CAEC: Science: inquiry skills and data

All 19 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. A sample has a mass of 2.5 kg. What is its mass in grams?

   1. 25 g
   2. 25 000 g
   3. 250 g
   4. 2 500 g

2. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

   Based on the sugar experiment's results, about how long would sugar take to dissolve in water at 40 °C?

   1. About 20 s
   2. About 100 s
   3. About 65 s
   4. About 40 s

3. In a test of a new fertilizer, one group of plants gets no fertilizer. What is this group called?

   1. The hypothesis group
   2. The variable group
   3. The control group
   4. The dependent group

4. Which tool measures the angle between two lines in a diagram?

   1. A balance
   2. A protractor
   3. A ruler
   4. A stopwatch

5. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

   How could the sugar experiment be made more reliable?

   1. Stop the timer whenever the student starts to feel tired
   2. Test only one water temperature many times in a row instead
   3. Use a different amount of sugar in each of the three beakers
   4. Repeat each temperature several times and average the times

6. Which tool should be used to measure 45 mL of liquid accurately?

   1. A thermometer
   2. A beaker with no markings
   3. A graduated cylinder
   4. A metre stick

7. An experiment shows that seeds sprout faster in warm soil. How could a gardener use this result?

   1. Wait until the soil warms up before planting seeds
   2. Plant the seeds in frozen soil in order to save time
   3. Plant the seeds only on cloudy and cool spring days
   4. Water the seeds with ice cubes to help them sprout

8. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

   Why does the student use 200 mL of water and 10 g of sugar in every beaker of the sugar experiment?

   1. To make the sugar take longer to dissolve completely
   2. To keep these variables controlled so the test is fair
   3. To change the independent variable between the beakers
   4. To be able to drink the sugar water results afterward

9. A gardener notices slugs eat her lettuce more on rainy nights. Which question could she test?

   1. Are slugs the ugliest of all the animals in a garden?
   2. Why do most people dislike rainy weather in the spring?
   3. Do slugs eat more lettuce when the soil is wet?
   4. Should gardeners learn to like slugs in their gardens?

10. A cleaning product's label shows a skull and crossbones in a red diamond. What does this WHMIS pictogram warn about?

    1. It is a gas that is stored under high pressure
    2. It can cause death or toxicity with short exposure
    3. It can corrode metals and burn a person's skin
    4. It is flammable and catches fire very easily

11. What SI unit is used to measure mass?

    1. Metre
    2. Newton
    3. Litre
    4. Kilogram

12. A student wants to show what percent of a class prefers each of four sports. Which graph is best?

    1. A line graph
    2. A double line graph
    3. A circle graph
    4. A scatterplot

13. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

    In the sugar-dissolving experiment, what is the dependent variable?

    1. Size of the beakers
    2. Time for the sugar to dissolve
    3. Temperature of the water
    4. Speed of stirring

14. In the sugar-dissolving experiment, what is the independent variable?

    1. Time to dissolve
    2. Volume of water
    3. Water temperature
    4. Amount of sugar

15. Which is a testable hypothesis about plants and light?

    1. Bean plants are the nicest and easiest plants to grow at home.
    2. Some people like to keep their plants near a sunny window.
    3. Light is important for many different living things on Earth.
    4. If bean plants get more hours of light, then they will grow taller.

16. Students measure how far toy cars roll down a ramp. Why should they release every car from the same height?

    1. So release height does not affect the results
    2. So the cars roll as far as possible
    3. So the ramp becomes the dependent variable
    4. So they can skip measuring distance

17. A student tests whether the temperature of water affects how fast sugar dissolves. She uses three beakers with 200 mL of water at 10 °C, 25 °C and 50 °C. In each, she stirs in 10 g of sugar at the same speed and times how long it takes to dissolve. Results: 10 °C: 95 s; 25 °C: 60 s; 50 °C: 28 s.

    What conclusion do the results of the sugar experiment support?

    1. Sugar dissolves faster in warmer water
    2. Temperature has no effect on dissolving
    3. Stirring speed matters more than temperature
    4. Sugar dissolves faster in colder water

18. A thermometer in an experiment always reads 2 °C higher than the true temperature. What kind of error is this?

    1. A controlled variable
    2. A random error
    3. A systematic error
    4. A placebo effect

19. Which WHMIS pictogram is used for products that can burn skin and eyes or damage metal?

    1. Gas cylinder
    2. Exclamation mark
    3. Corrosion
    4. Flame over circle