Science-Based Communication Answers

Which source is considered a primary source of scientific information?

A scientist told his student assistants that he had sorted groups of mice by their intelligence and asked the assistants to assess the groups’ maze-solving abilities. The scientist had not actually sorted the mice by intelligence. The students rated the “highest intelligence” group of mice as the best maze solvers and the “lowest intelligence” group as the worst maze solvers. What was the scientist trying to demonstrate by doing this experiment?

Calibration of a measuring instrument is

Which statement describes a common measurement error?

Which statement describes the most common ways in which students and professional scientists communicate the results of their scientific research?

Which statement describes a problem with the peer review process in scientific research?

A medical researcher experimented with the effects of calcium intake on the healing time of broken bones. People who had similar broken bone injuries were divided randomly into two groups, one of which received a calcium supplement and one of which received a placebo. The data showed that there was no significant difference in healing times between the two groups, so the researcher concluded that calcium intake has no effect on bone healing time. Why is the conclusion of the researcher not justified?

Typical methods of classroom scientific communication include

A wildlife researcher weighed all the raccoons that were trapped in suburban neighborhoods before they were released back into the wild. The researcher used this data to conclude that the raccoons in the state were getting heavier. What error did the researcher make?

The process through which professional scientists evaluate the quality of each other’s research is called