Fall 2010 Agriscience Midterm
Name (print large and clearly):
Date:
Hr:
Directions: Do NOT open this packet until instructed to do so. There should be absolutely NO TALKING during the exam
unless you have raised your hand and have been called on by the instructor. Failure to do so will result in one verbal
warning, and then a failed test grade.
Students should sit on opposite sides of the lab tables for this exam. DO NOT sit together on the same side.
Select the BEST answer to each question from the options given (more than one may sound right, but there is only one
entirely correct answer per question). Be sure to clearly mark your answers on the Scantron sheet. You may write on
your test packet, but only answers on the Scantron will be considered.
You may use one and only one 3x5” note card with your own handwritten note. This notecard must stay on the desk in
front of you at all times.
Exam test taking tips:
Treat each question like a short answer question if you can. Cover the answers, create an answer in your head, and then
match that answer to those given to find the best answer.
If you do not know an answer, skip it and come back later.
Use information from other questions to help you. One question may help you answer another question.
Cross off answers to eliminate and lower possibilities. If you cannot narrow the options to just one, select the answer
that sounds the best to you and makes the most sense.
Read each question AND each option carefully. Do not select an answer until you have read them all!
Good Luck!
The following are based on the Carbon Cycle:
1. Plants consume most of their carbon from…
a. The air
b. The soil
c. The water
d. None of the above
2. Carbon is most likely to be transformed into which of the following after it is consumed?
a. Oxygen
b. Hydrogen
c. Nitrogen
d. None of the above; the carbon will remain carbon
3. Which of the following contains carbon?
a. Plants
b. Animals
c. Air
d. All of the above contain carbon
4. Which of the following DOES NOT contain carbon
a. Plants
b. Animals
c. Air
d. All of the above contain carbon
5. Which of the following consumes carbon dioxide (CO2)?
a. Plants
b. Animals
c. Decomposers
d. All of the above
6. Which of the following produces carbon dioxide (CO2)?
a. Plants
b. Animals
c. Decomposers
d. All of the above
7. When a log is thrown on a fire it seems to lose weight; what happens to its physical mass?
a. It becomes energy
b. It disappears
c. It is released into the air
d. The log does not change weight or size
8. From where does a log primarily obtain its physical mass when it is growing?
a. From the air
b. From the soil
c. From the water
d. From the seed
9. The Carbon Cycle is best defined as the process in which…
a. Carbon is changed into other elements, including oxygen and hydrogen
b. Carbon changes from inorganic forms to organic forms and back
c. Carbon is consumed and regenerated from other elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen
d. Carbon is continually created from the sun’s energy by living organisms
10. Organisms such as fungi and microbes that are decomposers will affect the carbon cycle by…
a. Consuming carbon, reducing the total amount of carbon that exists in the cycle
b. Releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, increasing atmospheric levels of carbon
c. Creating carbon from other atomic elements (such as oxygen)
d. None of the above; decomposers do not affect the carbon cycle
11. Photosynthesizing plants affect the carbon cycle by…
a. Absorbing CO2, lowering atmospheric levels of carbon
b. Creating more carbon atoms
c. Reducing the amount of carbon in the soil, reducing soil fertility
d. None of the above; plants to do not affect the carbon cycle
12. Animals affect the carbon cycle by…
a. Consuming carbon, reducing the total amount of carbon that exists in the cycle
b. Creating more carbon atoms through cell division
c. Producing CO2, increasing atmospheric levels of carbon
d. None of the above; animals do not affect the carbon cycle
13. The burning of coal and oil for energy affects the carbon cycle in what way?
a. It increases the amount of carbon in existence
b. It decreases the amount of carbon in existence
c. It increases the amount of atmospheric carbon
d. It does not affect the carbon cycle
14. Replacing oil and coal with plant-matter as a source of energy would
atmosphere
a. Increase b. Decrease c. Not affect
the amount of carbon in the
Use the image above to answer the questions below
15. Look at “1”. What process is only occurring here?
a. Photosynthesis b. Respiration c. Decomposition
d. Burning
16. At “1”, what is occurring?
a. C6H12O6 is being broken down into H2O and inorganic CO2
b. H2O and CO2 is being converted into organic C6H12O6.
c. C6H12O6 remains in its organic form
d. C6H12O6 is being created from the energy of the sun
17. Look at “2”. What process is occurring here?
a. Photosynthesis b. Respiration c. Decomposition
d. Burning
18. At “2”, what is occurring?
a. H2O and CO2 is being converted into organic C6H12O6.
b. C6H12O6 remains in its organic form
c. C6H12O6 is being broken down into H2O and inorganic CO2
d. C6H12O6 is being created from the energy of the sun
19. What form of carbon are we most likely to find at “3”?
a. CO2
b. CH4
c. C6H12O6
d. Living Tissue
20. Look at “4”. What process is occurring here?
a. Photosynthesis b. Respiration c. Decomposition
d. Burning
The following are based on Research Posters:
21. This is where we would find the original hypothesis
a. Introduction
b. Methods
c. Results
d. Discussion and Conclusion
22. This is where we would show the data we collected in our experiment
a. Introduction
b. Methods
c. Results
d. Discussion and Conclusion
23. This is where we would discuss whether or not our hypothesis was correct
a. Introduction
b. Methods
c. Results
d. Discussion and Conclusion
24. In which of the following would we describe how we performed our work so that another researcher could
reproduce it?
a. Introduction
b. Methods
c. Results
d. Discussion and Conclusion
25. This is where we would discuss what our data actually means
a. Introduction b. Methods c. Results
d. Discussion and Conclusion
26. Which of the following would be an example of a hypothesis?
a. I expect that the plants given Gatorade will be taller at the end of the experiment.
b. I do not know whether or not Gatorade will increase plant productivity.
c. This makes sense because Gatorade is rich in sugar and other nutrients.
d. Gatorade was first created at the University of Florida by research scientists.
27. Which of the following would be an example of a rationale?
a. I expect that the plants given Gatorade will be taller at the end of the experiment.
b. I do not know whether or not Gatorade will increase plant productivity.
c. This makes sense because Gatorade is rich in sugar and other nutrients.
d. Gatorade was first created at the University of Florida by research scientists.
28. Which of the following would work as background information?
a. I expect that the plants given Gatorade will be taller at the end of the experiment.
b. I do not know whether or not Gatorade will increase plant productivity.
c. This makes sense because Gatorade is rich in sugar and other nutrients.
d. Gatorade was first created at the University of Florida by research scientists.
29. Which of the following could be the research question?
a. I expect that the plants given Gatorade will be taller at the end of the experiment.
b. I do not know whether or not Gatorade will increase plant productivity.
c. This makes sense because Gatorade is rich in sugar and other nutrients.
d. Gatorade was first created at the University of Florida by research scientists.
The following are based on Research Proposals:
30. Which of the following could be a study subject?
a. Adding Gatorade instead of water
b. Height (in centimeters)
c. Radish plants
d. Does Gatorade improve radish height?
31. Which of the following is an example of a dependent variable?
a. Adding Gatorade instead of water
b. Height (in centimeters)
c. Radish plants
d. Does Gatorade improve radish height?
32. Which of the following is an example of an independent variable?
a. Adding Gatorade instead of water
b. Height (in centimeters)
c. Radish plants
d. Does Gatorade improve radish height?
33. What is a rationale?
a. Our reason for thinking our hypothesis is right
b. The information needed to understand an experiment
c. The unknown situation we are trying to figure out
d. The overview of our methods
34. What is the background information?
a. Our reason for thinking our hypothesis is right
b. The information needed to understand an experiment
c. The unknown situation we are trying to figure out
d. The overview of our methods
35. Which of the following would be a proper example of assumptions made in a conclusion?
a. We assume our hypothesis will be proven right
b. We assume that we will actually do this experiment
c. We assume that all plants will receive equal amounts of sunlight and water
d. We assume that we should receive a Novel Prize when we publish our results.
36. Which of the following would best describe the Methods section in a research proposal?
a. A brief overview of what will actually be done
b. A detailed, step-by-step description of how the hypothesis will be tested
c. An analysis of the data and explanation of what it means
d. A description of why the experiment is relevant to the hypothesis
Addition of Jell-O Powder to Ground Corn May Increase Pig Rate of Gain of Weight
W. Wolverine, 6th Hour Agriscience
Waterford Union High School, Waterford, WI
Introduction: (1) The rate at which a pig gains weight is a major concern for swine producers. The faster a pig can gain
weight, and the more efficiently they can gain weight, the more profitable a pig is for a producer (Peehg, et. al, 2007).
(2) From previous experience, I wondered if adding a sweetener like Jell-O mix to the ground corn that pigs ate would
increase their rate of gain. (3) I predict that pigs fed corn mixed with the Jell-O powder would have a greater rate of
gain. (4) This makes sense to me because I personally will eat more of something if it tastes better to me. I also know
that pigs like the taste of Jell-O due to accidentally spilling it into their pen on one occasion. (5) To test this hypothesis, I
will feed a group of a half-dozen pigs standard ground corn, filling their feeders as needed. I will do the same for the six
experimental pigs, except that every time I add a 50 lb. bag of corn to their feeder, I will simultaneously add a 6 oz. box
of Jell-O mix. The pigs will be weighed periodically and this data will be graphed and analyzed to see if it is significantly
different. After 3 months of growth, I will average the weights of each group and compare them to each other.
37. What is Independent Variable in this proposal?
a. Pigs
b. The addition of Jell-O to pig feed
c. Corn
d. Rate of Weight Gain
38. What is the Dependent Variable is this proposal?
a. Pigs
b. The addition of Jell-O to pig feed
c. Corn
d. Rate of Weight Gain
39. Which sentence contains the Hypothesis?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
40. Which sentence contains the Research Question?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
41. Which sentence contains the Rationale/Reason for Hypothesis?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
42. Which sentence contains the Background Information?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
43. Which of the following sections should come after this paragraph?
a. Results
b. Methods
c. Discussion
d. Bibliography
3.5
Final Height (m)
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
Ctrl
2 gal/acre
4 gal/acre
10 gal/acre
Rate of Application
Figure 3: Changes in final height of corn plants based on rate of application of hormone treatment. While an application at a rate
of 4 gallons per acre show significantly greater performance, the 2 gallon/acre rate failed to demonstrate any significantly greater
results. An application of 10 gal/acre was detrimental to the plants, as shown by the significantly lowered peformance.
Use the graph above to answer the questions below
44. What is the independent variable in this experiment?
a. Height b. Corn c. Rate of Hormone Application
d. None of the Above
45. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
a. Height b. Corn c. Rate of Hormone Application
d. None of the Above
46. Which of the following is TRUE?
a. As we add more of the plant hormone, the corn gets taller
b. The corn with 4 gallons of hormone per acre was nearly twice as tall as the control
c. The corn with 2 gallons of hormone per acre was taller than the control
d. There was no statistical difference between the control and the corn that received 2 gallons of hormone
per acre
47. How much hormone did the control group of corn receive?
a. 1 gallon/acre b. 2 gallons/acre
c. No Hormone
d. It is impossible to tell from this chart
48. A scientist is trying to prove that their new herbicide is effective and reducing the prevalence of weeds in a field.
When they graph their data, they realize their error bars overlap. Why is this scientist upset?
a. It indicates they performed their experiment wrong
b. It means that we cannot say that there is any difference between adding herbicide and not adding it.
c. It means that the herbicide definitely does not work
d. It means that we had too many replicates in our experiment.
49. For the experiment above, what would be the best way to reduce the size of the error bars?
a. Re-do the calculations
b. Change the acceptable margin of error
c. Repeat the experiment with more replicates
d. Error bars cannot change; nothing can be done
50. Standard Deviation is a measure of the
a. Variability b. Popularity c. Probability
of the data.
d. Flexibility