Name_______________________________________________________!
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Study Guide!
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1. Constants___F____!
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A.
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2. Dependent Variable __D____!
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3. Hypothesis __E_____
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4. Independent Variable__B_____ !
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5. Qualitative Observation__A____ !
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6. Quantitative Observation___C____
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Any Information that you see, smell, touch, taste, !
or hear!
B. The factor that the scientist has changed in order to !
test the hypothesis (on purpose). It is the cause.!
C. Any observation that can be measured.!
D. The result of what the scientist changed. It is the !
effect of what happened in the experiment.!
E. An explanation that is based on prior scientific !
research or observations and that can be tested.!
F. Variables that scientist keep the same in !
both the control group and the experimental !
group!
7-13 Place the 6 steps of the scientific method in order.!
(Number them 1 through 6)!
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A. Experiment_____4_____
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B. Analysis_____5____!
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C. Conclusion___6_____!
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D. Hypothesis_____3___!
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E. Problem ______1___!
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F. Research__2____!
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Identify each situation as a qualitative or quantitative observation.
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7. _Quantitative_ The room temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
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8. Qualitative The animal has brown fur.
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9. __ Qualitative_____ The room is hot.
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10.____ Qualitative___ The table top is smooth.
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11._Quantitative_ The pencil is 122 mm long.
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Identify each as direct or indirect observation.
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11. Standing at the grocery checkout and counting the number of vegetables
people eat on average.
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_____Indirect________
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12. Digging through the landfill to determine how many vegetables were eaten
based on the left over scraps.
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____Indirect_________________
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Fill in the blank with the correct word.
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13. During what step of the scientific method is the hypothesis tested?
_Experiment__________
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14. During which step of the scientific method is data examined in a logical way,
and often organized into charts or graphs? Analysis
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15. During which step of the scientific method is a question is asked? __
_The Problem___________
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Label each as a direct ( D ) or indirect ( I ) observation.
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11. The researcher counted 14 monkeys in the forest.
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12. The researcher counted 12 birds nests indicating
a population of 24 sparrows.
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___I_______
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13. The number of wrappers in the trash proved students ___I_______
prefer Snickers to Milky Way.
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14. 14 students were counted eating Snickers, and 10
were counted eating Milky Way, therefore
Snickers is more popular.
_____D_____
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Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was the newest best thing on the market
and claims to double a person’s muscle power when used as part of a musclebuilding workout. Interested in this product, he buys the special muscle cream and
recruits Patrick and SpongeBob to help him with an experiment. Larry develops a
special marshmallow weight-lifting program for Patrick and SpongeBob. He meets
with them once every day for a period of 2 weeks and keeps track of their results.
Before each session Patrick’s arms and back are lathered in the muscle cream,
while Sponge Bob’s arms and back are lathered with the regular lotion.
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Time
Patrick
SpongeBob
Starting Amount
18
5
After 1 week
24
9
After 2 weeks
33
17
15. Which person is in the control group? SpongeBob
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What is the independent variable? Muscle cream
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What is the dependent variable? Amount of marshmallows lifted (strength)
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What should Larry’s conclusion be? Since both Patrick and SpongeBob improved
their results by the end of two weeks, it does not appear that the claims for the
special muscle cream are true. If the claims were correct, we should have seen
Patrick’s amount double, but not SpongeBob’s amount. The improvements were
likely a result of Larry’s special workout.
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Sponge Bob 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. Sponge Bob decides to test this
cure by rubbing Gary with seaweed for 1 week and having him drink Dr. Kelp.
After a week of treatment, the slime is gone and Gary’s shell smells better.
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What was the initial observation? Slimotosis on Gary’ s shell
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What is the independent variable? Cures (Seaweed and Dr. Kelp)
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What is the dependent variable? Slime and odor
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What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be? Although Gary’s symptoms have
disappeared, it is not known which cure was the one that worked. He should redo
the experiment and include a control group as well as two other testing groups for
each of the proposed cures.