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1. Science as a Way of Learning: A Guide to the Natural World

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Chapter Pre-Test

Chapter Pre-Test

This activity contains 18 questions.

	A solid understanding of science would benefit you in which of the following instances?   You are shopping for vitamins and must compare both quality and price. You are going to travel to another country and must research the safety of the drinking water. An understanding of science will help you with all of the above decisions. It is time to vote on a controversial local issue. You must sort through the arguments and identify the facts.

	Which of the following choices is true about the ideas or actions of the general public with regard to scientific accuracy?   A local school board in Pennsylvania tried to insert "intelligent design" into science classes to thwart the teaching of evolution. Most people are not aware of whether it is the mother or the father who determines the sex of their child. California voters have rejected state support for embryonic stem cell research. The general public is unconcerned about global warming and the possibility of increased intensity of hurricanes.

	Which of the following is a definition of science according to a "scientist"?   Science is a set of hypotheses supported by large bodies of evidence that explain the natural world. Science is a method or way of learning about the natural world. Science is a body of proven theories that explain natural phenomena. Science is advanced technology.

	Theories are important to science because _______.   they often can take the place of careful observations they are known to be 100% correct they are good "guesses" to the answer to a question they explain natural phenomena

	Scientific knowledge ________.   is often revealed in sacred texts, such as the Bible is never applicable to ordinary everyday life requires evidence for accurate conclusions does not require evidence from the natural world

	Staring out the window one day, you notice a line of ants crawling across the sidewalk. The line leads to a wet spot on the sidewalk and then back to the anthill in the ground. You start to wonder what the ants find so attractive about that wet spot. If you were following the scientific method of investigation, your next step would be to ______.   develop one or more questions related to your observations propose a theory that explains the ants' behavior form several possible hypotheses to explain what attracts the ants draw conclusions about what is attracting the ant

	Which hypothesis concerning Pasteur's work is stated correctly?   If living material grows in the flasks lacking dust-trap necks, nothing will grow in the flasks with dust-trap necks. If living material fails to grow in the flasks with dust-trap necks and grows only in flasks without dust-trap necks, that supports the hypothesis that spontaneous generation does not occur. Since living organisms only come from preexisting living organisms, living material will only grow in the flasks lacking the dust-trap necks. If living material fails to grow in the flasks with dust-trap necks, that supports the notion that living material will grow only in the flasks lacking the dust-trap necks.

	What is the main reason for including a control group in the design of an experiment?   to ensure that the results are due to a difference in only one variable to demonstrate how the experiment was performed to provide more data, so that a more sophisticated experimental analysis can be made to restrict the research design

	Which of the following statements might Pasteur have made concerning his experiments on spontaneous generation?   "I should have tried this with rats, because they may come from piles of old rags." "Spontaneous generation is not possible." "My experiments support the notion that living organisms come only from preexisting living organisms." "After I perform my experiment once, I will have adequately supported the notion that living organisms come only from preexisting living organisms."

	A test of an experimental cancer drug finds that 11% of patients respond very well, and 89% of patients show either no improvement or a worsening of their condition. You repeat the study several times and obtain similar results. You should _________.   end the experiment because some of the patients did not respond well modify a single variable and repeat the experiment get new patients and perform the same experiment repeatedly conclude that the drug is effective because some of the patients did respond well

	A control group is critical to many experiments. Linus Pauling investigated the effectiveness of vitamin C on fighting the common cold. Pauling gathered 90 people who had colds. He divided the group into thirds. One-third of the group took 5,000 grams of vitamin C per day. Another third took a brand-name antihistamine. The final third used a cold air vaporizer. The vitamin C group recovered faster, but the antihistamine group was more comfortable, and the vaporizer group had fewer colds. Does Pauling's experiment have a proper control group?   This is a properly designed experiment with a control group. This is not a properly designed experiment with a control group.

	You have read about a diet product that has been "proven effective" by a studying on a group of 20 college students, but no one has been able to repeat the study and get similar results. How should you view the results of the study?   as fact, after all, it was "experimentally proven" as a valid research study as valid only for those with a college education with skepticism

	A city wanted to determine whether fluoride was an effective additive against tooth decay. The city was large enough that there were several sources of water serving different areas. What is the best control for their experiment?   babies with no tooth decay fluoride in the toothpaste of some residents water treated with an antimicrobial agent water with no fluoride added

	The term homeostasis refers to ________.   the assimilation and use of energy the maintenance of a relatively constant body environment the evolution of an organism from a previous ancestor the possession of inherited DNA

	In living organisms, cells are composed of smaller __________, which perform the specific duties that allow cells to perform their specific functions.   organs organelles tissues atoms

	To remain alive, all organisms must ______.   maintain homeostasis have a language have a respiratory system interact with other organisms close to themselves on the evolutionary tree

	Which of the following is the correct partial sequence of biological organization from the most specific to the most broad?   cells, tissues, organs, organism organism, biosphere, population, community atoms, tissues, organelles, organism molecules, cells, organs, tissues

	Which of the following is one of the chief unifying principles of biology?   diversity adaptation organizational complexity evolution

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