The Progress of Scientific Knowledge — Unit test Answers

Which most likely is a causal relationship?

Many kinds of data can be gathered in the study of ocean water. Predictions are based on accurate and precise scientific data. Which of these sets of data will yield the most precise data?

Mad cow disease is caused by a prion. A prion is a malformed protein that is found in the brain tissue of infected cows, and exposure can be fatal. Meat that comes in contact with infected tissue becomes contaminated with the prion. Currently, there are no treatments for prion diseases because prions are hard to target and are too similar to normal proteins. To prevent the disease, scientists would most likely recommend that

A scientist investigated the effects of morning temperatures on flower width. Which most likely could have been a source of error in his investigation?

Cornell University recently conducted a study that estimated that honeybees pollinate more than $14 billion worth of crops each year. The study suggested that nearly seventy-five percent of all global crops that are grown for food, fiber, beverages, condiments, spices, and medicines are pollinated. Produced with the help of pollinators, agricultural products including legumes, vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, herbs, spices, oils, seeds, grains, clover, and cotton make a significant contribution to the economy. As the human population increases, so does the demand for pollination; sadly, the honeybee population is decreasing. Within the past thirty years, parasites, predators, and disease have weakened both wild and managed populations of honeybees. In fact, around the globe, honeybees are being decimated by an epidemic known as colony collapse disorder (CCD). According to this article, who collected information to research the honeybees?

In a recent survey of students who graduated from a large public high school, nine out of ten students reported that they passed biology with a grade of seventy-five percent or higher. What further data could be produced to be sure that this information is accurate?

Recently, crops of vegetables such as lettuce and green onions have been contaminated, while they are still on the farm, with bacteria that cause food poisoning. How will science influence the way the government responds to prevent an increase in food-borne diseases?

If antibiotics had not been discovered, how would society most likely have been affected?

Which trait would most likely lead a scientist to investigate a blood-thinning agent in the saliva of vampire bats?

Which example illustrates public scientific communication?

Read the passage about bird food and bird watching. Noted scientist Dr. Elsa Birde described the effect of adding a mixture of dried apples and raisins to the previous feed of sunflower seeds, millet, thistle seed, and cracked corn in bird feeders in her yard. Over three years, Dr. Birde observed that the new mixture increased the number of songbirds at her feeders, especially during the months of April and May. As she has done for several years, Dr. Birde recorded, at the same time each day, the number of birds at each of her four feeders. She noted that the third year using the mixture coincided with the largest increase. There was a twenty-five percent increase in the number of songbirds over times when this mixture was not used. Dr. Birde also noted that in the third year she used a specific ratio of the ingredients, carefully measuring, which she had not done in previous years. The third year also had a warmer than normal spring, and a construction project began in a neighborhood near Dr. Birde’s. Dr. Birde is now going to produce this formula for sale and advertise to customers that they may see the same twenty-five percent increase in songbirds at their feeders.Dr. E. Birde, Journal of Scientific Bird FeedingWhich scientific claim can be made?

Microscopes are used to study the structures of rocks. Over time, microscopes have become more and more powerful. As a result of this technological improvement, our structural information of rocks

Which is a societal problem that science can best help solve?

Ideas about the components of cells have been affected by new technologies. Four technologies are listed below. Which one enabled researchers to understand the basis of the other three?

The graph below shows changes in Earth’s average surface temperature since 1880.The general trend that is shown on the graph is that average surface temperature on Earth