CA GATE Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student notices that plants near the window grow taller than plants in the corner of the room. What is the BEST next step in a scientific investigation?
- Conclude that sunlight causes taller plant growth
- Form a hypothesis and design a controlled experiment (Correct answer)
- Move all plants to the window immediately
- Ask the teacher why the plants are different
Correct answer: Form a hypothesis and design a controlled experiment
Forming a hypothesis and designing a controlled experiment is the proper scientific method step after making an observation.
Question 2: In an experiment testing how water temperature affects goldfish activity, what is the independent variable?
- The number of goldfish movements per minute
- The size of the fish tank
- The water temperature (Correct answer)
- The amount of food given to the fish
Correct answer: The water temperature
The independent variable is the factor the experimenter deliberately changes, which in this case is the water temperature.
Question 3: Which of the following BEST describes a controlled experiment?
- An experiment where all variables change at the same time
- An experiment where only one variable changes while all others remain constant (Correct answer)
- An experiment that is repeated by many different scientists
- An experiment conducted in a laboratory rather than outside
Correct answer: An experiment where only one variable changes while all others remain constant
A controlled experiment changes only one variable at a time so the effect of that variable can be isolated and measured.
Question 4: A scientist collects data showing that as average daily temperature increases, ice cream sales also increase. What can be correctly concluded from this data?
- Hot weather directly causes people to buy ice cream
- There is a correlation between temperature and ice cream sales (Correct answer)
- Ice cream sales cause temperatures to rise
- The data is not scientifically valid
Correct answer: There is a correlation between temperature and ice cream sales
The data shows a correlation (relationship) between the two variables, but correlation does not prove causation.
Question 5: When measuring the length of an object, a student records 14.5 cm, 14.6 cm, and 14.5 cm in three trials. These results are BEST described as:
- Accurate but not precise
- Precise but not necessarily accurate (Correct answer)
- Neither accurate nor precise
- Both accurate and precise without question
Correct answer: Precise but not necessarily accurate
The measurements are close to each other (precise), but without knowing the true length, we cannot confirm they are accurate.
Question 6: Which statement BEST represents a valid scientific hypothesis?
- Plants are beautiful when they get sunlight
- If plants receive more sunlight, then they will grow taller (Correct answer)
- Sunlight is very important for plants
- Scientists should study how sunlight affects plants
Correct answer: If plants receive more sunlight, then they will grow taller
A valid hypothesis is a testable 'if-then' statement that predicts the relationship between variables.
Question 7: A student's experiment produces results that do not support their hypothesis. What should the student do?
- Change the data to match the hypothesis
- Declare the experiment a failure and start over with a new topic
- Analyze possible errors, revise the hypothesis, and retest (Correct answer)
- Ignore the results and look for a different experiment
Correct answer: Analyze possible errors, revise the hypothesis, and retest
In science, unexpected results are valuable; the proper response is to analyze, revise, and retest to advance understanding.
CA GATE Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning 1
A student notices that plants near the window grow taller than plants in the corner of the room.
What is the BEST next step in a scientific investigation?