U1 Questions + Examples

Question 1

What type of explanation is this?

Looking at the family of a snail species to see where venom originated.

Answer 1

Backward Looking

Question 2

What type of explanation is this?

Looking at the composition of venom on a molecular level to determine how it works.

Answer 2

Downward Looking

Question 3

What type of explanation is this?

Looking at how venom affects/contributes to a snail’s survival, health, etc.

Answer 3

Upward Looking

Question 4

Which of the following is true about scientific models?

1) They are built with observations + inferences

2) They allow observations of things that are too small to see with the naked eye

3) They are detailed representations of complex systems

4) Once tested, they provide definitive explanations about the natural world

5) They are built in order to prove the validity of scientific laws

Answer 4

1) They are built with observations + inferences

Question 5

Which of the following statements about observations and patterns is false?

1) Patterns are single observations about naturally occurring phenomena

2) Repeated inferences about a phenomenon may be considered to be patterns

3) Patterns emerge from repeated explanations about observations

4) All of the above

5) None of the above

Answer 5

4) All of the above (are false)

Question 6

A scientific law is most closely related to which of the following?

1) Theory
2) Pattern
3) Black box
4) Physical Model
5) Inference

Answer 6

2) Pattern

–> A law is a descriptive generalization about the world (from repeated patterns)

Question 7

Which of the following is false about scientific models?

1) A representation of a naturally occurring phenomenon

2) A miniature version of a naturally occurring phenomenon

3) A replica of a naturally occurring phenomenon

4) All of the above

5) None of the above

Answer 7

4) All of the above (are false)

Question 8

A biologist studies the impact of UV light intensity on the growth of sunflowers. She grows 300 sunflower seeds in a growth chamber in her lab all with intermediate levels of UV light. After 2 weeks, she places 100 randomly-selected seedlings in a growth chamber with high levels of UV light, another 100 in an identical growth chamber with low levels of UV light, and another 100 in a chamber with no UV light. She then measures the growth of each plant.

What type of study is this?

Answer 8

Causation Experiment

–> Has a control
–> Random-assignment
–> Has “treatment” groups

Question 9

A scientist wants to determine if humidity levels produce differences in sunflower growth rates. She prepares 4 greenhouses, two with high humidity conditions and two with low humidity conditions. All other variables are the same in the 4 greenhouses. She obtains 100 sunflower seeds randomly and sorts them into 4 groups. She plants each group of seeds in one of the 4 greenhouses. After a month she measures and compares the growth of the plants in the high and low humidity conditions.

What type of study is this?

Answer 9

Causation Experiment

–> Has random-assignment
–> Has different groups
–> Manipulation of variables

Question 10

Which of the following statements about scientific theories is true?

1) Theories are the only way hypotheses can be generated.

2) Theories provide evidence based guesses that can be tested later.

3) Theories change more quickly than collected facts and data.

4) Theories should explain existing observations and patterns.

Answer 10

4) Theories should explain existing observations and patterns

Question 11

A researcher uses museum specimens to test the hypothesis that wild cats in tropical areas have different diets than turtles in non-tropical areas. She measures several tooth characteristics on specimens from both areas and then runs the data through a statistical test.

What type of study is this?

Answer 11

Comparison Study

–> Compares teeth between different species (compares, does not look at relationship between)

Question 12

A researcher is interested in whether there is a relationship between the amount of solar radiation an English Ivy plant receives, and its growth rate. She chooses 50 random sites in a large suburban area and measures the average solar radiation at that site and over the course of a year measures the growth of one English ivy plant at each site. She take the data and graphs the relationship between solar radiation and growth rate.

What type of study is this?

Answer 12

Association Study

–> conducting correlations
–> analyzing a relationship between two things

Question 13

In the guest lecture videos on Huntington’s Disease, the study of “normal” brains and those of HD patients is what type of study?

Answer 13

Comparison Study

–> Comparing brains between different individuals (HD and non-HD)

Question 14

Which of the following statements about the role of “proof” in science is false?

1) Proof is important for developing scientific laws

2) Proof is important for testing whether hypotheses are true

3) Proof is important for establishing facts

4) All of the above

5) None of the above

Answer 14

4) All of the above (are false)

Question 15

At a store you buy a beautiful green plant for your bedroom. A few weeks after placing the plant on your bedroom desk, you realize that you forgot to water the plant, the soil is dry and you see that it has changed since you bought it (the plant leaves are now droopy and sagging).

The following statement is best described as an observation:

The plant was at the store.

Answer 15

True

–> Initially you did observe the plant at the store

Question 15

At a store you buy a beautiful green plant for your bedroom. A few weeks after placing the plant on your bedroom desk, you realize that you forgot to water the plant, the soil is dry and you see that it has changed since you bought it (the plant leaves are now droopy and sagging).

The following statement is best described as an inference:

The plant needs more light to grow larger.

Answer 15

True

–>You are inferring from the plant being droopy that it needs light to keep growing

Question 16

Which of the following is false about scientific models?

1) Scientists build them to test hypotheses about unobservable processes.

2) They can involve physical replicas of biological structures.

3) They can be made using computer programs.

4) Scientists use observations and inferences to build them.

5) Scientists build models in order to prove the validity of scientific laws.

Answer 16

5) FALSE: Scientists build models in order to prove the validity of scientific laws

–> False because uses the word “prove”: scientists never prove anything

–> False because models are built to attempt to explain a phenomenon, not validate a law

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of a conceptual model?

1) A wind tunnel used for studying how bats fly

2) A genetically engineered mouse strain that tends to get cancer

3) An idea on how linked computers could act like a network of nerve cells

4) None of the above

Answer 17

3) An idea on how linked computers could act like a network of nerve cells

Question 18

Which of the following statements accurately represents how scientists use natural experiments?

1) To conduct experiments about phenomena that cannot be easily observed with the senses.

2) To answer questions about large natural phenomena that are not appropriate for model building.

3) To make causal claims about patterns and processes occurring in large natural systems.

4) To conduct preliminary experiments before investing in experimental work in a laboratory or greenhouse.

5) none of the above

Answer 18

5) None of the above (are accurate)

Question 19

Which of the following statements MOST accurately represents the process of science?

1) Biology, like all sciences, is only able to create new knowledge and understanding through experimentation.

2) A study without experimentation is not true science.

3) A hypothesis can never become a theory and a theory can never become a law. This is the case no matter how much evidence is available to prove they are true.

4) Biologists use a standardized scientific model to test hypotheses in order to prove that they are correct or incorrect. Once a hypothesis is proven to be correct, it can be treated as a fact.

5) Many biologists study things that are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. As a result, it is necessary to create models, which are physical replicas used to show other people what small or invisible things look like.

Answer 19

3) A hypothesis can never become a theory and a theory can never become a law. This is the case no matter how much evidence is available to prove they are true.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about comparison studies is TRUE?

1) Comparison studies are the only types of studies that can be used to establish cause and effect.

2) Comparison studies involve manipulation of two or more groups that are then compared to each other.

3) Comparison studies are used to test models by showing that two or more groups differ from one another.

4) Comparison studies are used to test models by showing that two variables in nature are related to each other.

Answer 20

3) Comparison studies are used to test models by showing that two or more groups differ from one another.

Question 21

A researcher uses interviews and medical records to test the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between the amount of bacon consumed and heart attack frequency. They sample a large group of vegetarians and a large group of meat eaters and examine heart attack frequency between vegetarians and meat eaters. This is an example of which type of scientific study? Choose the best answer.

1) Association study

2) Natural experiment

3) Causation experiment

4) Comparison study

Answer 21

4) Comparison study

–> Comparing vegetarians and meat-eaters

–> Don’t let the first sentence confused you, focus on the second part of the description

Question 22

You are walking on campus and you witness the following scene: your friend Jose is sitting on the grass and opens a red bag with the label “Peanuts”. You then see a squirrel eat and swallow a peanut, but then it quickly runs away from Jose.

The statement below is an observation:

Jose bought the peanuts from the supermarket near campus.

Answer 22

False

–> You don’t know where Jose bought the peanuts from (you didn’t observe that)

Question 23

It is impossible to test a hypothesis about something that cannot be directly or indirectly observed.

Answer 23

False

Question 24

Researchers randomly collected 100 wild moles in order to test the prediction that outdoor temperature will affect tail length. The moles were tagged and randomly relocated to cold, warm, or hot areas. The researchers then studied the data on outdoor temperature and tail length.

What type of study is this?

Answer 24

Causation Experiment

Question 25

Which of the following statements about the nature of science is true?

1) Conducting causal experiments occurs before documenting patterns.

2) Hypotheses and theories are both explanations of observed patterns.

3) A scientific theory can include one or more scientific laws.

4) All of the above

5) None of the above

Answer 25

3) A scientific theory can include one or more scientific laws

Question 26

Scientific studies are used to test hypotheses. These hypotheses are questions about explanations. Models are used to communicate the final explanation to others.

Answer 26

False

–> Hypotheses are not questions
–> Models are not used to communicate the final explanation: they are used to determine the explanation

Question 27

Natural experiments may be used to test hypotheses. These hypothesis tests may be used to refine conceptual models. These conceptual models may be used to develop explanations of natural events.

Answer 27

True

Question 28

A scientist hypothesizes that the pH (acidity) of soil affects acorn production of oak trees. Her students visit several dozen oak trees scattered across a 100 square kilometer area and measure soil pH and count total number of acorns that fell from each tree. Then they graph the data with the pH on the X axis and the number of acorns produced on the Y axis.

What type of study is this?

Answer 28

Association Study

–> Uses correlation analysis

Question 29

Chickens are used in experiments to study a pathogenic fungus that infects several wild bird species. In this research, chickens are a conceptual model.

Answer 29

False

–> The chickens would be a physical model

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of a mathematical model?

1) A wind tunnel used for studying how birds fly

2) A set of equations that predicts population growth

3) An idea on how linked computers could act like a network of nerve cells

4) None of the above

Answer 30

2) A set of equations that predicts population growth

Question 31

Biologists would like to explain why gecko lizards can stick to walls. They did a comparison study and found that sticking to walls increases the survival and reproduction rates of geckos.

The approach they took can be described as:

Answer 31

Upward Looking

–> Looked at how sticking to walls affects the organism as a whole (survival and reproduction)

Question 32

Which of the following is true about scientific models?

1) They are built to generate observations about the natural world

2) They are used to represent how complex systems work

3) They are physical replicas of things that cannot be easily seen

4) They are built in order to prove the validity of scientific laws

5) They are tools to test hypotheses about processes that cannot be observed

Answer 32

5) They are tools to test hypotheses about processes that cannot be observed

Question 33

Researchers randomly collect 100 wild rabbits in order to test the prediction that outdoor temperature will affect body size. The rabbits were tagged and weighed during each of four seasons. The researchers then studied the data on outdoor temperature and body mass.

Which type of study is this?

Answer 33

Association Study

Question 34

Which of the following is true about scientific models?

1) Scientists build them to test hypotheses about unobservable processes

2) They are physical replicas of things that we know exist but cannot prove

3) They are usually physical replicas of things that are too small to see

4) They are used in order to test unobservable biological patterns

5) Scientists build them in order to prove the validity of scientific laws

Answer 34

1) Scientists build them to test hypotheses about unobservable processes