Scientific Variables
What do type of variable scientists change in an experiment?
Independent variable
Which organ in the human digestive system produces acid and churns food into a liquid mixture?
stomach
What adaptations does prey animals like zebra and deer that gives them a wider field of vision to spot approaching predators from different directions?
eyes positioned on the sides of their heads rather than facing forward
What are the two parts that make up the male reproductive organ (stamen) of a flowering plant?
Anther and filament
What is the only mammal on Earth that can actually fly (instead of just gliding)?
bat
In an experiment testing how the amount of sunlight affects plant height, what is the dependent variable?
Name the two main food groups that should make up the largest portion of a healthy, balanced daily diet.
Fruits & vegetables, and carbohydrates
Name two physical adaptations that help animals like snow leopards or polar bears survive in extremely cold mountain or arctic environments.
Thick fur/blubber (fat layer), large furry paws (anti-slip), small ears, or white/spotted camouflage
Name two physical traits commonly found in insect-pollinated flowers that are missing in wind-pollinated flowers.
Brightly colored petals, sweet fragrance, or nectar production.
Which giant planet in our solar system is so light and full of gas that it would actually float if you placed it in a big enough bathtub of water?
Saturn
Why is it necessary to keep all controlled variables the same throughout a scientific investigation?
to make the test fair
Place these four digestive organs in the correct order that food travels through them: Small Intestine, Esophagus (Gullet), Large Intestine, Stomach.
Esophagus → Stomach → Small Intestine → Large Intestine
Explain how a camouflage adaptation benefits both a predator (like an owl) and a prey animal (like a stick insect).
For a predator, camouflage allows them to sneak up on prey without being seen.
For prey, it hides them from predators trying to eat them.
Place the four main stages of a flowering plant's life cycle in chronological order: Seed Dispersal, Germination, Seed Production, Pollination.
Germination → Pollination → Seed Production → Seed Dispersal
An octopus is famous for camouflage, but how many hearts does an octopus have beating inside its body?
three hearts
A student tests three different temperatures (10°C, 20°C, and 30°C) to see which makes seeds sprout fastest. Identify the independent variable and two variables that must be controlled.
Independent variable = Temperature
Controlled variables = Amount of water, number of seeds, type of seed, type of soil/container
Compare the primary functions of the small intestine and the large intestine.
The small intestine breaks down food and absorbs nutrients into the blood; the large intestine absorbs water and minerals from undigested food.
Differentiate between a structural adaptation and a behavioral adaptation using a desert animal as an example.
A structural adaptation is a physical body feature (e.g., a camel's hump or large ears of a fennec fox).
A behavioral adaptation is an action (e.g., hunting at night/nocturnal behavior to avoid heat).
Describe the exact pathway pollen must travel during successful pollination.
Pollen moves from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower.
According to ancient legend, Greek soldiers hid inside a giant, hollow wooden structure shaped like what animal to sneak past enemy walls and win the Trojan War?
horse
An investigation compares Dish A (5 mL water, 20°C) with Dish B (0 mL water, 20°C) and Dish C (5 mL water, -10°C). Which two dishes should you compare to test if temperature affects germination, and what is the independent variable in that comparison?
Compare Dish A and Dish C
The independent variable is the temperature.
A meal contains 8.6 g of fat and 0.73 g of salt per serving. If an individual eats two full servings, explain one health risk of consistently eating high-fat, high-salt meals.
fats 17.2 and salt 1.46
Health risks include high blood pressure, heart disease, constipation, or weight problems.
Earthworms need moist skin to absorb oxygen. Predict two specific things that happen to an earthworm's body if it is left on a dry, sunlit pavement.
Its skin dries out, preventing it from breathing, leading to suffocation and dehydration.
Explain why seed dispersal is critical for the survival of new plants, listing two specific resources seeds avoid competing for with the parent plant.
It prevents overcrowding and reduces competition with the parent plant for sunlight, water, soil nutrients, or space.
Long before paper money or coins were invented in Central America, the Mayans and Aztecs used the seeds of what popular treat as currency?
Cacao beans (Chocolate)