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MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which statement best describes the Bormann-Likens controlled experiment in forest valleys in New
Hampshire that compared water flowing out of deforested areas to undisturbed areas?
a. The deforested area was greater in volume by 30 to 40%
b. The deforested area was less in volume by 30 to 40%
c. The deforested area had more soil nutrients dissolved in the water
d. The deforested area was less in volume by 30 to 40% and had fewer soil nutrients
dissolved in the water
e. The deforested area was greater in volume by 30 to 40% and had more soil nutrients
dissolved in the water
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate TOP: CORE CASE STUDY
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
2. The Bormann-Likens study in the Hubbard Brooks Experimental Forest in New Hampshire can best be
described as
a. a comparison of a control site with an experimental site in nature
b. what can occur in a forest watershed without plants to absorb water
c. an example of how scientists learn about the effects of our actions on natural systems
d. a comparison of a control site with an experimental site in nature and a study of what can
occur in a forest watershed without plants to absorb and retain water
e. a comparison of a control and an experimental site, a study of what can occur in a forest
watershed without plants to absorb water, and an example of how scientists learn about the
effects of our actions on natural systems.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate TOP: CORE CASE STUDY
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
3. Science
a. is a study of the history of the natural world
b. attempts to discover order in nature to interpret the past
c. is best described as a random collection of facts
d. is supported by small amounts of evidence
e. is an endeavor to discover how nature works
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
4. When scientists are testing ideas to determine facts, they
a. follow a specific set of logical steps
b. report observations to the scientific community without data collection
c. use different steps that are unique to each scientist
d. use only mathematical modeling
e. first ask fellow scientists at annual meetings what steps to take
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
22
5. Scientific hypotheses differ from scientific theories in that they are
a. widely accepted descriptions of what we find happening over and over in nature
b. tentative explanations that need further evaluation
c. not subject to proper investigation and testing
d. arrived at after extensive mathematical modeling
e. tentative explanations that need further evaluation and not subject to proper investigation
and testing
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: COMPREHENSION
6. A classmate tells you that a statement heard on the news about an environmental process noted in a
local ecosystem cannot be true because it has not been scientifically proven. You realize that
a. this classmate is misinformed because science cannot prove anything, but it can disprove
events conclusively.
b. this classmate is misinformed because science can neither prove or disprove anything
absolutely.
c. this classmate is misinformed because the process in question actually has been proven
scientifically.
d. this classmate is correct.
e. this classmate has confused scientific theories and scientific laws
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
7. Which of the following choices best describes the sequence scientists typically use in the beginning
stages of their investigations about how nature works?
a. analyze data -> search literature -> perform experiment -> identify a problem -> ask a
question
b. ask a question -> search literature -> perform experiment -> analyze data -> identify a
problem
c. search literature -> ask a question -> identify a problem -> analyze data -> perform
experiment
d. identify a problem ->search literature -> ask a question -> perform experiment -> analyze
data
e. ask a question->search literature -> identify a problem -> perform experiment -> analyze
data
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
8. Which of the following does not characterize frontier science?
a. It often captures news headlines because it is controversial.
b. It may deal with preliminary data.
c. It may eventually be validated.
d. Scientists always agree on the meaning and accuracy of the data involved.
e. It may eventually be discredited.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
23
A tiny, tawny colored butterfly called the Carson Wandering Skipper was always known for its small
and very localized populations. Typically, it was found along the western Nevada and eastern
California high desert areas. It was always located close to hot springs and other wet areas that
supported salt grass, the host plant it depended on.
Recently, the populations went into a steep decline, and a last hold-out area was threatened by
imminent construction of a freeway bypass. Biologists became alarmed and began an intensive search
for populations in locations other than the spot designated for the freeway bypass. They began their
search by identifying all known locations of hot springs, in hopes of finding small populations of the
Carson Wandering Skipper close by.
9. The biologists’ observations that the Carson Wandering Skipper populations had declined is an
example of
a. data analysis
b. identifying a problem
c. performing an experiment
d. proposing a hypothesis
e. making testable predictions
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
10. As they searched for previously unknown populations of the Carson Wandering Skipper, biologists
wondered if hot springs were absolutely essential to its survival. This phase of the investigation is
a. finding out what is known and asking a question
b. analyzing data and asking a question
c. Asking a question and testing predictions
d. accepting their hypothesis and analyzing data
e. accepting their hypothesis and asking a question
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
11. The scientists, with enough data,
a. would be able to prove that there is a correlation between butterfly populations and hot
springs
b. would not be able to prove a correlation between the butterfly populations and hot springs,
but could disprove it
c. Would be able to prove or disprove a correlation, depending on the numbers
d. would not be able to prove or disprove a correlation between the butterfly populations and
hot springs
e. would be able to prove that there is a correlation between the butterfly populations and hot
springs, but would not be able to disprove it
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APPLICATION
24
12. What are the important steps involved in critical thinking?
a. Be skeptical about everything you read or hear and be open to many viewpoints
b. Look at the evidence and evaluate it as well as related information and a variety of
opinions.
c. Identify and evaluate your personal beliefs and biases.
d. Identify and evaluate your personal beliefs and biases and be skeptical about everything
you read or hear.
e. Look at the evidence and evaluate it as well as related information, identify and evaluate
your personal beliefs and biases, be skeptical about everything you read or hear and be
open to many viewpoints.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
13. Scientific theories are
a. frequently overturned and changed because they are, in fact, just theories.
b. overturned on a regular basis at periodic scheduled meetings of the scientific community
to evaluate the validity of all scientific theories.
c. never overturned.
d. rarely overturned unless new evidence discredits them.
e. overturned only as a result of Supreme Court decisions.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-1 WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
14. Matter is best described as
a. anything that has mass and occupies space
b. something that has the capacity to do work
c. something that can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas
d. something that can produce change
e. is anything that has mass and occupies space and can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate
TOP: 2-2 WHAT IS MATTER AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT UNDERGOES CHANGE?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
15. All of the following are elements except
a. Water
b. Oxygen
c. Nitrogen
d. Hydrogen
e. Carbon
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
TOP: 2-2 WHAT IS MATTER AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT UNDERGOES CHANGE?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: KNOWLEDGE
25
16. The atomic number is the number of
a. atoms in a molecule
b. protons in an atom
c. nuclei in a molecule
d. electrons in an atom
e. protons
