Indiana Science Grade 8

Chapter 1: The Nature of Science

The Nature of Science

1.
A soccer ball being kicked is an example of Newton's __________ law of motion.
A)second
B)fourth
C)first
D)third
2.
To ensure that you have a valid experiment, it must be __________.
A)scientific fact
B)proven correct
C)complicated
D)repeatable
3.
The __________ was the first instrument developed to study weather.
A)rain gauge
B)hydrometer
C)thermometer
D)barometer
4.
What is the first step in solving a problem in a scientific way?
A)performing an experiment
B)drawing conclusions
C)identifying the problem
D)developing a hypothesis
5.
What is the correct approach to doing science?
A)rely on mythology and stories to explain the natural world
B)draw conclusions early
C)form your hypothesis after you have gathered data
D)experiment to test a hypothesis
6.
Why do experiments use controls?
A)to support any conclusions
B)to prove the hypothesis
C)to provide a standard
D)to help average the data
7.
The difference between a theory and a law is that ___________.
A)a theory is scientific fact
B)a theory describes the natural world
C)a law explains the natural world
D)a law is scientific fact
8.
Why do scientists perform experiments?
A)to prove that their hypotheses are correct
B)so they can draw conclusions
C)because they are paid to do so
D)to test the validity of a hypothesis
9.
What happens when there's bias in an experiment?
A)The hypothesis is proved wrong.
B)The results are more accurate.
C)The experiment is not repeatable.
D)Personal opinion gets in the way.
10.
Which topic is not studied in Earth science?
A)weather
B)volcanoes
C)the solar system
D)the human brain
11.
What is the goal of science?
A)to perform experiments
B)to teach the scientific method
C)to provide an education in school
D)to better understand the natural world
12.
One of the first cultures to develop instruments to study the weather was the __________.
A)Americans
B)Mexicans
C)Italians
D)British
13.
What is meteorology?
A)the study of weather
B)the study of space
C)the study of mythology
D)the study of meteors
14.
Which is not used to predict weather today?
A)satellites
B)mythology
C)radar
D)weather balloons
15.
What is a hypothesis?
A)a conclusion
B)an experiment
C)an educated guess
D)a wild guess
16.
You are conducting an experiment to discover which brand of mosquito repellent works best. In this experiment, the brand of mosquito repellent is the __________.
A)dependent variable
B)control
C)independent variable
D)constant
17.
How often are scientific theories proved wrong?
A)always
B)sometimes
C)never
D)They are neither proved nor disproved.
18.
What can cause an experiment to be inaccurate?
A)forming a hypothesis
B)changing variables
C)not enough data
D)drawing conclusions
19.
Why is scientific information published in journals?
A)to make scientists money
B)to show that experiments on certain subjects should no longer occur
C)so others can build upon that knowledge
D)to show how accurate a scientist's data are
20.
What is the final step in experiments?
A)developing a hypothesis
B)eliminating bias
C)drawing conclusions
D)identifying the problem
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