Organize data in tables and charts

You want to know if the mass of a paper airplane will affect how far the airplane will fly. Which factor will you purposefully vary to determine its effect?

• the mass of the plane

• the distance traveled

• the height the plane is released from

• the material the plane is made from