Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
1. Linda is curious about how snowflakes form.
Which of the following sentences is the best
hypothesis for Linda to test?
A. Why do snowflakes form?
B. Snowflakes form when water freezes slowly.
C. Something causes snowflakes to form inside
a cloud.
D. Snowflakes are different from rain and sleet.
Date: ______________
4. A scientist has just finished a series of scientific
investigations. He has analyzed the data and
drawn conclusions. What should the scientist do
next so that other scientists can find out about
his work?
A. communicate his results
B. write a scientific theory
2. Ali experimented to find out which freeze
easier, fresh water or salt water. The steps
of his experiment are shown below.
1. Fill two beakers with 250 mL of
room-temperature fresh water
2. Dissolve 30 grams of salt in one of
the beakers
3. Place both beakers in a freezer and
observe which liquid freezes first
Which variable in this experiment is the
independent variable?
A. the type of beaker used to hold the water
B. the amount of salt in each beaker of water
C. the length of time it takes each beaker of water to
freeze
C. start a new investigation
D. repeat the experiment ten times
5. Mario believes he has found the reason that some
things glow in the dark while others do not. What
is the most important thing he will need to do
before his theory will be accepted by other
scientists?
A. Develop an online survey so people can vote on
the accuracy of his theory.
B. Write a book promoting his theory.
C. Create a petition and ask everyone who
believes in his theory to sign it.
D. the type of salt added to one beaker of water
3. Which of the following sentences gives the best
instructions for formulating a hypothesis?
D. Develop and test experiments that can be
repeated to prove his theory.
A. Write a sentence that could be a possible answer
to a question.
B. Write a list of observations you have made on
the subject.
C. Write a step-by-step description of an
experimental procedure.
D. Write a question that you have about a natural
phenomenon.
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Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
6. Elliot wants to compare the density of four
objects to the density of water. Elliot knows that
if an object sinks in water, it has a higher density
than water and that if an object floats in water; it
has a lower density than water.
Which of the following is a scientific investigation
that Elliot could conduct to test the densities of
the objects?
A. Elliot could ask his teacher which object has
the greatest density.
B. Elliot could look up the densities of the objects
in a textbook.
C. Elliot could put the objects in water to see
how much water they absorb.
D. Elliot could put the four objects in water to
see if they sink or float.
7. Wendy did an experiment to see what color of
flower butterflies are most attracted to. In the
first experiment, Wendy found that most of the
butterflies first went to the orange flowers. In
her second experiment, she found that most of
the butterflies first went to the red flowers. In
the third experiment, she found that most of the
butterflies went to yellow flowers.
What is the most likely explanation for this
difference?
A. Butterflies do not see color.
B. The butterflies Wendy used were trying to
confuse her.
C. Butterflies like only orange flowers.
D. Wendy made mistakes recording her
observations during one of the
experiments.
Date: ______________
8. Which of the following questions could best be
investigated using a scientific experiment?
A. How many lady bugs have ever lived?
B. How many seeds are in an apple?
C. How many pebbles are at the bottom of a
river?
D. Why are there insects on Earth?
9.
Gina set up an experiment to see if Supercell
brand batteries last longer than store brand
batteries. She put both kinds of batteries in
similar flashlights, turned the flashlights on and
recorded her observations.
What is a controlled variable in Gina’s
experiment?
A. The type of flashlight she used.
B. Her observations and hypothesis.
C. Amount of time it took each battery to stop
working.
D. The type of batteries she used.
10. Which of the following characteristics must a
hypothesis have?
A. A hypothesis must predict a possible answer
to the question.
B. A hypothesis must always be correct.
C. A hypothesis must be written in English.
D. A hypothesis must be written as a question.
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Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
11.
Date: ______________
Eddie set up a science experiment
with plants. He bought three small
tomato plants, all about the same
size, and set them all on his window
sill. He watered the first plant every
day, the second plant every other
day, and the third plant every third
day, making sure to use the same
amount of water each time. He
planned to measure the height of
each tomato plant after three weeks.
13. Which of the following is a scientific
question that could be used to form
a good hypothesis?
A. How does temperature affect the
growth rate of pea plants?
B. What is the effect of the weather
on a person's mood?
C. How does the flavor of a candy
affect its taste to people?
D. What is the effect of one person's
opinion on another person?
What was the independent variable in
Eddie's experiment?
14. Which instrument measures mass?
A. the number of tomatoes produced
B. how frequently the plants were
watered
A.
B.
C.
D.
ruler
graduated cylinder
beaker
balance scale
C. the amount of sunlight received
D. how tall the plants grew
12. Which of the following is a good
scientific question?
A. What does an astronaut think about
the atmosphere?
B. How does stirring affect the rate at
which a substance dissolves?
C. How does the color of a plant affect
whether it likes to be in the cold?
D. What is the effect of the weather on
the color of clothes my friend likes to
wear?
15. Which would be the best
unit to measure the bean plants
as they grow?
A.
B.
C.
D.
centigrams
centimeters
meters
milliliters
16. Which measuring tool and
unit would be most appropriate
for measuring the weight (or
mass) of a quarter (25¢)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
a
a
a
a
bathroom scale – lbs.
laboratory scale – g
stopwatch – s
thermometer –°F
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Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
Date: ______________
17. To measure volume, the best
Study the chart below and answer
instrument to use would be a ―
questions 20 and 21
A. telescope.
B. balance scale.
C. spring scale.
D. graduated cylinder.
20. The chart shows the students’ eye
18. The drawing below shows
colors in Miss Smith’s class. Based on the
part of a ruler labeled in inches
chart, what is the independent variable?
and centimeters
CM
0
1
2
inch 0
3
4
1
5
2
6
7
8
3
9
10
11
4
About how many centimeters
A
Eye color
B
The number of students
C
There is no independent variable
D
The students with black eyes
are there in three inches?
21. What is the dependent variable in the
A. 2.2 cm
chart?
B. 7.5 cm
A. The students with black eyes
C. 5.0 cm
B. There is no dependent variable
D. 75. cm
C. Eye Color
E.
D. The number of students
19. To measure the distance
between cities, the best unit to
use would be ―
22. Thomas Edison’s development of
the light bulb is an example of an
A. grams.
B. kilometers.
C. kilograms.
D. ounces.
E.
advance in ―
A. scientific inquiry.
B. scientific method.
C. technology.
D. economics.
E.
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Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
23. Janie is doing a laboratory
experiment. She accidentally spills a
chemical in the lab area.
What should Janie do after she spills
the chemical?
Date: ______________
25. Greg's teacher tells the class that
they will be doing an experiment in the
laboratory today, and that the
experiment will involve working with
several chemicals.
A. put a paper towel over the spill
What should Greg do before beginning
B. leave the spill and do not tell anyone
the experiment?
C. tell the teacher about the spill
A.
make sure the lab area is clean
B.
listen to his teacher's instructions
C.
put on his safety goggles
D.
all of these
D. clean up the spill herself
24. What lab instruments are
represented below?
26. Martina is using a ruler to measure
the length of a leaf in centimeters. To
measure the leaf most accurately,
where should she place the end of the
leaf?
A. beaker; funnel; test tube
B. funnel; beaker; graduated syringe
C. beaker, test tube; graduated syringe
D. beaker; test tube; graduated cylinder
A.
position X
B.
position W
C.
position Y
D.
position Z
5
Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
Date: ______________
Use the following scenario to answer
questions 27 - 29
James did an experiment to test the
effect of temperature on the growth of a
certain kind of plant. He recorded his
29. Which graph best represents the
data in the table?
A.
observations in the table below.
Temperature Plant
of Area
Growth
10°C
0 cm
15°C
1.2 cm
20°C
2.3 cm
25°C
1.9 cm
30°C
1.1 cm
27. What is the independent variable in
B.
C.
James’s experiment?
A. Plant growth
B. Temperature
C. Amount of water
D. The kind of plants he used
D.
28. What is the dependent variable in
James’s experiment?
A. The kind of plants he used
B. Temperature
C. Amount of water
D. Plant growth
6
Scientific Theory Study Guide: _____________
Name: _________________________________
Date: ______________
30. Which of the following statements is
an inference?
33. What is the next logical step after
A. The blue bird likes warm climate and
therefore, it migrates south.
investigation?
you identify a question for a scientific
A. Plan for the independent, dependent
B. The blue bird is nests in a tree.
and controlled variables.
C. The blue birds does not migrate
B. Communicate your results
D. The blue bird is migrating north
C. Develop a hypothesis
D. Research your topic
31. John observed that his plant grew
11 cm in seven days. He recorded his
34. Jeff is working with a graduated
observation in his log.
cylinder. The graduated cylinder is filled with
What kind of observation did John make?
18 milliliters of water. He drops a small rock
into the graduated cylinder, and the rock
A. Quantitative
sinks to the bottom. After the water level
B. Lucrative
settles, the graduated cylinder reads 21
C. Qualitative
milliliters. Which of the following is true?
D. Argumentative
A.
The volume of the rock is equal to
3 milliliters.
32. John also recorded in his log that
B.
The rock contained 3 milliliters of water.
the plant had narrow and wide leaves.
C.
The graduated cylinder is not working
correctly.
What kind of observation did John make?
D.
The weight of the rock is 3 grams.
A. Qualitative
B. Quantitative
C. Argumentative
D. Lucrative
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