Lauren has been studying native trees in the Amazon Rainforest. She has noticed that many trees have damage that appears to have been created from insects. She is planning an investigation of the insects that are damaging these native trees. Which of the following actions must be included in any investigation of these harmful insects?

Observations of these insects in their outdoor habitat or by collecting them and observing them in a lab

Creating a direct hypothesis about the insects

Ensuring that when creating the experimental design, Lauren has both variables and a control for her experiment

Developing a way in which damage to the Native trees can be prevented

Christopher wanted to learn more about Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. Which of the following sources of information would be Christopher's best choice?

a university's astronomy web page

Scientists conduct investigations. What is the main reason for scientific investigations?

to answer questions about the natural world

to learn about recent discoveries

to demonstrate scientific procedures

Researchers at Florida International University surveyed people to find out how many would not evacuate if a hurricane were approaching. In 1992, 18% would not evacuate. In 1995, 34% would not evacuate. In 1999, 46% said they would not evacuate. How can scientists use this information?

to predict how many people will not evacuate

to predict where people go when they evacuate

to explain why people choose not to evacuate

to predict which route people will use to evacuate

What should you do if you want your friends to believe a statement you make?

collect information about your friends

Models allow scientists to test things that might be too expensive or difficult to test using the real item. Which of the following would be an investigation that could use a model?

how much water a cubic meter of sand can hold

whether a new spray will repel mosquitos

how many times per day a robin leaves her nest

how much weight can a new bridge support

A hypothesis must be testable. Which hypothesis is testable?

a beagle can jump higher than a Persian cat

Cobie is testing how the amount of fertilizer affects the height of plants. Which variable does not need to be controlled?

the amount of water each plant gets

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?

organize data in tables and charts

Paula is investigating the electricity used in her county in Florida. The bar graph shows the sources of electricity for the county and how much electricity each source supplies. Notice that the total amount of energy is identified as 100 units. Which conclusion does the data in the graph best support?

The county receives half of its electricity from nuclear power, hydropower, and wind power.

In the future, the county will receive more electricity from solar power and wind power

Nuclear power is the best alternative to fossil fuels for the county.

The county receives more than half of its electricity from fossil fuels.

Emma enjoys hot chocolate and other hot drinks. She wonders if the drinks stay hot longer in foam cups than in cups made of other materials. She forms a hypothesis and designs an experiment to test it. Which summary describes the most useful experiment she could design?

Compare how hot water cools in cups made of foam, paper, and plastic.

Measure how hot water cools in one foam cup.

Compare how hot water cools in foam cups of different sizes.

Break off a small piece from a foam cup and study it with a microscope.

Valerie and Henri are investigating speed and motion. In one trial of an experiment, Valerie lets go of a toy car at the top of a ramp. Henri times how long the car takes to reach the bottom. Why should they repeat this trial several times instead of doing it just once?

to make sure their results are accurate and useful

to record the fastest possible time for the car

to measure other variables, such as the mass of the car

to think of new ways to measure speed and motion

Manuel has a box of “Tomato-riffic,” a new type of fertilizer for tomatoes. He also has 20 small tomato plants and a large garden to grow them. He decides to conduct an experiment to test how well the fertilizer works. Which describes the control group that Manuel should use?

tomato plants that do not receive doses of the new fertilizer

tomato plants that receive doses of the new fertilizer

tomato plants that do not receive water, soil, or sunlight

a garden filled with a variety of plants, including tomatoes and other vegetables

Kelly thinks the weather this week will become gradually warmer. She plans to observe the weather every morning and afternoon, and to record her observations in a chart. Which kind of investigation is Kelly conducting?

a descriptive investigation that is designed to test a prediction, not to test variables

an experimental investigation that includes a fair test of one variable

an experimental investigation that includes a test of several variables and a control

a descriptive investigation that will show a cause-and-effect relationship between variables

Which is another observation of mosses that Shereen could make and record?

Mosses are growing on most of a fallen log, but not underneath it.

Mosses are the smallest kinds of plants, and they never make fruits or flowers.

Mosses are important and interesting, and people should pay more attention to them.

Mosses could be useful as a source of food for farm animals.

Shereen claims that mosses depend on wet surfaces to grow. Which additional observation would most strengthen her claim?

Mosses grow on lower tree trunks, but not the drier, upper parts of the trees.

All plants grow well on wet surfaces.

Mosses are not growing by a pond that is near the forest.

Some mosses have parts that look and grow like roots.

Which step is the best way for a scientist to evaluate Shereen’s claim and ideas about mosses?

Conduct an investigation in another forest where mosses grow.

Read the entries and view the photos in Shereen’s journal.

Compare mosses with other small plants, such as grass and clover.

Conduct an investigation in a place where mosses do not grow, such as a desert.

Leann and Juan are each planning an investigation of the water cycle. Leann plans a descriptive investigation, while Juan plans an experimental investigation. Which step could be part of both investigations?

Making observations of water and its changes, either in nature or a laboratory.

Forming a hypothesis, such as “The Sun provides the energy for the water cycle.”

Identifying variables for a fair test, such as the saltiness of the water or the air temperature.

Asking people for their opinions about the water cycle and its importance.

Three science students are working together on a science investigation of the weather. Here are their journal entries for today’s weather: Melissa: My friends are disappointed because they want to go swimming today. They were hoping for warmer weather. Andrea: The temperature is 75°F, and the sky is clear and sunny. Druhan: Today’s weather is great for playing sports outdoors. I’m glad because I play baseball. Which entry is most useful for the investigation?

Andrea’s entry, because it includes observations and measurements

Melissa’s entry, because it compares the weather with a hope or expectation

Druhan’s entry, because it describes feelings or emotions

Druhan’s entry, because it explains why the weather is important

Shira is investigating how animals lived in Earth’s distant past. In her report, she claims that giraffes once lived on the plains of North America. How could Shira best support this claim?

Shira could identify fossils of giraffes, such as their bones or teeth, that were discovered in North America.

Shira could draw a picture of giraffes finding food on plains.

Shira could name the friends and classmates who agree with her claim.

Shira could explain how giraffes might have traveled between North America and Africa.

In the 1980s, two Australian doctors were investigating stomach ulcers. After several experiments, they concluded that ulcers were caused by a strain of bacteria. This conclusion surprised other doctors around the world. Which provided the strongest evidence in support of the conclusion?

Other doctors repeated the experiments, and the results were the same.

The doctors published advertisements that announced the conclusion in science journals.

Doctors studied a model of the stomach and how bacteria formed ulcers.

Doctors discovered that bacteria cause other diseases and damage to the body.

Victor and his team are investigating the variables that affect the falling time of a tennis ball. In one experiment, they drop a tennis ball from a window and measure the time it takes to reach the ground. They conduct four trials of this step. The chart shows their results. Why was it useful for the team to conduct four trials of the same step?

They can identify data that likely came from a measurement error or other mistake.

They can show that the true falling time is the average of the data, or 2.7 seconds.

They can discover a way to make objects fall faster or slower.

They can conclude that falling time always changes from one trial to the next.

The science teacher tells Tyler that he needs to include a control group in his experiment. Tyler can study a control group by repeating his procedure, but with one change. Which change should he include?

Skip Step 3, so the soil remains dry

In Step 1, do not add food scraps to the soil.

Skip Step 4, so there is no paper plate.

In Step 4, use a sheet of paper that completely covers the soil.

Tyler’s friends say that they also have observed earthworms after rainstorms. How is Tyler’s experiment more useful than the observations of his friends?

The experiment allowed a hypothesis to be tested in a controlled experiment.

The experiment tested a small number of earthworms.

The experiment studied earthworms in a terrarium, not outdoors.

The experiment studied soil that could be soaked in water.

Which is the most useful conclusion of the experiment?

Earthworms need the air that typically fills spaces in the soil.

Earthworms need the water that may fill spaces in the soil.

Earthworms eat bits of food that they find in the soil.

Earthworms can move through dry soil, but not wet soil.

Frank and his wife love listening to the orchestra play music and identify specific sounds from each instrument. They decide to visit a concert for the Florida orchestra and investigate how each sound is made from the instruments. They made several comments about their visit. Which are USEFUL observations?

The bassoon makes the lowest sounds.

The tambourine only had one note played

The flute is the smallest instrument

The trombone is a cool instrument

Alden and Jhonna are investigating a new spray for removing stains from clothes. They explain that the spray changes many stains so they can dissolve in warm, soapy water, but the process can also damage the fibers in clothes. To provide the strongest support for this explanation, what should the report of their investigation include?

photographs of clothes both before and after they were treated with the spray

a list of the ingredients in the new spray

a comparison of the new spray to other stain-removing products

a recommendation for the amount of spray to use on a stain

JT heard that a oval-shaped chair leg can hold more weight than a leg with pointed edges. He decides to investigate this claim by testing chair legs made of wood in a variety of shapes. He adds different weight to the chair until it finally collapses. Why SHOULD he repeat these steps several times?

Repeating test will help show that his results are useful, reliable, and accurate

By repeating these steps, it may identify what is the best shape to make the strongest chair leg

By repeating tests, he may identify the ideal number of legs for a chair to be the strongest

Repeating tests will help to measure how different variables will impact the chair

McGraw Hill - Nature of Science Review Quiz

1.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Hannah has many questions about the birds that visit Florida during the year. Which is the most useful question for a science investigation?

Do the birds enjoy Florida’s weather the same way that people do?

Which is the prettiest bird that visits Florida?

Do all the birds leave and arrive in Florida at the same times of the year or at different times?

Should a bird replace oranges on the license plates for Florida?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

2.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Sandra visits a Florida farm that raises silkies, a breed of chicken. Sandra did not know that chickens have breeds, just as dogs and cattle have breeds. Which is the best way that Sandra could learn more about chicken breeds?

Visit the website of a restaurant that serves chicken.

Try to hatch chicken eggs that are bought from the supermarket.

Visit a gardening center that keeps a rooster as a mascot.

Read a book about chicken breeds from the school library.

3.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Jorge asks if dinosaurs ever lived in Florida, and if so, what the dinosaurs were like. Which provides the strongest evidence for an answer to this question?

No Florida sports teams are named after dinosaurs.

No fossils of dinosaurs have been found in Florida.

Some museums in Florida display exhibits of dinosaurs.

Someone wrote a story about a dinosaur that visited Orlando.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

4.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Sabina and Max have been investigating rainbows. They observe many examples of rainbows in the sky. They also observe photographs of rainbows that others have taken. They include this paragraph in their report.
All of the rainbows were beautiful! They always had the same colors in the same order. The bands also had the same shape, which is a section of a circle.
Does the paragraph include observations, opinions, or both?

The paragraph includes observations only.

The paragraph includes opinions only.

The paragraph begins with an opinion and then presents observations only.

The paragraph mixes observations and opinions in every sentence.

5.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

A condition of an experiment that can be changed is the?

variable

hypothesis

control

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

6.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

A ________ is a scientific prediction that can be tested?

variable

hypothesis

control

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

7.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

The variable in an experiment that remains unchanged is the ________?

variable

hypothesis

control

8.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

A local farmer grows strawberries and several crops in Florida. He begins to wonder if the large amounts of rainwater will begin to damage his crops. In an effort to find out, he designs an experiment in which he deeply soaks the soil under some of the strawberry plants. He then compares the growth of these plants with the rest of his strawberry crops.
What is the control in his experiment?

The strawberry plants that have soaked soil

The strawberry plants that do not have soaked soil

All plants on the farm, except for the strawberry plants

The strawberry plants that are damaged by heavy rain

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

9.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Mr. Arthur, the science teacher, says that adding salt or sugar can make a pot of water boil at a higher temperature. Matt and Karen decide to investigate this claim.
With the teacher’s supervision, Matt and Karen prepare mixtures of water with salt or sugar, boil the mixtures on a hot plate, and use a digital thermometer to measure the temperature of the boiling mixture.
The data table shows their results.
When Mr. Arthur reviews the data, he suggests that an error occurred during one of the trials. Which trial most likely was performed incorrectly?

Trial 1

Trial 3

Trial 4

Trial 6

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

10.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

30 sec • 1 pt

Mario and Albert want to investigate which playing surface allows a soccer ball to roll across it at the greatest speed. They decided to test using a field with long grass, short grass, sand, clay, and concrete. Mario is planning to perform an experimental investigation. Albert is planning a descriptive investigation at a soccer field. Albert’s investigation will not include an experiment.
Based on the two investigations, what is different?

Only Albert will be observing soccer balls

Only Mario will observe soccer balls on different surfaces

Only Albert will be reporting her observation

Only Mario will test a hypothesis with variables and controls

McGraw Hill - Nature of Science Review

42 questions

Hannah has many questions about the birds that visit Florida during the year. Which is the most useful question for a science investigation?

Sandra visits a Florida farm that raises silkies, a breed of chicken. Sandra did not know that chickens have breeds, just as dogs and cattle have breeds. Which is the best way that Sandra could learn more about chicken breeds?

Jorge asks if dinosaurs ever lived in Florida, and if so, what the dinosaurs were like. Which provides the strongest evidence for an answer to this question?

A condition of an experiment that can be changed is the?

A ________ is a scientific prediction that can be tested?

The variable in an experiment that remains unchanged is the ________?

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