Deck 1: Science: a Way of Knowing: How Do You Know What You Know

Question 1

Which of the following would be funded by a typical federal grant for scientific research?

A) computer time to run analyses
B) salaries of investigators
C) equipment to conduct the research
D) travel to field sites
E) all of the above

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Peer review in science

A) demoralizes most young scientists before they can become established.
B) is accomplished in the editorial offices of major scientific journals.
C) causes delays between the conclusion of an experiment and the communication of the results.
D) is conducted in confidence by a panel of experts in the field.
E) has become outdated since the advent of computers.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The scientific method depends on

A) reproducible results.
B) clearly stated laws of nature.
C) accurate initial predictions.
D) fact-based hypotheses.
E) communication of findings.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In the mid-nineteenth century, natural philosophers

A) advised the government on policy issues.
B) recommended allocation of funds for research.
C) argued for the natural coalition of church and state.
D) were the landed gentry with little interest in science.
E) understood the workings of all the physical universe.

Question 5

How did Mendeleev organize the periodic table of elements?

A) date of first discovery
B) alphabetically
C) atomic weight of the element
D) total number of electrons
E) ionization energy

Question 6

Determine which of these questions could be researchable using the scientific method.

A) Under what conditions could bass live in a lake?
B) What was the artist thinking when he painted Mona Lisa?
C) Are UFOs related to crop circles?
D) Is there a supreme deity?
E) What is the meaning of life?

Question 7

When scientists have finished research and wish to communicate the results, they are most likely to do which of the following?

A) immediately repeat the research
B) call a press conference and announce pre-publication findings
C) sell their findings to a research and development company
D) write a concise paper and submit it to a scientific journal
E) submit an abstract to a popular science magazine

Question 8

What percent of research grants submitted are federally funded?

A) 10% to 40%
B) 20% to 60%
C) 30% to 70%
D) 40% to 80%
E) 50% to 90%

Question 9

Which statement does not describe a falling object?

A) D = a constant multiplied by (time)².
B) The distance traveled is proportional to time traveled multiplied by time traveled.
C) Distance equals a constant multiplied by time.
D) Time multiplied by a constant squared equals distance.
E) If an object falls three times as long as another, it will travel nine times as far as another.

Question 10

Which of the following statements would be true of the scientific method?

A) The scientific method is a linear process starting with observation and following several other rigidly defined steps.
B) The scientific method is a continuous process by which people learn about the physical universe and share their knowledge with others.
C) Scientists may report findings in such a way that experiments and observations remain known only to the original experimenters.
D) When the results of an experiment do not fit the hypothesis, a scientist may ethically discard the results and repeat the experiment.
E) The scientific method has no connection to the way people conduct their lives every day.

Question 11

A theory is

A) an educated guess based on data collected.
B) a statement that describes how a system will behave.
C) a precise mathematical equation.
D) based on many observations and experiments or tests.
E) a proven hypothesis.

Question 12

Which statement is true about the discipline of science?

A) Science is a set of facts about the physical world.
B) Science provides answers to all questions about our environment.
C) Science is a tool for understanding our physical and biological environment.
D) Science and intuition are mutually exclusive.
E) Science encompasses all of pseudoscience and more.

Question 13

Basic research scientists

A) are interested in inquiry for the sake of acquiring fundamental knowledge.
B) believe in the healing power of meditation.
C) want their research to have practical application to industry or technology.
D) often have their discoveries translated into practical uses.
E) would be likely to have a patent on a discovery.

Question 14

How does science differ from pseudoscience?

A) Scientific hypotheses are always testable.
B) Science requires a lower standard of proof than pseudoscience.
C) Scientific statements are based on anecdotes.
D) Science is just one person's opinion.
E) Science is the quest for absolute truth.

Question 15

Which pair are both examples of pseudoscience?

A) UFO studies and astronomy
B) reincarnation and evolution
C) geology and crystal power
D) astrology and extrasensory perception
E) extrasensory perception and physics

Question 16

Which of the following is considered to be in the realm of science?

A) astrology
B) astronomy
C) creationism
D) extrasensory perception (ESP)
E) crystal power

Question 17

At the time Dimitri Mendeleev produced the first periodic table of the elements, which of the following was not true?

A) There were a little more than 60 known chemical elements.
B) Chemists used the concept of atomic mass.
C) Chemists knew that each element had distinct chemical behaviors.
D) It was the mid-18th century.
E) There were one or two new discoveries of chemical elements each year.

Question 18

In science, every theory must be tested by using it to make

A) a hypothesis.
B) laws of nature.
C) experiments.
D) predictions.
E) a mathematical formula.

Question 19

Laws of nature can be characterized by saying that they

A) arise from repeated observation but no testing.
B) represent our best understanding of how the universe works in certain circumstances.
C) are not subject to change based upon additional observations.
D) always have exceptions and other defects.
E) are the same as absolute truths.

Question 20

What is SETI?

A) a pseudoscience
B) the theory of intelligent life
C) the search for intelligent life
D) the application of science to astrology
E) short-wave interference in radio signals

Question 21

Why is mathematics the language of science?

A) Use of mathematics ensures international cooperation among scientists.
B) Mathematics separates scientists from non-scientists.
C) Mathematics allows scientists to be more accurate in describing an observation of nature.
D) Because scientists are more analytical than creative, mathematics is a way to analyze.
E) Mathematics is like Latin in that it is a way to communicate that few understand.

Question 22

Name at least one major source of funding for American scientific research.

Question 23

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

Question 24

Describe what is meant by peer review. Do you think this system is a good idea? Explain your answer.

Question 25

How is an hypothesis tested?
1) by using the hypothesis to make predictions about a system
2) by comparing observations in nature with predictions
3) by making a new hypothesis

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) By 1 and 2, but not 3
E) By 1, 2, and 3

Question 26

Describe William Harvey's experiments to establish the circulation of the blood.

Question 27

What are two of the ways that statements describing relationships between measurements can be stated?

Question 28

What are some of the ways scientists communicate with each other?

Question 29

Explain the difference between basic research and applied research.

Question 30

As described in this chapter, what were the independent and dependent variables in the Cedar Creek Natural History Area experiment?

Question 31

Why is the scientific process a continuous cycle?

Question 32

Why do scientists reject astrology?

A) Planets do not exert a gravitational force on a newborn baby.
B) Stars do not exert any force on a newborn baby.
C) The Babylonians developed astrology.
D) The Moon is too far away to influence a person's life.
E) There is no evidence that stars can predict the future.

Question 33

What part does creativity play in the scientific method? Give an example.

Question 34

Describe the SETI project.

Question 35

Why do scientists use mathematics?

Question 36

What is the main difference between observations and experiments?

Question 37

Which of the following scientists would study forces of motion in the universe?

A) biologists and chemists
B) physicists and astronomers
C) chemists and geologists
D) geologists and biologists
E) chemists alone

Question 38

Name the three essential parts of every experiment. Give an example of a simple experiment that you might perform and identify these three parts in your experiment.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is a prediction?

A) Mealworms prefer dark environments.
B) High quality balloons filled with atmospheric air will float higher than low quality balloons filled with atmospheric air.
C) Spearmint candies taste better than peppermint candies.
D) Data show that a decrease in food lowers the rate of mealworm reproduction. Therefore, if there is an increase the amount of food available to mealworms, their reproduction rate will increase.
E) Most scientists never communicate their work.

Question 40

Results of scientific experiments must be reproducible. Give an example of how you have reproduced the results of someone else's experiment in everyday life.

Question 41

How does biodiversity protect the natural living system from weather-related stress?

Question 42

Design an experiment to test the importance of temperature in the maturation of grasses.

Question 43

With the limited amount of money available to fund scientific research, some projects must be given priorities over others. If you were reviewing applications for grant funding, what criteria might you use to decide which projects were funded first?

Question 44

Explain the difference between basic science and integrated science.

Question 45

Describe some data that you might graph using measurements you made of time and distance.

Question 46

Describe the interactions between science and society.

Question 47

In what ways did the creation of the periodic table of elements follow the scientific method?

Question 48

Your roommate brings in a newspaper with a headline that reads "Invisible Aliens Walk Among Us." Could you test the validity of this headline? Explain how you could or why you could not.

Question 49

Discuss the reasons scientists might give as a rationale for their career choice.

Question 50

Devise an experiment to test a product seen on television and include all steps in the scientific method.