Science Inquiry & Data Interpretation Flashcards

Which step comes immediately after forming a hypothesis in the scientific method?

Answer: Designing and conducting an experiment

After forming a hypothesis, the next step is designing and conducting an experiment to test it.

A scatter plot shows data points spread randomly with no pattern. What does this suggest about the two variables?

Answer: They are not correlated

Randomly scattered data points with no trend indicate there is no correlation between the two variables.

A student wants to test if fertilizer amount affects tomato plant growth. She uses 5 plants with 0g, 5g, 10g, 15g, and 20g of fertilizer. What is the dependent variable?

Answer: The growth of the tomato plants

The dependent variable is plant growth — the outcome that is measured in response to the fertilizer changes.

Which of the following best represents quantitative data?

Answer: The caterpillar is 4.2 cm long

Quantitative data is numerical; 4.2 cm is a measurable quantity.

A student graphs data from an experiment and draws a line of best fit. What is the purpose of the line of best fit?

Answer: To show the general trend in the data

A line of best fit shows the overall trend or pattern in data without necessarily passing through every point.

During an investigation, a student notices that one data point is very far from the others. This point is called:

Answer: An outlier

An outlier is a data point that differs significantly from the other data collected.

Which action would make an experiment's results more valid?

Answer: Increasing the sample size

A larger sample size reduces the effect of chance and makes conclusions more valid and generalizable.