Assessing Claims and Evidence — Unit test Answers

A science class tested ways to clean water after an oil spill. Each group of students was given 100 mL of vegetable oil, 100 mL of engine oil, and 800 mL of water in a rectangular plastic container. Each container also held five floating wooden cubes (5 cubic centimeters each) representing animals in the water. Each group was tasked with removing as much oil as possible in a 20 minute period, leaving “clean water” in the container, using whatever tools they brought to class. The results of the “

The excerpt is from an article that Roberto read for science class called “Using the Scientific Method to Study Tomatoes.” The student performed an experiment to test his hypothesis about sunlight and plant height using two plants. He kept everything the same between two tomato plants except he exposed them to different amounts of sunlight. He also used a third plant as a control group, or a group in which no variables are manipulated to confirm the results.Roberto critiqued the work. Which problem did Roberto most likely identify?

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Read the passage about acupuncture. Acupuncture is an alternative medicine that uses wire-thin needles inserted by a trained practitioner into specific points in the body. This ancient form of pain relief and stimulation is said to benefit patients by blocking channels which practitioners claim allow pain to travel within the body. This practice became more widely recognized and used after a New York Times reporter wrote in 1971 of a positive experience with it after surgery. Those who doubt the effectiveness of this treatment for pain attribute the pain relief to a placebo effect: if a patient believes something will reduce their pain, they will experience some relief. The National Institutes of Health says that acupuncture relieves pain and reduces nausea and vomiting, although it is unclear how it works. The few adverse effects reported are due to improperly sterilized needles or improper delivery, making this still a fairly low risk option. For anyone considering acupuncture, they should first research its effectiveness for their specific condition.Summary of statements published by the National Institutes of HealthAfter reading the passage about acupuncture, identify which scientific claim explains why some people say acupuncture does not truly relieve pain.

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