1. FCAT Practice Questions
Nature of Science
FCAT Practice Questions

2. I) BASEBALL BATS
Melanie, Brody, and Kyle want to test the hypothesis that baseballs travel farther when they are hit with metal bats than they do when they are hit with wooden bats.

3. I) BASEBALL BATS
Melanie recruits ten minor league baseball players to hit 100 balls each from a pitching machine with both types of bat. She measures the distance each ball travels, then calculates and compares the average distances for each bat material.
Brody researches the physical properties of the pine wood that wooden bats are made of and the aluminum that metal bats are made of. He gets the help of a physicist and an engineer at the local university to calculate the distance a baseball would travel off of each material if it were hit with a certain force at a certain angle.
Kyle obtains homerun data from different baseball leagues over several seasons. One league uses metal bats and the other uses wooden bats. He calculates and compares the average distance of homeruns hit by both types of bats.

4. I) BASEBALL BATS
Which of these students conducted a controlled experiment?
Melanie conducted a controlled experiment because she isolated the independent variable (type of bat), observed the dependent variable (distance of hits), and she controlled the other variables (she averaged out human-caused variations).

5. I) BASEBALL BATS
What could Melanie do to increase the reliability of her investigation?
The greatest weakness in Melanie’s investigation is a small sample size. If she were to include data from more players, the differences in human error/skill would average out more and more. More trials/samples result in greater reliability.

6. I) BASEBALL BATS
Identify at least one source of weakness in Kyle’s investigation.
He only studied data on hits that resulted in homeruns
The players in different leagues may have different talent levels
The leagues have teams in different locations/climates
All of these things either limit the data that Kyle had to work from or added variation into Kyle’s investigation, which reduces the reliability of his claim.

7. I) BASEBALL BATS
How would it affect Brody’s investigation if his conclusion is different than both Melanie’s and Kyle’s?
When your results are not replicated in other investigations, it decreases the confidence the science community can place in your claims. It does not mean that you are wrong (or that you are right), but it calls your claim into question.

8. I) BASEBALL BATS
What would it mean if all three investigations arrive at the same conclusion?
While science cannot prove that a claim is correct, it can provide evidence that supports it. When multiple investigations on the same topic arrive at similar conclusions, it increases the confidence that the scientific community has in that claim.

9. II) POOL TEMPERATURE
Lindsey wanted to investigate how the temperature of the water in her pool was affected by the time of year. She measured the water temperature at various times throughout the year and recorded the results in a data table. Then, she used the data to create the following graph.

10. II) POOL TEMPERATURE
What was Lindsey’s independent variable?
The independent variable is the one that you are testing to see how changing it affects something else. Lindsey is testing how the seasons (date) affect the water temperature, so the date would be her independent variable.

11. II) POOL TEMPERATURE
What was Lindsey’s dependent variable?
The dependent variable is what you are measuring or observing to see how it is affected by the independent variable. Lindsey is measuring the water temperature to see how it is affected by the date, so the water temperature is her dependent variable.

12. II) POOL TEMPERATURE
Explain why Lindsey chose to communicate her data using a scatter-plot instead of a different kind of graphic such as a bar graph or a data table.
The goal in communicating your data is to highlight patterns and show relationships. The scatter-plot shows the gradual changes in temperature throughout the year , while other types of graphs or charts would make this pattern harder to see.

13. II) POOL TEMPERATURE
Generate at least one claim that would be supported by evidence from the data shown above.
Science cannot make claims based on matters of opinion (best/worst)so Lindsey cannot claim that a certain time of year is “best” or “worst” for swimming. She can, however, describe the pattern in the temperature as it relates to the seasons. One claim might be that the water temperature is warmest in the summer months and coolest in the winter months.

14. II) POOL TEMPERATURE
What could Lindsey have done to improve the reliability of her investigation?
Measure the water temperature at regular intervals (same day and time each week)
Record the air temperature at the time of each water temperature measurement
Measuring more frequently and at regular intervals will give Lindsey more reliable data. Also, being able to compare the air temperature throughout the seasons to the water temperature could help her explain her results, making her claim stronger.

15. III) BIRD FOOD
Michelle enjoys placing bird food in her back yard and watching the birds come to eat it. Unfortunately, the birds are often scared away by squirrels who steal the food instead. Michelle notices that the squirrels seem to be picking the berries out of the bird food; and she hypothesizes that the squirrels are attracted by the berries in the food. She decides to conduct a scientific investigation to find out if the berries are attracting the squirrels to the bird food. She places two different types of bird food, one with berries and one without berries, in different locations throughout her back yard. Then, she observes how often the squirrels eat from each location and compares the frequency of squirrels eating the food with berries to the frequency of squirrels eating the food without berries.

16. III) BIRD FOOD
Why was it important for Michelle to generate a hypothesis BEFORE she designed her investigation?
A hypothesis is a testable explanation for an observation. It gives Michelle something to test, which allows her to design her investigation around it and make a prediction that she can compare with her results.

17. III) BIRD FOOD
Why is Michelle’s idea that the squirrels are attracted to the berries in the bird food considered a hypothesis and not a theory?
A hypothesis is a testable explanation for an observation. Theories are based on a group of closely-related hypotheses that have been confirmed through a significant amount of repetition and replication.

18. III) BIRD FOOD
What type of scientific investigation did Michelle perform?
While Michelle did isolate a variable to test, she did not control other variables within the environment, so it would be difficult to call her investigation a controlled experiment. A systematic observation seeks to determine relationships between various factors by observing the interactions between them. Michelle based her investigation on a series of observations involving the behavior of squirrels.

19. III) BIRD FOOD IF (hypothesis) is true, THEN (prediction) will occur.
Based on Michelle’s hypothesis, generate a prediction about her results.
IF (hypothesis) is true, THEN (prediction) will occur.
If the squirrels are attracted by the berries in the food, Then Michelle will observe the squirrels feeding from the food with berries more often than they feed from the food without berries.

20. III) BIRD FOOD
How will Michelle know whether the results support her hypothesis or not?
This is why we use the hypothesis to make an “IFTHEN” statement. If Michelle’s observations match her prediction, then they support her hypothesis. If her observations do not match her prediction, then they will not support her hypothesis.

21. IV) TOY CARS
Zach conducted an experiment to determine which toy car would travel the fastest down a ramp. He sent three different toy cars down a ramp five times each and recorded the time it took for the car to reach the bottom of the ramp each time. He presented his research to the class and reported that the smallest car had the greatest speed. After listening to Zach’s presentation, Connor wanted to try the experiment for himself because he was skeptical of Zach’s results. He followed Zach’s procedures and recorded his own results.

22. IV) TOY CARS Zach sent each car down the ramp five times
Identify an example of repetition in the story above.
Zach sent each car down the ramp five times
Repetition occurs when a scientist performs multiple trials in an investigation or repeats an investigation multiple times. It is an important part of scientific confirmation.

23. IV) TOY CARS
Identify an example of replication in the story above.
Connor conducted the same experiment as Zach
Replication occurs when different scientists perform the same investigation. It is an important part of scientific confirmation.

24. IV) TOY CARS
What is the purpose of Connor’s investigation?
To see if Zach’s results are consistent and predictable
Scientific confirmation is the process of attaining consistent and predictable results through investigation. If the results are consistent and predictable, the students can be more confident in the claim.

25. IV) TOY CARS
What does it mean if Connor’s investigation produces a different outcome than Zach’s investigation?
Zach should feel less confident in his initial result, but more testing is needed
When results of an investigation are not replicated, it calls the investigation into question and decreases our confidence in its claim. However, it doesn’t mean the initial investigation was “wrong”, just that more testing is necessary to make a determination.

26. IV) TOY CARS
What does it mean if Connor’s investigation produces the same outcome than Zach’s investigation?
Zach will feel more confident in his initial result.
When results of an investigation are confirmed, our confidence in our claim will increase. However, it doesn’t mean that we have “proven” our results.

27. Motion of Toy Cars Travelling down a 2 Meter Ramp at a 30° Incline
V) TOY CARS DATA
Connor duplicated Zach’s investigation about how the mass of toy cars affects their speed down a ramp in order to confirm Zach’s results. Zach’s original conclusion was that lighter cars are faster. Connor’s investigation produced the following data:
Motion of Toy Cars Travelling down a 2 Meter Ramp at a 30° Incline
Car
Mass (g)
Trial 1 Time (s)
Trial 2 Time (s)
Trial 3 Time (s)
Car A
7.9
5.9
5.6
5.8
Car B
15.5
4.7
4.9
Car C
20.2
3.3
2.0
3.1

28. IV) TOY CARS
Based on the data above, decide whether Connor was able to confirm Zach’s results.
Connor’s data does NOT show that the lighter car travels down the ramp fastest. In fact, car A (the lightest car) has the slowest times of the three cars. As a result, Connor’s investigation does not confirm Zach’s results.

29. IV) TOY CARS
Generate a reasonable claim based on Connor’s data shown above.
Connor’s data suggests the opposite of Zach’s claim, that the greater the mass of the car, the greater its speed will be down the ramp.

30. IV) TOY CARS
Identify evidence supports your conclusion.
The time that the cars take to travel down the ramp decreases as the cars’ mass increases.
Car C, the heaviest car, consistently had the fastest time, while Car A, the lightest car, consistently had the slowest time.

31. IV) TOY CARS
What could Zach and Connor have done to improve the reliability of their data?
Run more trials for each car
Use more cars (greater variety in mass)
While most of Connor’s data looks consistent and predictable, there is some inconsistency (Car C – Trial 2) that could be averaged out or disregarded if he had run more trials. Also, seeing a trend over a greater variety of cars would strengthen any claim Connor might make.

32. IV) TOY CARS
What could Connor have done to improve your ability to analyze his data and communicate his evidence?
Calculate an AVERAGE time for each car
Show the average times for each car on a BAR GRAPH
Having the average time for each car would make it easier to compare the three cars. Calculating an average time for multiple trials also helps to average out any outliers in the data.
Using a graph to communicate the results makes it quicker and easier to see patterns.