Experiments

Question 1

List your five senses.

Answer 1

Sight
Sound
Touch
Smell
Hearing

Question 2

State which of the abbreviations below are
correct for these units:
a gram

Answer 2

g

Question 3

State which of the abbreviations below are
correct for these units:
kilogram

Answer 3

kg

Question 4

State which of the abbreviations below are
correct for these units:
millimetre

Answer 4

mL

Question 5

State which of the abbreviations below are
correct for these units:
litre

Answer 5

L

Question 6

State which of the abbreviations below are
correct for these units:
minute

Answer 6

min

Question 7

Identify the best metric unit to use to measure the length of:
a a bull-ant
b the length of a cricket field
c the distance between Brisbane and Sydney.

Answer 7

a) mm
b) hectare
c) km

Question 8

Identify the best SI unit to measure the:	
a	mass of a mouse 
b	time it takes to sneeze 
c	temperature of a sick dog 
d	mass of a person 
e	volume of a swimming pool

Answer 8

a) g
b) s
c) °C
d) kg
e) L

Question 9

Below is an observation, an inference and a prediction. Identify which is which.
•1. The colours of a felt-tip pen ran when they got wet.
•2 Washing should get the stain of a felt-tip pen out of my shirt.
•3 The inks used in a felt-tip pen can dissolve in water.

Answer 9

1. Observation
2. Prediction
3. Inference

Question 10

State what is wrong with the way these measurements have been recorded.
a The mass of a mouse = 15014 g.
b The car was travelling at 100.
c A full bottle of soft drink contained 1.25 mL.

Answer 10

b.. does not have a unit of measure

Question 11

Classify the following observations as qualitative or quantitative.
a The night was dark.
b It took 15 minutes to walk to school.

Answer 11

a. qualitative

b. Quantitative

Question 12

Define Inference

Answer 12

logical explanation given a set of measurements and observations

Question 13

Define Prediction

Answer 13

A prediction must be logical and must be based on the observations you made in your experiments. An outcome that may happen.

Question 14

What is the purpose of scientific reports?

Answer 14

scientific report to explain how they ran an experiment, what they measured and how they interpreted the results.

Question 15

What is the purpose of tables and graphs?

Answer 15

Tables and graphs help to display patterns in their measurements.

Question 16

Why display results in tables?

Answer 16

Measurements and observations are easier to read and analyse if they are displayed in tables. Trends are also easier to spot.

Question 17

Why use graphs

Answer 17

A graph shows trends in measurements even more clearly than tables do.

Question 18

Why use graphs?

Answer 18

A graph shows trends in measurements even more clearly than tables do.

Question 19

When to use Bar and column graphs?

Answer 19

When you have a set of observations that are discrete. These discrete values are displayed on one of the axes of the graph while numbers are displayed on the other axis.
Axes are the horizontal and vertical lines ‘framing’ the graph.

Question 20

When do you use pie graphs?

Answer 20

Discrete groupings are also used to construct pie graphs or sector graphs. A pie graph shows the proportions of each grouping within a total. In a pie graph, the whole pie represents 100%, half the pie represents 50% and a quarter-pie represents 25%. As an example, Figure 1.4.2 shows the percentages of different animals living in a nature reserve.

Question 21

What are line graphs?

Answer 21

Measurements involve numbers that are not discrete but continuous. This means that if you choose two numbers, then you can always find other numbers in between them. Eg Length, mass, time, volume and temperature measurements are continuous

Question 22

What are the components of a scientific Report?

Answer 22

Purpose

Hypothesis

Question 23

Define Purpose

Answer 23

Purpose The purpose or aim is what you wanted to do in an experiment or practical activity, what you wanted to show or wanted to prove.

Question 24

Define Hypothesis

Answer 24

You probably have some idea of what might happen in an experiment even before you start it. This ‘educated guess’ is called your hypothesis. A hypothesis is an inference based on what you already know. A hypothesis is not always included in a scientific report.

Question 25

Define Materials

Answer 25

This is a list of all the important equipment, chemicals and materials that you used. If equipment comes in different sizes, then make sure you include the size you used (for example, 250 mL beaker).

Question 26

Define Procedure

Answer 26

The procedure or method is a detailed list of what you did in the experiment. You must include what quantities were used (for example, 5 g, 2 spatula loads or 10 mL), and the exact order in which the steps of the experiment were performed. A diagram of the experiment is a useful way of showing what you did.

Question 27

What are the components of a scientific Report?

Answer 27

``` Purpose Hypothesis Materials Procedure Results Discussion or analysis Conclusion ```

Question 28

Define Results

Answer 28

Results include all your observations and all your measurements, preferably displayed in a table. This is also where you include graphs and calculations

Question 29

Discussion or analysis

Answer 29

an explanation about what you think your results showed about the experiment • what you have found about the experiment from other sources such as textbooks, the internet or encyclopaedias • a description of any problems you had with the experiment and what you did to overcome them. Most investigations will have a set of questions that will guide you through your discussion.

Question 30

Define Purpose / Aim

Answer 30

Purpose The purpose or aim is what you wanted to do in an experiment or practical activity, what you wanted to show or wanted to prove.

Question 31

Define Hypothesis /educated guess

Answer 31

You probably have some idea of what might happen in an experiment even before you start it. This ‘educated guess’ is called your hypothesis. A hypothesis is an inference based on what you already know. A hypothesis is not always included in a scientific report.

Question 32

Define Materials / Equipment

Answer 32

This is a list of all the important equipment, chemicals and materials that you used. If equipment comes in different sizes, then make sure you include the size you used (for example, 250 mL beaker).

Question 33

Define Procedure / Instructions

Answer 33

The procedure or method is a detailed list of what you did in the experiment. You must include what quantities were used (for example, 5 g, 2 spatula loads or 10 mL), and the exact order in which the steps of the experiment were performed. A diagram of the experiment is a useful way of showing what you did.

Question 34

Define Results / Outcomes

Answer 34

Results include all your observations and all your measurements, preferably displayed in a table. This is also where you include graphs and calculations

Question 35

Discussion or analysis

Answer 35

an explanation about what you think your results showed about the experiment • what you have found about the experiment from other sources such as textbooks, the internet or encyclopaedias • a description of any problems you had with the experiment and what you did to overcome them. Most investigations will have a set of questions that will guide you through your discussion.

Question 36

Define Conclusion

Answer 36

Your conclusion needs to summarise what you have found out in the experiment. The conclusion should be short and must relate to the purpose.

Question 37

What are variables , give an example

Answer 37

Many different factors influence what happens in an experiment.

Question 38

What are variables? give an example

Answer 38

Many different factors influence what happens in an experiment. The time taken to run 100m will depend on many variables, such as the age, weight and fitness of the runner, the shoes being worn, the direction of the wind and whether the surface was grass, concrete or sand.

Question 39

How do you make sure you run a fair test?

Answer 39

Only change one variable at a time

Question 40

What is a dependent variable?

Answer 40

his is what you are trying to measure. It depends on all the other variables. For the 100-metre run, the dependent variable is the time taken.

Question 41

What is an independent variable?

Answer 41

this is the variable that you want to test and is what the dependent variable depends on. Change this and what you are trying to measure will probably change too. For the 100-metre run, you might choose to test the surface run on, and so this would be the independent variable.

Question 42

What are controlled variables?

Answer 42

these are all the other variables that you don’t want to test right now. These are kept constant.