Law v
Theory
Theory
The
Scientific Process
Scientific Process
Repetition v
Replication
Replication
Identifying
Variables
Variables
Experiment &
Investigation
Investigation
100
What is the main difference between law and theory?
Law - WHAT happens,
more common in physics / chemistry, often involves math
Theory - WHY something happens,
more common in biology, more likely to change with new evidence
100
A study was done to see if temperature affected how high a ball bounced. What conclusion can you write about the data?
The hotter the temperature, the higher the ball bounced.
OR
The colder the temperature, the lower the ball bounced.
100
Define BOTH repetition and replication.
Repetition is when the SAME scientist copies their own experiment in the form of TRIALS
Replication is when a DIFFERENT scientist copies a DIFFERETENT scientist's experiment and gets SIMILAR results
100
Define all three variables: independent, dependent, and controlled/constants.
I - What the scientist CHANGES
D - What the scientist MEASURES
C - What stays the SAME
100
Define both Investigation & Experiment
Investigations - a process of answering a question through many methods, but no variables and no complete scientific method
Experiments - a process of answering question through a complete scientific method and variables
200
Are laws or theories more likely to change with new evidence? Why?
Theories are more likely to change as they are explaining why which leads to many theories about the same thing.
Over time some theories may be thrown out or accepted depending on the new evidence.
Meanwhile, laws are usually only revised and not entirely thrown out
200
What is the difference between analyzing and collecting data?
When a scientist collects data, he or she records the data from an experiment.
When a scientist analyzes the data, he or she decides whether or not the data support the hypothesis.
200
Jimmy says that only replicable experiments are considered valid. What does Jimmy mean by "replicable"
It can be repeated by another scientist (other than the one who did the original work) AND produce the same results.
200
A student wanted to test how the mass of a paper airplane affected the distance it would fly. Paper clips were added before each test flight. As each paper clip was added, the plane was tested to determine how far it would fly.
Identify all 3 variables: independent, dependent, controlled
200
Which of the following is a valid experiment?
A. Putting the same type of rock into different liquids and measuring the rock's weight after 24 hours
B. Putting different rocks into different liquids and measuring the rock's weight after 24 hours
C. Putting a rock into lemon juice and making observations about its appearance for 24 hours
A. Putting the same type of rock into different liquids and measuring the rock's weight after 24 hours
300
Which one of these is a LAW? How do you know?
A. The baby that is about to be born is predicted to have brown hair.
B. The baby will have brown hair because of how the parent’s genes are. Brown hair is more common than blonde hair.
A is a LAW because it is explaining WHAT happened not WHY
300
The science club is researching bacterial growth in water collected from different samples of water near the school. Four different groups test the samples of water each day. Carlos’s group ends up with very different results than the other three groups.
What should Carlos’s group do?
Talk to the other groups to try to figure out why they got different results.
300
Why do scientists replicate experiments?
To validate their results & make their results reliable
300
A study was done to find if fuel types affect the engine’s performance in a car.
Find the Independent, Dependent, and Controlled variables
I - Fuel Types
D - Engine's Performance
C - type of car
300
You decide to research whether playing music for a plant affects its growth. Which of the following is the best experiment for this?
A. comparing the growth of two different types of plants, one that is exposed to music and one that is not
B. making and recording observations about the height of the plants sitting next to your piano
C. comparing the growth of a plant exposed to music each day to the growth of a plant that is not exposed to music, without changing anything else
C. comparing the growth of a plant exposed to music each day to the growth of a plant that is not exposed to music, without changing anything else
400
Isaac Newton is a famous physicist and came up with ideas of how objects move. One of them is represented by the following math formula.
F = ma
Is this concept a theory or a law? How do you know?
It is a Law because its is explaining what happens through a mathematical (math) formula
400
Dr. Williams thinks she discovered the cure to cancer. She immediately posts about it on her TikTok and her Instagram story before doing anything else.
Jimmy thinks this is a bad idea because someone could take her idea and claim it for themselves.
Alex thinks it is a bad idea because she could be spreading misinformation.
Is Alex's or Jimmy's concern more important? Why?
Alex's concern is more important because the "cure" could potentially be dangerous if it is not actually true.
400
Mason wants to see what hay his cow preferred. He set up 3 stacks of all different hay and watches to see which one his cow eats more of. He did 5 trials with each type of hay.
Briana wonders if her cows will have a similar preference and copies his experiment and got the same results as Mason.
Which one is doing repetition? Which one is doing replication? How do you know?
Mason is doing repetition because he is the SAME scientist doing his own experiment again in the form of TRIALS
Briana is doing replication as she is a DIFFERENT scientist copying the experiment and getting similar results
400
SpongeBob notices that his pal Gary is suffering from slimotosis, which occurs when the shell develops a nasty slime and gives off a horrible odor. His friend Patrick tells him that rubbing seaweed on the shell is the perfect cure, while Sandy says that drinking Dr. Kelp will be a better cure. SpongeBob decides to test this cure by rubbing Gary with seaweed for 1 week THEN having him drink Dr. Kelp for a week. After a week of Dr. Kelp treatment, the slime is gone and Gary’s shell smells better, while the seaweed didn't help.
Find the Independent, Dependent, Controlled Variables.
I - method of curing Gary: rubbing seaweed or drinking Dr. Kelp
D - If it cures Gary: slime is gone and Gary's shell smell is better
C - Length of treatment: 1 week
400
At the beach, a student applies sunscreen to his arms. That evening, he discovers he missed a few spots and has some sunburned areas. He designs an experiment to test the effects of sun exposure on skin.
What could be his testable question?
What happens to skin when it is exposed to the Sun?
500
After researching ideas and reviewing experiments about how life arose on Earth, a scientist reports in an interview that he has a new theory on the origin of life.
Why is the scientist not using the term theory in its proper scientific sense?
His idea needs to be reviewed and approved by scientists before he can call it a theory
500
Why would a scientist use a model to study something? (3 Reasons)
- It is is too big, like the solar system
- It is too small, like an atom
- It is too dangerous, like a volcano
500
Crystal has 3 very fat cats and she wants to make them healthier so she decided to test which cat food would help her cats lose the most weight. She had them eat the Cat Food A for a month and measured their weight lost. She switched to Cat Food B for a month then Cat Food C for a month. She measured the weight lost for each cat and averaged them together for the different cat foods.
Aliah doesn't believe Crystal's findings so she tried the experiment as well. To her surprise, Aliah got the same results as Crystal!
Is Crystal doing repetition or replication? How do you know?
Crystal is doing repetition as she is doing trials with her 3 cats.
500
Lisa is working on a science project. Her task is to answer the question: "Does Rogooti (which is a commercial hair product) affect the speed of hair growth"
Find the Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables.
I - If the person is using Rogooti or not
D - the speed of hair growth
C - amount of Rogooti, the type of hair
500
In class we did two labs: elephant toothpaste and helicopter lab.
In the elephant toothpaste lab, we created a chemical reaction and wrote observations on what happened
In the the helicopter lab, we determined a cause and effect between mass (paperclips) and speed.
Which one was the investigation? Which one was the experiment? How do you know?
Elephant Toothpaste was an investigation because it had an incomplete scientific method, had no variables, and did not show cause & effect.
The helicopter lab was an experiment because it had the COMPLETE scientific method, variables and showed a cause and effect.