The Scientific Method



Worksheet 1: The Scientific Method

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A) Web site name: Khan Academy

Web URL:

Read “The Scientific Method”

1) What does “Iterate” mean?

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2) What is a “hypothesis”? _____________________________________________________________

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3) What is the “next hypothesis” to explain why the toaster is not working? _____________________________________________________________

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Click on:

Read “Controlled experiments”

4) How many bean seeds are planted in each pot? ____________________

5) What the independent variable in the bean seed experiment? _____________________________________________________________

6) What is the independent variable in the coral bleaching experiment? _____________________________________________________________

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B) Web site: University of Miami

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Read the section “Solving problems in Biology”

7) Explain what is meant by “inductive reasoning”: ________________________ _________________________________________________________________

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8) In the example of hymenopterans, what do “All hymenopterans have”? ______

9) What is the “inductive leap” ? ______________________________________

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10) Explain “deductive reasoning”. ____________________________________

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11) Give your own example of deductive reasoning:

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12) Explain in your own words the meaning of a theory in science.

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C) Web page: NASA

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Read “Sowing seeds in a magnetic field”

13) Why must there be “more to it” than the idea that plants grow towards light?

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14) Give your own example of a plant behavior that is affected by gravity:

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15) What are the two possibilities for how plants detect gravity?

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16) Explain why the shuttle experiment will use “artificial gravity” produced by magnets.

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17) Why is this experiment conducted in the dark?

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To test different explanations, or hypotheses, scientists do an experiment.

D) Web page: McGraw-Hill

Web URL:

Watch the section on the Hershey and Chase Experiment

18) What are bacterial viruses called? __________________

19) What does a “phage” consist of? ______________________________

20) In the animation, how many phages infect one bacterial cell ? _____________

21) Does the protein coat of a phage get injected inside a bacterial cell? ________

22) Which radioactive chemical was used to label amino acids? ___________

23) In the first part of the experiment, with radioactive protein, how many new

phages are formed inside the bacterial cell? _____________________

24) How were the protein coats removed from the surface of the bacteria?

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25) Is 32P used to radioactively label amino acids or DNA ? _______________

26) What did this experiment demonstrate? ___________________________

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E) Web page: State University of New York, Buffalo

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Click on “Download case”

27) What is the hypothesis here? ____________________________________

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Click on “Go to Parts II-V”

28) Why did dyeing the plumage of the chicks not work well? ______________

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29) What three data did the scientists decide to compare?

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30) Click on “Go to Figure 2” and summarize the results: __________________

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31) Do the results support the original hypothesis? Explain your answer:

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F) Web page: University of Colorado

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Read “Know it’s a placebo? The ‘medicine’ could still work”

32) Why is the “morphine for pain” an example of the placebo effect, rather than

the real action of morphine as a painkiller?

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33) How many sessions do the subjects need to be conditioned to believe the placebo

works? ______________

34) How did the scientists conduct the research? _____________________________

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35) Why did some subjects have a high pain tolerance?

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36) What, in fact, was the “treatment”? _____________________________________

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37) Do you think it is ethical to wean a child off a drug and switch the drug to a

placebo? Explain your answer.

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