Critique Scientific Explanations Flashcards
Which of the following is an example of empirical data?
Remembering you have an appointment at 5 pm
Hearing that it is 52 degrees outside
Drinking 2 liters of water
Counting the number of eggs in the refrigerator
Counting the number of eggs in the refrigerator
Extra:
Empirical data is based on observation and measurements
Which of the following is not an example of empirical data?
Weighing yourself
Reading the temperature on a thermometer
Hearing that it snowed a lot last night
Having your doctor measure your blood pressure
Hearing that it snowed a lot last night
Which of the following is necessary to reach a sound conclusion?
The collected data must be accurate and free from bias
The data shows the effect of a dependent variable
Experimental data is collected from a complex experiment
The data must be reported to three decimal places
The collected data must be accurate and free from bias
Why are control groups used in experiments?
To help scientists quickly perform experiments
To increase the amount of data collected
To ensure the accuracy of measurements
To minimize the effect of variables
To minimize the effect of variables
Which of the following statements is false?
Double-blind experiments help eliminate researcher bias.
The research subjects in single-blind experiments are unaware of the treatment they receive.
Double-blind experiments have two control variables.
Single-blind experiments help reduce patient bias.
Double-blind experiments have two control variables.
To determine if tap water was making people sick, scientists asked one group of people to drink tap water for a week and another group to drink only bottled water. The results showed that the group that drank the tap water were sick after a week. What can be concluded from this experiment?
The tap water caused the sickness.
The bottled water has curative properties.
Tap water is bad for you.
There is not enough information to draw a sound conclusion.
There is not enough information to draw a sound conclusion
When studying the effects of sunlight on a person’s mood, scientists asked one group of patients to remain outside for one hour and a control group to remain inside all day. At the end of the experiment, 75% of the group that had received sunlight had a better mood. What can be concluded from these results?
There is not enough data to draw a sound conclusion.
People who stayed indoors had a worse mood.
Sunlight had no effect on the subjects’ moods.
Sunlight improved the subjects’ moods.
There is not enough data to draw a sound conclusion.
Which of the following statements is true?
A double-blind experiment controls all variables.
A double-blind experiment is always more accurate than a single-blind experiment.
A single-blind experiment helps reduce researcher bias.
A single-blind experiment eliminates all unknown variables.
A double-blind experiment is always more accurate than a single-blind experiment.
Which of the following correctly describes a conclusion?
The methods used to conduct an experiment
The data set obtained during an experiment
A list of experiments you conducted
An evidence-based judgment
An evidence-based judgment
A well-controlled experiment was conducted where researchers noted that a new antibiotic eliminated a bacterial sinus infection. Which of the following can be inferred from this result?
The medication helped eliminate the patient’s allergies.
The medication alters the patient’s DNA to help them fight off an infection.
The medication acted as an antihistamine to cure the patient’s runny nose.
The medication killed the bacteria responsible for the sinus infection.
The medication killed the bacteria responsible for the sinus infection.
Which of the following describes a ‘control variable’ in an experiment?
The variable that is held constant
The variable that is discarded
The dependent variable
The variable that changes
The variable that is held constant
Which of the following is true about control variables?
Control variables are used to minimize the relative error of measurements.
The control variable is the only piece of data that is important during an experiment.
The control variable is the only variable measured in an experiment.
Control variables are kept constant to help understand the relationship of other variables.
Control variables are kept constant to help understand the relationship of other variables.
