CAEC: Science: the nature of science

All 12 questions in this test

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

1. A study praising a sports drink was paid for by the company that sells it. What is the main concern?

   1. Funding could bias how the study was designed or reported
   2. Companies are not allowed to do any kind of scientific research
   3. The study must have used far too many participants to be valid
   4. The sports drink is probably dangerous to the people who use it

2. A student notes, "The leaves on the plant are yellow." What kind of statement is this?

   1. A theory
   2. An inference
   3. A hypothesis
   4. An observation

3. In a drug trial, some patients get a sugar pill instead of the real drug. What is the sugar pill called?

   1. A placebo
   2. A sample
   3. A hypothesis
   4. A variable

4. Which statement is an inference rather than an observation?

   1. The plant is probably getting too much water.
   2. The soil in the pot feels wet when touched.
   3. The plant measures exactly 24 cm tall.
   4. Three of the lower leaves have brown spots.

5. Why do scientists try to replicate an experiment done by another lab?

   1. To check that the results hold up when repeated
   2. To make the original results look weaker
   3. To avoid writing their own hypothesis
   4. To copy the other lab's work for credit

6. Which statement best describes how scientific knowledge develops?

   1. Only famous scientists can add new ideas
   2. Science is a list of facts to memorize
   3. Once published, a theory can never change
   4. Ideas can change when new evidence is found

7. Why should participants be assigned to treatment and control groups at random?

   1. So the researcher can choose the healthiest people
   2. So the groups are alike except for the treatment
   3. So the results always support the hypothesis
   4. So the study needs fewer participants

8. Which question can be investigated through scientific inquiry?

   1. Which painting in the city's art gallery is the best one?
   2. Is a sunset in the summer more beautiful than a sunrise?
   3. Should people be allowed to keep snakes as household pets?
   4. Does the amount of fertilizer change how tall bean plants grow?

9. Before a study is published in a journal, other experts check its methods and conclusions. What is this process called?

   1. Replication
   2. Blinding
   3. Peer review
   4. Random sampling

10. Why does a larger sample size make a study's results more reliable?

    1. It makes the study finish much more quickly
    2. It guarantees that the hypothesis is correct
    3. Chance differences between individuals have less effect
    4. It removes any need to have a control group

11. In a double-blind study, who knows which participants receive the real treatment during the study?

    1. Only the participants taking part
    2. Only the researchers running it
    3. Everyone involved in the study
    4. Neither participants nor the researchers

12. A researcher reports only the trials that supported her idea and leaves out the rest. What is this an example of?

    1. A controlled variable
    2. Random sampling
    3. Selective reporting
    4. Peer review