Deck 11: Judging Scientific Theories

Question 1

The first step in the scientific method is…

A) Observe
B) Derive a test implication or prediction
C) Identify the problem or pose a question
D) Perform a test

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The conditional argument that expresses the logical pattern of disconfirming a hypothesis is called…

A) Modus ponens
B) Denying the antecedent
C) Affirming the consequent
D) Modus tollens

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A clinical trial without a control group is generally…

A) Unreliable
B) Reliable
C) Replicated
D) Confirmed

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Science is distinct from technology because unlike technology, science…

A) Is a specific worldview
B) Has no particular methodology
C) Is a way of searching for truth
D) Is irrelevant to the practical concerns of life

Question 5

The fallacious leap to a nonnatural explanation for a phenomenon is an example of the fallacy of…

A) Appeal to ignorance
B) Begging the question
C) Straw man
D) Division

Question 6

A nonintervention study is also known as a…

A) Noninvasive study
B) Population study
C) Group study
D) Double-blind trial

Question 7

According to actively publishing climate scientists, climate change is best explained by…

A) The Earth's natural cycles of warming and cooling
B) Human activity
C) Surges in the sun's energy
D) Volcanic eruptions

Question 8

Reasoning for the purpose of supporting a predetermined conclusion, rather than for the purpose of uncovering the truth is known as…

A) Confirmation bias
B) Fallacious reasoning
C) Motivated reasoning
D) Scientism

Question 9

The scientific method cannot be identified with any particular set of experimental or observational…

A) Parameters
B) Goals
C) Formulas
D) Procedures

Question 10

If something violates a law of science, it is …

A) Physically possible
B) Experimentally possible
C) Physically impossible
D) Technically possible

Question 11

To test a hypothesis, scientists must…

A) Not reason deductively
B) Accurately predict the outcome of tests
C) Ignore test implications of the hypothesis
D) Derive a test implication from the hypothesis

Question 12

In double-blind experiments…

A) Test results are unacceptable
B) Neither the participants nor experimenters know who receives the real treatment
C) Only the experimenters know who receives the real treatment
D) Placebos are not used

Question 13

The criterion of conservatism is a measure of…

A) How well a theory fits with existing knowledge
B) The amount of diverse phenomena explained
C) The number of novel predictions made
D) The number of assumptions made

Question 14

Something is logically impossible if…

A) It violates a law of science
B) It violates a principle of logic
C) It cannot be tested
D) It is difficult to understand

Question 15

The best theory to explain the performances of psychics who claim to speak to spirits of the dead is…

A) Blind reading
B) Cold reading
C) Electromagnetism
D) Slight of hand

Question 16

The worst fault of the theory that global warming is caused by natural cycles of warming and cooling is that it falls short on the criterion of…

A) Scope
B) Testability
C) Simplicity
D) Conservatism

Question 17

Maintaining a hypothesis in the face of mounting negative evidence is…

A) Unreasonable
B) Impossible
C) Acceptable
D) Reasonable

Question 18

Why is science such a reliable way to acquire knowledge?

Question 19

Why do scientists derive test implications from hypotheses?

Question 20

What conditional arguments are used in the testing of hypotheses?

Question 21

What is the difference between physical impossibility and logical possible?