Deck 3: The Process of Science

Question 1

W Which of the following represent ways to communicate?

A) Talk
B) Gesture
C) Sing
D) Write
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

teacher sets a collection of many different kinds of shells around the room on plates that are labeled with the name of each shell, and instructs the students to write their observations of each. What would the teacher expect to read?

A) Colors
B) Sizes
C) Shapes
D) Markings
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Answer 2

E

Question 3

A science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the process of observation. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) In the morning exercises, ask children what they saw on their way to school.
B) Record the outdoor temperature each day at noon.
C) Compare the textures of several different kinds of wood.
D) List birds as to whether they walk or hop when they are on the ground.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

How many centimeters are there in a meter?

A) 1
B) 10
C) 100
D) 1000

Question 5

According to the text, scientific inquiry begins with

A) Observation.
B) Hypothesis formation.
C) Experimentation.
D) Asking questions.

Question 6

When people talk about "doing" science, they are referring to

A) Applying science to society's needs.
B) Gaining scientific literacy.
C) Improving attitudes toward science.
D) Applying the processes of science.

Question 7

According to science, how many senses do we have?

A) 4
B) 5
C) 12
D) More than 30

Question 8

W In classification, the term "class inclusion" refers to

A) The many ways there are of classifying a collection.
B) Forming subgroups within each main group.
C) Separating a collection of similar items into two groups.
D) Identifying two ways of forming main groups of items in a collection

Question 9

class of students is asked to count the number of points on each of several palm-shaped leaves and then compare them. What kind of observation are the students engaging in?

A) Quantitative
B) Qualitative
C) Summary
D) Intermittent
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 10

W Which is the longest length?

A) 1 meter
B) 1 yard
C) 1 kilometer
D) 1 mile

Question 11

An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the skill of classifying. What would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Have the students group a collection of stones and name each group.
B) Have the students organize a collection of bolts into two groups and name each group.
C) Have the students find the variables that can affect how fast a parachute falls to the ground.
D) Have the students list the characteristics of bird nests.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 12

Which of the following represent ways to communicate?

A) Concept maps
B) Graphs
C) Charts
D) Drawings
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 13

W When are most children cognitively capable of classifying a collection in several different ways and forming meaningful subgroups?

A) Preschool - 1st grade
B) 2nd - 3rd grade
C) 4th - 5th grade
D) 6th grade and later

Question 14

Which is the most universally-employed scientific process?

A) Observation
B) Hypothesis formulation
C) Experimentation
D) Model building
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 15

What is the conversion between centimeters and millimeters?

A) 1 cm = 1 mm
B) 1 cm = 10 mm
C) 1 cm = 100 mm
D) 1 cm = 1000 mm

Question 16

A science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the skill of classifying. Which of the following would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Have the students line up in three columns according to height.
B) Have the students line up in three columns where each column represents a different characteristic of the students.
C) PlayThe Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns and ask students to identify the category of instrument that is featured in each section.

Question 17

How many different and correct ways are there to classify a collection of buttons?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 6
D) As many ways as there are children classifying the collection

Question 18

W How many centimeters are there in an inch?

A) 1
B) 2.5
C) 10
D) 100

Question 19

science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the process of observation. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) Reconstruct skeletons found in owl pellets.
B) Chart the visible planets on a nighttime sky watch.
C) Examine several different bird feathers.
D) List dinosaurs as to whether they were meat-eaters or plant-eaters.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 20

W A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in communicating. Which of the following would be the most suitable activity?

A) Show a PowerPoint presentation of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and engage the class in a discussion during the presentation.
B) Set up an apparatus in which students explore the direction light rays take when passing through concave, convex, and plane lenses, and ask them to draw the paths.
C) Ask students to write descriptions of the behavior of the gerbils in the class gerbil cage in response to loud sounds.
D) Ask students to develop a time line of major events in the history of the earth.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 21

W Which of the following illustrates the Piagetian principle of conservation?

A) A pre-kindergarten teacher shows a student a ball of clay, rolls it into a pencil-shaped length, and asks the student whether the amount of clay increased, decreased, or stayed the same before and after.
B) A pre-kindergarten teacher gives a student a bag of pennies and asks the student to count the number of pennies it takes to cover a 3"x5" card.
C) A pre-kindergarten teacher shows a student three plants in various stages of health, and asks the student to pick out the healthiest plant.
D) A pre-kindergarten teacher provides a ramp and a ball, sets the ramp at various heights, and asks the student which height will enable the ball to roll down the plank the fastest.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 22

A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in measuring length. What is the most appropriate activity?

A) Ask students to use a yardstick to find out how long the playground is.
B) Ask students to count the number of Lego's that will fit on the end of a sheet of paper.
C) Ask students to count the number of square tiles on the hall floor and multiply this number by the length of one tile.
D) Ask students to measure their heights and construct a graph of heights.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 23

In what grade are most students likely to be able to conserve volume?

A) PK - 2nd grade
B) 3rd grade - 4th grade
C) 5th grade - 6th grade
D) Middle grades
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 24

An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of weighing. What would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Provide a two-pan balance and ask students to find how many pennies it takes to balance a small rock.
B) Provide a meter stick and ask students to find how many meters long the classroom is.
C) Provide several small drinking cups and ask students to find how many cups of water it takes to fill a coffee can.
D) Provide a thermometer and ask students to record the outdoor temperature at 9:00am each day for two weeks.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 25

W An elementary science teacher wants to provide the students with practice in the skill of predicting. What would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Ask students to guess which of three rocks would be the heaviest and then have them weigh each rock.
B) Ask students to guess which of several objects would grow and then have them plant each object.
C) Ask students which string on a guitar will make the highest pitch and then have them pluck each string.
D) Ask students where in the school yard they are most likely to find ants and then take them outdoors to observe the school yard.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 26

W Which is a unit of weight?

A) Liter
B) Kilogram
C) Mile
D) Pound

Question 27

W What is a relationship between weight and mass at the same place on earth?

A) 1 g = 1/1000 kg.
B) 1 lb = 16 oz.
C) 1 kg = 2.2 lbs.
D) 1 lb = 2.2 kg.

Question 28

A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of predicting. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) Ask students what will happen to the temperature of water if they dissolve Epsom salts in it, and then have them measure the water's temperature before and after adding the Epsom salts.
B) Ask students which of several seeds will sprout the fastest, and then have them plant one of each kind.
C) Ask students what will happen to fresh water seaweed in a tank if they added 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 drops of vinegar to simulate acid rain, and then have them try it.
D) Ask students what will happen to rocks if they are tumbled in a rock tumbler, and then have them do it.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 29

A science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the skill of identifying and controlling variables. What would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Ask students to list the factors that affect the quality of reception on a cell phone, and describe how they could tell which has the greatest effect.
B) Ask students to name factors that can influence a person's weight and describe how they could tell which has the greatest influence.
C) Provide students with a prism and a source of light and ask them to list the factors that affect the location and strength of the resulting spectrum, describe how they could tell which has the greatest effect, and then try each.
D) Provide students with a beaker of water, a hot plate, a stirring rod, and some Epsom salts. Ask them to list the factors they need to take into consideration when they use the materials to grow crystals of Epsom salts, describe how they could tell which has the greatest effect, and then try each.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 30

In identifying variables, students look for

A) Colors.
B) Sizes.
C) Weights.
D) Everything that might have an effect on the system being studied.

Question 31

Which of the following can be used by elementary school students to measure intervals of time?

A) Counting by "one-one-thousand"
B) Looking at a clock
C) Using a stopwatch
D) Using an hour glass
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 32

W How many milliliters are there in 1 liter?

A) 1
B) 10
C) 100
D) 1000

Question 33

W What is a hypothesis?

A) A statement of conclusion of an experiment
B) A statement of what would happen to a variable if that variable were subjected to a different variable
C) A statement of detailed qualitative and quantitative observations of the interactions between two variables
D) A statement of how two variables might change if they interacted with each other
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 34

A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of measuring volume. What would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Provide a rectangular block of wood and ask students to measure the length of each side.
B) Provide a small rock and ask students to drop the rock into a graduated cylinder that has been partially filled with water, recording the volume before and after the rock was dropped.
C) Provide a 1000-ml cylinder and a cup measure and ask students to determine how many cups it takes to fill the cylinder.
D) Provide three containers with different shapes, all of which hold the same volume, and ask students which holds the most.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 35

An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of inferring. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) Provide students specific directions for making sugar crystals and then have them follow these directions to make the crystals.
B) Provide students two balloons, one filled with air and one filled with helium, and ask them to tell which goes up and which sinks.
C) Provide students with a collection of bird bones and ask them to describe their common characteristics.
D) Provide students with an irregularly shaped rock and ask them to measure its volume.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 36

W The primary difference between predicting and inferring is that

A) Predicting asks what will happen next and inferring asks why something happened.
B) Inferring asks what will happen next and predicting asks why something happened.
C) Predicting asks what will happen next and inferring is a guess as to what will happen next.
D) There is no difference between predicting and inferring.

Question 37

W A science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the skill of identifying and controlling variables. What would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Provide students with yo-yo's and ask them to list the factors that influence whether it will come back up after it is dropped, describe how they could tell which has the greatest effect, and then try each.
B) Provide students with mechanical tops and ask them to list the factors that influence how long it will spin, describe how they could tell which has the greatest effect, and then try each.
C) Provide students with a covered plastic container of cream and ask them to list the factors that influence how long it takes the cream to turn into butter when the container is shaken, describe how they could tell which has the greatest effect, and then try each.
D) Ask students to name the factors that influence the weather.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 38

W The liter is closest in volume to which of the following?

A) Cup
B) Pint
C) Quart
D) Gallon

Question 39

What is the relationship between a cubic centimeter (cc) and a milliliter (ml)?

A) 1 cc = 1 ml.
B) 1 cc = 10 ml.
C) 1 cc = 100 ml.
D) 1 cc = 1000 ml.

Question 40

Which is a unit of mass?

A) Liter
B) Kilogram
C) Mile
D) Pound

Question 41

Why is it important to use process-oriented objectives in planning lessons?

A) So the teacher will know what to do in the lesson
B) So the students will know what is expected of them in the lesson
C) So the lesson will focus on doing science instead of learning about science
D) So the administrators will know what the lesson is all about
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 42

W What is an example of quantitative data?

A) The length of time it takes a car to stop after the driver slams on the brakes
B) The average length of hours of daylight in each of the four seasons in middle USA
C) The change in the temperature of raw hamburger meat put under an infrared light for 60 minutes
D) The change in a car's tire pressure before and immediately after a 100-mile trip
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 43

W A middle grades science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of interpreting data. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) Ask students to construct a graph showing the amount of sugar water put on the grass in the school yard and the number of ants the sugar water attracts.
B) Ask students to construct a graph showing the pH of water when varying amounts of vinegar are added.
C) Ask students to measure the width of a simulated river in a tray of sand and the length of time a stream of water ran down the sand in the tray.
D) Ask students to measure the strength of several magnets in terms of the number of paper clips each magnet attracts and holds.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 44

W Which of the following is a scientific model?

A) A diagram of a molecule of water
B) A diagram of a Morse code transmitter
C) A diagram of the effect of a convex lens on two parallel rays of light
D) A diagram of a shark's digestive system
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 45

W A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of defining operationally. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) The teacher provides a board with interchangeable gears and asks students to find the combination of two interlocking gears that produces the greatest change in gear speed.
B) The teacher asks the students to identify factors that can lead to childhood obesity.
C) The teacher provides the students with a time line of the major events that have occurred in the history of the earth and asks students to estimate how long the most recent ice age lasted.
D) The teacher provides students with sugar, water, a beaker, and a hot plate, and asks them to devise a way of making crystals.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 46

What is an independent variable?

A) A variable that causes a change in another variable
B) A variable that is changed because of something being done to it
C) A variable that cannot be controlled by the experimenter
D) A variable that cannot be identified

Question 47

Which kind of data is being collected when students observe the behavior of mealworms?

A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Both qualitative and quantitative
D) Neither qualitative nor quantitative

Question 48

W A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in forming hypotheses. Which of the following would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Provide students with a microscope slide of swamp water, some salt water, and a microscope. Ask them to tell what would happen to the microscopic organisms if they were subjected to the salt water, and then have them do it.
B) Provide students with pictures of several endangered species of animals in their natural habitats, and ask them to name each type of habitat.
C) Provide students with an earthworm, some sugar solution, and some vinegar, and ask them to tell which the earthworm will be more attracted to, and then try it.
D) Provide students with seedlings and covered boxes, each of which is illuminated with a different colored Christmas tree light bulb, and ask them to tell which color or colors will foster the greatest plant growth, and then try it.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 49

Which of the following represents an operational definition?

A) A table is four feet long.
B) A person weighs 97 pounds.
C) A slow moving train is a train that travels 30 miles per hour or less.
D) A car is traveling at 60 miles per hour.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 50

W When is an operational definition needed?

A) When you measure the length of a desk
B) When you decide what is meant by a "broken egg"
C) When you weigh a balloon before and after blowing it up
D) When you calculate the period of a pendulum
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 51

W An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with practice in the skill of experimenting. Which of the following questions would most likely be investigated through experimenting?

A) Why do leaves turn color in the autumn?
B) How many volts of electricity does it take to light a flashlight bulb?
C) What happens to limestone when you drop vinegar on it?
D) What happens to a hardboiled egg put into a glass of water when I add salt to the water?
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 52

W Quantitative data is best expressed with which of the following?

A) Descriptions
B) Drawings
C) Graphs
D) Data tables
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 53

Qualitative data is best expressed with which of the following?

A) Descriptions
B) Drawings
C) Graphs
D) Data tables
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 54

An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with experience in the skill of constructing models. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) The teacher provides students with some modeling clay and asks them to make a boat that will float.
B) The teacher asks the students to name the planets in order.
C) The teacher asks the students to draw or describe the life cycle of a beetle.
D) The teacher asks the students to draw a diagram of the convection currents they observed in a beaker of water that was being heated.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 55

A science teacher wants to provide students with practice in forming hypotheses. Which of the following would be the most appropriate activity?

A) Provide students with an inclined plane and ask them to write what would happen to a toy car if the car were to roll down the plank.
B) Provide students with an inclined plane and ask them to write the possible relationship between how steep the inclined plane is and how fast a toy car rolls down the plank.
C) Provide students with an inclined plane and several toy cars of different weights, and ask them to write what would happen to each car if it were to roll down the plank.
D) Provide students with an inclined plane and ask them to write what would happen to a toy car if it were dropped over the side of the plank.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above

Question 56

An elementary science teacher wants to provide students with practice in interpreting data. What would be the most suitable activity?

A) Take children on a nighttime sky viewing trip and ask them to record what they see.
B) Take children on a nature trip to the school grounds and ask them to list what they see.
C) Show children several inflated balloons and ask them to describe their similarities and differences.
D) Blow up a balloon to various diameters, fix it on a string with a short piece of drinking straw taped to the balloon, and let it go. Ask children to record the diameter and distance traveled of each balloon.
E) All of the above
F) None of the above