Scientific Skills — Practice Questions

Question 1

In a fair test, how many things do you change?

Accepted Answer

One — Change only one thing so the test stays fair.

Question 2

A sensible explanation of what you observed is called an:

Accepted Answer

inference — An inference explains why something happened.

Question 3

In an experiment, the things you keep the same are called:

Accepted Answer

constants — Things kept the same are the constant variables.

Question 4

To test which paper towel soaks up most water, what should you measure?

Accepted Answer

The amount of water soaked up — You measure the water absorbed — the responding variable.

Question 5

Why keep everything else the same in a fair test?

Accepted Answer

So the result is caused by the one change — Then any difference is due to the one thing you changed.

Question 6

Seeing wet ground and inferring 'it rained' is an example of:

Accepted Answer

making an inference — You explain an observation with reasoning — an inference.