Question 1

The ability of the atmospheric pressure hypothesis to link the behavior of barometers with the behavior of siphons and vacuum pumps is an illustration of:

Accepted Answer

A)   Internal coherence.
B)   External consistency.
C)   Fruitfulness.
D)   Adequacy.
E)   Reductivity. A

Question 2

Pasteur's hypothesis involving spontaneous generation was:

Accepted Answer

A)   Life arises from the application of heat to nutrient solutions.
B)   Life comes only from life.
C)   Primitive life forms are present in yeast.
D)   Life forms are present in the tails of comets.
E)   Life arises from the spontaneous synthesis of organic chemicals. B

Question 3

In regard to the discovery of Neptune, the work of Adams and Leverrier:

Accepted Answer

A)   Told astronomers where to look for the new planet.
B)   Predicted the color of the new planet.
C)   Predicted the mineral composition of the new planet.
D)   Served to correct errors in the calculated orbit of Uranus.
E)   Revealed for the first time the gravitational interaction between Uranus, Jupiter, and Saturn. A

Question 4

One of the hypotheses Pasteur offered to explain the emergence of microbes in sterilized nutrient solutions was that:

Accepted Answer

A)   Microbes were deposited by dust particles in the air.
B)   Temperature resistant spores were present in the solution prior to boiling.
C)   Microbes arose from the agency of oxygen on the solution.
D)   The container holding the solution had not been properly sanitized.
E)   Microbes arose from a chemical reaction in the solution.

Question 5

The ability of Kepler's hypothesis to account for the position of the planets with greater accuracy than Copernicus's relates to the issue of:

Accepted Answer

A)   External consistency.
B)   Adequacy.
C)   Fruitfulness.
D)   Internal coherence.
E)   Reductivity.

Question 6

A key discovery underlying Marie Curie's hypothesis about radium was that:

Accepted Answer

A)   Pitchblende emits less radiation than pure uranium.
B)   Thorium emits more radiation than pitchblende.
C)   Pitchblende emits more radiation than pure uranium.
D)   Pitchblende emits more radiation than radium.
E)   Radium emits more radiation than thorium.

Question 7

Which of the following problems would likely require a hypothetical explanation?

Accepted Answer

A)   Why you apply sunscreen when you go to the beach.
B)   Why your gas powered lawnmower refuses to start.
C)   Why you spray fertilizer on the plants in your garden.
D)   Why you get a haircut.
E)   Why the fish you put in the refrigerator a week ago smells bad.

Question 8

One of Pasteur's hypotheses was that:

Accepted Answer

A)   Boiling a nutrient solution destroyed its "vegetative force."
B)   Worms in rotting meat are caused by flies.
C)   A microscope would reveal multiple life forms in pond water.
D)   Heating oxygen destroyed its capacity to produce life.
E)   Life forms are carried by dust particles in the atmosphere.

Question 9

If an implication derived from a hypothesis turns out to be true, then:

Accepted Answer

A)   The implication is used to test other hypotheses.
B)   The hypothesis is proven to be true.
C)   The hypothesis becomes a law.
D)   The hypothesis is usually discarded.
E)   The hypothesis is inductively supported.

Question 10

One of the implications of the atmospheric pressure hypothesis was:

Accepted Answer

A)   It is impossible to produce a pure vacuum.
B)   The pressure of the atmosphere would support a column of mercury about 29 inches high.
C)   The pressure of the atmosphere is higher on mountaintops than it is in valleys.
D)   The pressure of the atmosphere would support a column of water about 29 inches high.
E)   Water freezes at a lower temperature at sea level than it does on mountaintops.

Question 11

A hypothesis is:

Accepted Answer

A)   A conjecture created by the mind of the investigator.
B)   A conclusion derived from the evidence.
C)   A deductive implication from a higher level theory.
D)   A prediction derived from prior observations.
E)   A refined observation suggested by preliminary observations.

Question 12

The ability of Pasteur's hypothesis to suggest procedures for maintaining sterile conditions in hospitals is an illustration of:

Accepted Answer

A)   Internal coherence.
B)   Adequacy.
C)   External consistency.
D)   Fruitfulness.
E)   Reductivity.

Question 13

The degree to which a hypothesis does not conflict with other, well established hypotheses is a measure of its:

Accepted Answer

A)   External consistency.
B)   Respectability.
C)   Internal coherence.
D)   Fruitfulness.
E)   Adequacy.

Question 14

Prior to the work of Louis Pasteur, the emergence of organisms such as worms, frogs, and eels was explained by:

Accepted Answer

A)   The theory that nature abhors a vacuum.
B)   The theory that organisms of this sort are causes by flies.
C)   The theory that organisms of this sort are caused by cosmic dust.
D)   The theory of spontaneous generation.
E)   Aristotle's theory of hylomorphism.

Question 15

The extent to which a hypothesis suggests new ideas for future analysis and confirmation is a measure of its:

Accepted Answer

A)   Internal coherence.
B)   Adequacy.
C)   Fruitfulness.
D)   External consistency.
E)   Rationality.

Question 16

In relation to earlier theories, Maxwell's theory of the electromagnetic field, which unified the phenomena of light, electricity, and magnetism, is:

Accepted Answer

A)   More externally consistent.
B)   More adequate.
C)   More fruitful.
D)   More internally coherent.
E)   More phenomenalistic.

Question 17

The hypotheses leading to the discovery of Neptune and Radium can be called:

Accepted Answer

A)   Conditional hypotheses.
B)   Theoretical hypotheses.
C)   Astronomical hypotheses.
D)   Conceptual hypotheses.
E)   Empirical hypothesis.

Question 18

Hypothetical reasoning is used to produce an explanation for the occurrence of a phenomenon when:

Accepted Answer

A)   The phenomenon is not observable.
B)   The reason for its occurrence is incomprehensible.
C)   The phenomenon is not measurable.
D)   The reason for its occurrence is not immediately observable.
E)   The reason for its occurrence lies outside the realm of science.

Question 19

Marie Curie discovered radium by breaking down:

Accepted Answer

A)   Polonium.
B)   Uranium.
C)   Thorium.
D)   Pitchblende.
E)   Plutonium.

Question 20

The key problem underlying the discovery of radium was:

Accepted Answer

A)   Why certain isotopes of thorium are radioactive.
B)   Why uranium has the power to darken photographic plates.
C)   Why pitchblende emits rays that are stronger than rays emitted by pure uranium.
D)   Why rays emitted by thorium are stronger than rays emitted by uranium.
E)   Why X-rays are stronger than rays emitted by pure uranium.

Exam 13: Hypotheticalscientific Reasoning