Question 1

Creationism, or the idea that all species now on Earth were created just as they are now, is pseudoscience because

Accepted Answer

A)  Scientists say so. 
B)  More than half the U.S. population believes it. 
C)  Scientists don't believe in God. 
D)  There's no evidence and no way to test it. 
E)  People learn it in church. 
A)  Scientists say so. 
B)  More than half the U.S. population believes it. 
C)  Scientists don't believe in God. 
D)  There's no evidence and no way to test it. 
E)  People learn it in church.

Question 2

Which of the following assumptions of science is illustrated by this statement: No matter what kind of plant you grow, it will need water.

Accepted Answer

A)  Cause and effect 
B)  Consistency 
C)  Repeatability 
D)  Materialism 
A)  Cause and effect 
B)  Consistency 
C)  Repeatability 
D)  Materialism

Question 3

Which of the following claims about French fries are NOT examples of pseudoscience?

Accepted Answer

A)  The majority of people eating French fries in a restaurant look sickly, so French fries must not be good for you. 
B)  People who order French fries are usually high school graduates, so French fries must improve intelligence. 
C) . Most people who eat French fries also eat catsup which is a vegetable, so French fries are good for you. 
D)  Most French people are healthy, so French fries must be good for you. 
E)  Foods high in fat are not good for you, and French fries are high in fat. 
A)  The majority of people eating French fries in a restaurant look sickly, so French fries must not be good for you. 
B)  People who order French fries are usually high school graduates, so French fries must improve intelligence. 
C) . Most people who eat French fries also eat catsup which is a vegetable, so French fries are good for you. 
D)  Most French people are healthy, so French fries must be good for you. 
E)  Foods high in fat are not good for you, and French fries are high in fat.

Question 4

What is Dr. Robert Koch generally most famous for?

Accepted Answer

A)  Discovering anthrax in farm animals 
B)  The research lab he set up in his house 
C)  Discovering that anthrax can be used as a biological weapon 
D)  His work toward the idea (germ theory) that many infectious diseases are caused by bacteria 
E)  His work with bacterial spores 
A)  Discovering anthrax in farm animals 
B)  The research lab he set up in his house 
C)  Discovering that anthrax can be used as a biological weapon 
D)  His work toward the idea (germ theory) that many infectious diseases are caused by bacteria 
E)  His work with bacterial spores

Question 5

Is this statement an observation, hypothesis, or theory: dogs pant when they are hot.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Is this statement an observation, hypothesis, or...

Question 6

What hospital procedure did Dr. Semmelweis find mostly prevented childbed fever?

Accepted Answer

Scrubbing

Question 7

A person studying foods of ancient human populations might want to consult with a scientist because

Accepted Answer

A)  Both fields deal with time. 
B)  Science has always been around. 
C)  Scientists know a lot more about things than historians do. 
D)  A scientist might be able to tell about the habitat the ancient humans were dealing with and therefore what kind of food to which they might have access. 
E)  A scientist might be able to experiment with the foods of ancient humans. 
A)  Both fields deal with time. 
B)  Science has always been around. 
C)  Scientists know a lot more about things than historians do. 
D)  A scientist might be able to tell about the habitat the ancient humans were dealing with and therefore what kind of food to which they might have access. 
E)  A scientist might be able to experiment with the foods of ancient humans.

Question 8

Scientists always work only with other scientists because no other field of study really applies to science.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

In your experiment in #9, if the plant(s) treated with fertilizer grew faster, would that prove plants grow faster with fertilizer?

Accepted Answer

A)  Yes. Clearly that is the case. 
B)  No. It would support the hypothesis for that one plant type. 
C)  Yes. But you would have to then test whether that is true for other plants. 
D)  No. There's no way to know if the fertilizer was making the difference. 
E)  Yes. Obviously everyone should use fertilizers when they grow this one type of plant. 
A)  Yes. Clearly that is the case. 
B)  No. It would support the hypothesis for that one plant type. 
C)  Yes. But you would have to then test whether that is true for other plants. 
D)  No. There's no way to know if the fertilizer was making the difference. 
E)  Yes. Obviously everyone should use fertilizers when they grow this one type of plant.

Question 10

How did Charles Darwin's original hypothesis that organisms evolved by natural selection become an important scientific theory?

Accepted Answer

A)  He wrote a book about it and it was marketed well, so the public bought into it. 
B)  He was a famous scientist and so was respected enough by his colleagues that they believed what he said and accepted it. 
C)  He and other scientists in many fields of science have tested it over and over again and it's never been disproved, only supported by the evidence they've found. 
D)  It can't really be tested but it just makes sense 
E)  Good timing and luck. People were seeking an explanation for the diversity of life on Earth and Darwin happened to provide one that seemed reasonable. 
A)  He wrote a book about it and it was marketed well, so the public bought into it. 
B)  He was a famous scientist and so was respected enough by his colleagues that they believed what he said and accepted it. 
C)  He and other scientists in many fields of science have tested it over and over again and it's never been disproved, only supported by the evidence they've found. 
D)  It can't really be tested but it just makes sense 
E)  Good timing and luck. People were seeking an explanation for the diversity of life on Earth and Darwin happened to provide one that seemed reasonable.

Question 11

What actually causes childbed fever?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What actually causes childbed fever?...

Question 12

Why doesn't science work as a way of seeking answers about faith?

Accepted Answer

A)  Religion is a much broader subject than science. 
B)  Faith, by definition, isn't testable. It's a personal belief. 
C)  Scientists are all atheists. 
D)  It's a myth that it doesn't. One can test God. 
E)  No one knows, but it doesn't work. 
A)  Religion is a much broader subject than science. 
B)  Faith, by definition, isn't testable. It's a personal belief. 
C)  Scientists are all atheists. 
D)  It's a myth that it doesn't. One can test God. 
E)  No one knows, but it doesn't work.

Question 13

The natural world mostly works in a regular, repeatable, predictable way.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

If more and more empirical observations tend to support your hypothesis, what can you probably conclude?

Accepted Answer

Your hypot

Question 15

Why did Dr. Semmelweiss think that that improved ventilation at the hospital might help decrease incidence of childbed fever?

Accepted Answer

A)  Everyone does better in fresh air. 
B)  Increased oxygen levels tend to decrease incidence of infection in general. 
C)  Miasma, a type of fly known to transmit disease, are attracted to bad odors and better ventilation might eliminate those. 
D)  Improved ventilation would more quickly remove miasma, or toxic vapors thought to be exhaled by sick people. 
E)  Diseases were thought to be transmitted by miasma, or sweat, so improved ventilation might cool patients, minimizing sweating. 
A)  Everyone does better in fresh air. 
B)  Increased oxygen levels tend to decrease incidence of infection in general. 
C)  Miasma, a type of fly known to transmit disease, are attracted to bad odors and better ventilation might eliminate those. 
D)  Improved ventilation would more quickly remove miasma, or toxic vapors thought to be exhaled by sick people. 
E)  Diseases were thought to be transmitted by miasma, or sweat, so improved ventilation might cool patients, minimizing sweating.

Question 16

Which of the following would be the most effective experimental design for an experiment measuring the effect of a particular fertilizer on plant growth?

Accepted Answer

A)  Treat one plant with the recommended dose of fertilizer and measure its growth over time. 
B)  Treat one plant with the recommended dose of fertilizer and measure its growth over time compared to the same type of plant without fertilizer. 
C)  As in "b," but treat several of the same type of plants with fertilizer and without and measure their growth rates over time. 
D)  Set up several different types of plants and apply several different types of fertilizer and measure growth rates over time. 
E)  As in "d," but also measure the same types of plants grown without fertilizer. 
A)  Treat one plant with the recommended dose of fertilizer and measure its growth over time. 
B)  Treat one plant with the recommended dose of fertilizer and measure its growth over time compared to the same type of plant without fertilizer. 
C)  As in "b," but treat several of the same type of plants with fertilizer and without and measure their growth rates over time. 
D)  Set up several different types of plants and apply several different types of fertilizer and measure growth rates over time. 
E)  As in "d," but also measure the same types of plants grown without fertilizer.

Question 17

If you accept that science is a reliable way of learning about the natural world, why is it unreasonable for you to accept the idea that all life on earth was created in a week, a few thousand years ago?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because it's religious and all scientists can't be religious. 
B)  Because the Bible is full of crazy ideas. 
C)  Because you would have to ignore so much evidence geology, fossils, and DNA. 
D)  Because scientists are always right. 
E)  It is reasonable because scientists can be religious. 
A)  Because it's religious and all scientists can't be religious. 
B)  Because the Bible is full of crazy ideas. 
C)  Because you would have to ignore so much evidence geology, fossils, and DNA. 
D)  Because scientists are always right. 
E)  It is reasonable because scientists can be religious.

Question 18

What does science require that pseudoscience does not?

Accepted Answer

Empirical

Question 19

If strep throat isn't really dangerous, why is it important to test for it?

Accepted Answer

A)  It's important to minimize even less dangerous infections 
B)  It's very contagious. 
C)  It's related to childbed fever, so it can be very serious. 
D)  It can kill you in rare cases. 
E)  It can cause rheumatic fever in rare cases, which is very serious. 
A)  It's important to minimize even less dangerous infections 
B)  It's very contagious. 
C)  It's related to childbed fever, so it can be very serious. 
D)  It can kill you in rare cases. 
E)  It can cause rheumatic fever in rare cases, which is very serious.

Question 20

As soon as Dr. Semmelweis figured out that sterilization of hands dramatically reduces incidences of childbed fever, why didn't all hospitals adopt the practice?

Accepted Answer

A)  Many doctors don't trust science. 
B)  Many doctors refused to believe they could possibly be transmitting a disease to their patients. 
C)  Bleach was very expensive and hard to get. 
D)  Prior to the 1900s, it was nearly impossible to spread news like this from one hospital to another. 
E)  Dr. Semmelweis was not well respected by the medical community. 
A)  Many doctors don't trust science. 
B)  Many doctors refused to believe they could possibly be transmitting a disease to their patients. 
C)  Bleach was very expensive and hard to get. 
D)  Prior to the 1900s, it was nearly impossible to spread news like this from one hospital to another. 
E)  Dr. Semmelweis was not well respected by the medical community.

Creationism, or the idea that all species now on Earth were created just as they are now, is pseudoscience because

Which of the following assumptions of science is illustrated by this statement: No matter what kind of plant you grow, it will need water.

Which of the following claims about French fries are NOT examples of pseudoscience?

What is Dr. Robert Koch generally most famous for?

Is this statement an observation, hypothesis, or theory: dogs pant when they are hot.

What hospital procedure did Dr. Semmelweis find mostly prevented childbed fever?

A person studying foods of ancient human populations might want to consult with a scientist because

Scientists always work only with other scientists because no other field of study really applies to science.

In your experiment in #9, if the plant(s) treated with fertilizer grew faster, would that prove plants grow faster with fertilizer?

How did Charles Darwin's original hypothesis that organisms evolved by natural selection become an important scientific theory?

What actually causes childbed fever?

Why doesn't science work as a way of seeking answers about faith?

The natural world mostly works in a regular, repeatable, predictable way.

If more and more empirical observations tend to support your hypothesis, what can you probably conclude?

Why did Dr. Semmelweiss think that that improved ventilation at the hospital might help decrease incidence of childbed fever?

Which of the following would be the most effective experimental design for an experiment measuring the effect of a particular fertilizer on plant growth?

If you accept that science is a reliable way of learning about the natural world, why is it unreasonable for you to accept the idea that all life on earth was created in a week, a few thousand years ago?

What does science require that pseudoscience does not?

If strep throat isn't really dangerous, why is it important to test for it?

As soon as Dr. Semmelweis figured out that sterilization of hands dramatically reduces incidences of childbed fever, why didn't all hospitals adopt the practice?

The Nature of Biology and Evolution

Human Development

Inheritance, Genes, and Physical Characteristics

Cancer

Reproduction

Plants, Agriculture, and Genetic Engineering

Health Care and the Human Genome

Evolution

The Evolution of Disease

Homeostasis

Circulation and Respiration

The Nervous System

Infectious Diseases and the Immune System

Nutrition, Activity, and Wellness

Ecology

Biodiversity and Human Affairs

Human Population Growth

Filters

Exam 2: The Nature of Science

Creationism, or the idea that all species now on Earth were created just as they are now, is pseudoscience because

Which of the following assumptions of science is illustrated by this statement: No matter what kind of plant you grow, it will need water.

Which of the following claims about French fries are NOT examples of pseudoscience?

What is Dr. Robert Koch generally most famous for?

Is this statement an observation, hypothesis, or theory: dogs pant when they are hot.

What hospital procedure did Dr. Semmelweis find mostly prevented childbed fever?

A person studying foods of ancient human populations might want to consult with a scientist because

Scientists always work only with other scientists because no other field of study really applies to science.

In your experiment in #9, if the plant(s) treated with fertilizer grew faster, would that prove plants grow faster with fertilizer?

How did Charles Darwin's original hypothesis that organisms evolved by natural selection become an important scientific theory?

What actually causes childbed fever?

Why doesn't science work as a way of seeking answers about faith?

The natural world mostly works in a regular, repeatable, predictable way.

If more and more empirical observations tend to support your hypothesis, what can you probably conclude?

Why did Dr. Semmelweiss think that that improved ventilation at the hospital might help decrease incidence of childbed fever?

Which of the following would be the most effective experimental design for an experiment measuring the effect of a particular fertilizer on plant growth?

If you accept that science is a reliable way of learning about the natural world, why is it unreasonable for you to accept the idea that all life on earth was created in a week, a few thousand years ago?

What does science require that pseudoscience does not?

If strep throat isn't really dangerous, why is it important to test for it?

As soon as Dr. Semmelweis figured out that sterilization of hands dramatically reduces incidences of childbed fever, why didn't all hospitals adopt the practice?

The Nature of Biology and Evolution

Human Development

Inheritance, Genes, and Physical Characteristics

Cancer

Reproduction

Plants, Agriculture, and Genetic Engineering

Health Care and the Human Genome

Evolution

The Evolution of Disease

Homeostasis

Circulation and Respiration

The Nervous System

Infectious Diseases and the Immune System

Nutrition, Activity, and Wellness

Ecology

Biodiversity and Human Affairs

Human Population Growth

Filters