ATAR Scientific Inquiry & Understanding 3

Question 1

A line of best fit on a scatter plot is drawn to:

Accepted Answer

Show the general trend while minimizing the distance from all data points

Answer

A line of best fit represents the overall trend of the data and minimizes residual distances from individual points.

Question 2

An outlier in a dataset should be:

Accepted Answer

Investigated to determine whether it results from error or a genuine observation

Answer

Outliers may indicate experimental error or a significant finding, so they must be investigated rather than automatically discarded.

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of qualitative data?

Accepted Answer

The color change observed during a chemical reaction

Answer

Qualitative data describes non-numerical characteristics such as color, texture, or appearance.

Question 4

A placebo is used in medical trials to:

Accepted Answer

Control for the psychological effect of receiving treatment

Answer

Placebos control for the placebo effect, ensuring observed results are due to the treatment rather than participant expectations.

Question 5

When a scientist states a result is 'statistically significant,' it means:

Accepted Answer

The result is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone

Answer

Statistical significance indicates that the probability of the result occurring by random chance is below an accepted threshold (commonly p < 0.05).

(ATAR) Australian Tertiary Admission Rank Practice Test