Scientific Investigations and Experiments

Ronald and Joseph bought a pack of seeds and some soil from the store to share. They wanted to grow flowers for Mother’s Day. They planted the seeds at the same time and used the same tap water. After a few weeks Ronald noticed that his flowers were smaller than Joseph’s and he wanted to know why. Which is the best plan for Ronald to use to figure this out?

• Ask Joseph what kind of light he used when growing his seeds, purchase that light and use it for his own flowers, then add more water than the first time.

• Purchase different kinds of flower seeds, soil, and flower pots, plant the seeds and observe which flowers grow the tallest, then make sure to use those seeds the next time.

• Research information about growing flowers, plant identical seeds, test variables, make observations about the flowers’ growth, record and analyze the data, then draw a conclusion to answer the question.

• Put all the plants in a row and give them all more water. Measure all the plants, make a graph, and report on the different sizes of the plants. Research how tall the flowers should get and record that information.

Ms. Evelyn lined up four students at recess on the soccer field. She told each student to kick a soccer ball as hard as they could. Then she measured how far each student kicked the soccer ball and marked the distance with a flag. After the activity she brought the class back inside and created a chart from the data. Did Ms. Evelyn’s class do an experiment?

• Yes, because they measured and recorded their observations.

• Yes, because every student kicked the same soccer ball.

• No, because they did not start with a hypothesis or a control group. This was an investigation.

• No, because all experiments require the use of a laboratory and scientists.

Dr. Jones conducted an experiment to test out if doing hands-on science activities would increase his students’ test scores on the end of the year 5th grade science test. He designed many fun and engaging activities that allowed students to explore science concepts. When the end of the year came, he gave his class the same test that he always gives his class at the end of the year. Then he looked at the data and drew a conclusion. What does Dr. Jones also need to do to check the results of his experiment?

• He needs to make sure that the students understood the test questions.

• He needs to compare the data to last year’s class that did not do any hands-on activities.

• He needs to research the most effective hands-on science activities to use next year.

• He needs to reteach the standards that students scored lowest on.

While riding her bike in the rain, Nicole noticed that the tires kept slipping on the road. When she got home, she let some air out of the tires to see if that would make them slip less. Nicole kept letting out more air until she decided that the tires were good enough. When Karen asked her what she was doing, Nicole told her told her she was doing a scientific investigation. Karen told Nicole that she needed to follow the scientific method if she wanted to do a real scientific investigation. Nicole said she could do it this way if she wanted. Who is right?

• Karen is right. All science has to follow the Scientific Method.

• They are both right because Nicole did follow the Scientific Method.

• They are both wrong because Nicole was just messing around, not doing real science.

• Nicole is right. Scientific investigations can look different, depending on the situation.

Bella likes to look out her classroom window. One day she saw a squirrel outside picking things off the ground to eat. She asked her teacher what the squirrel was doing, and the teacher said the squirrels like to eat acorns. Bella knows that acorns are a type of nut and wondered if squirrels would eat other kinds of nuts as well. What is the best way Bella could test this idea?

• Place some walnuts and peanuts near the tree and come back the next day to see if they are gone.

• Place some peanuts and walnuts near the tree and observe what the squirrel eats.

• Read a book about the diets and habitats of squirrels.

• Place a large pile of acorns near the tree and observe how many acorns the squirrel eats.

By the end of the week, Bella concluded that squirrels do not like walnuts or peanuts. Bella’s friend Michaela doesn’t believe Bella and thinks that squirrels do like peanuts and walnuts. Michaela would like to repeat the scientific investigation on her own to see if she gets the same results. What is the best way for Michaela to test whether Bella’s conclusion is true?

• Follow the exact same procedure that Bella used.

• Come up with a better procedure to prove that she is right.

• Analyze Bella’s observations and look for mistakes.

• Interview Bella and ask her why she decided to use walnuts and peanuts instead of almonds.

The Milky Way is the name of the galaxy that contains Earth and many other planets. What are some other things that are also included in the Milky Way galaxy? Choose the best answer.

• Gas, dust, stars, but not comets or asteroids.

• Comets, asteroids, planets, but not stars.

• Gas, dust, stars, planets, comets, asteroids, and moons.

• Planets, suns, moons, but not gas or dust.

Hiroshi had trouble remembering the difference between rotation and revolution. His teacher reminded him that the word revolution is longer than the word rotation, and a year is longer than a day. Using his knowledge of the distance of inner and outer planets from the Sun, which planet most likely has the shortest year compared to Earth?

• Mars

• Mercury

• Jupiter

• Saturn

Elisa loves the solar system, especially the planets that are mostly gas. She is fascinated by the fact that some planets do not have a rocky surface like Earth. She wonders what it would be like to visit one of these gas planets. If Elisa wanted to travel to one of these gassy planets, which one should she not choose?

• Neptune

• Jupiter

• Saturn

• Venus

How did the lamp affect the water that was in the bottom of the bottle?

• The lamp warmed the freshwater to allow it to precipitate.

• The lamp caused the water to change from one physical state to another.

• The lamp warmed the freshwater and caused it to condense.

• The lamp caused the bottle to change its chemical properties.