Study Guide—Test Tuesday August 30, 2022 Topic: Science Skills and Processes
A. Vocabulary to Know: (Matching Section)
Qualitative observation- observations that include descriptions or properties (quality)
Quantitative observation- observations that describe how much or how many (quantity)
Observation- using one or more of your senses and or scientific instruments to describe an object or
event
Inference- drawing a conclusion about your observation- I think.., It appears that…, I believe that
Independent variable- what you change or test on purpose for an experiment
Dependent Variable- this is the result or expected outcome from testing the independent variable
Control- this is not tested or changed in an experiment, used for comparison
B. Variables in an Experiment- Independent, Dependent and Control
Read each scenario and determine which is the independent (IV) or dependent variable (DV).
1. A farmer applies different fertilizer to his cotton crops, to see which will make his plants grow the
highest. What is the IV (tested)?
Circle one--Height of the plant, type of fertilizer, growth of the plants, different cotton crops
2. A farmer applies different fertilizer to cotton crops, to see which make his plants grow the
highest. What is the dependent variable (expected outcome)
Circle one- Height of the plant, type of fertilizer, growth of the plants, different cotton crops
3. In a study about headaches, doctors gave patients Aleve, Tylenol, Advil and Excedrin, to see
which medication would relieve the headache pain the fastest. The doctors timed how long it took
the medication to work. What is the IV (being tested)?
Circle one- amount of medication, amount of time until pain was relieved, types of pain
relievers, headaches
4. In a study about headaches, doctors gave patients Aleve, Tylenol, Advil and Excedrin, to see
which medication would relieve the headache pain the fastest. The doctors timed how long it took
the medication to work. What is the DV (expected outcome)?
Circle one- amount of medication, amount of time until pain was relieved, types of pain
relievers, headaches
C. Observation or Inference
**Look at the first page for the meanings of each word.
A time machine has been invented that travels into the past and takes pictures, sending them to the
present. You are asked to look at one of the pictures and interpret what you see.
Write O (observation) or I (inference).
__O__ The volcano is erupting.
___I__ The camptosaurus is going to eat the stegosaurus.
__O___ There are bones from a dead animal by the shore.
__O__ The camptosaurus killed the animal.
__O__ Some more bones are in the water.
__I__ The camptosaurus can’t swim and will drown.
__O__ Lava is coming down the sides of the volcano.
__I__ The camptosaurus has sharp teeth for eating me
Mr. Krabs created a secret ingredient for a breath mint that he thinks will “cure” the bad
breath people get from eating crabby patties at the Krusty Krab. He asked 100 customers
with a history of bad breath to try his new breath mint. He had fifty customers (Group A) eat
a breath mint after they finished eating a crabby patty. The other fifty (Group B) also
received a breath mint after they finished the sandwich; however, it was just a regular breath
mint and did not have the secret ingredient. Both groups were told that they were getting the
breath mint that would cure their bad breath. Two hours after eating the crabby patties, thirty
customers in Group A and ten customers in Group B reported having better breath than they
normally had after eating crabby patties.
1. Which people are in the control (Not tested) group? Group A
or
Group B
2. What is the tested variable (IV)?
A. The actual breath mint.
B. The secret ingredient in the breath mint.
C The crabby patties.
D. How many crabby patties eaten.
3. What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be?
a. The breath mint with the secret ingredient does reduce breath odor.
b. The breath mint with the secret ingredient reduces breath odor over 50% of the time.
c. The breath works, but it is not 100% effective.
d. All of the above.