NCAE Scientific Ability and Critical Thinking Flashcards
6 cards from real NCAE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 NCAE Scientific Ability and Critical Thinking flashcards as text
A researcher finds that students who eat breakfast score higher on exams. Can the researcher conclude that eating breakfast causes higher scores?
Answer: No, because correlation does not imply causation
Correlation between two variables does not prove that one causes the other. There could be other factors (confounding variables) that explain the relationship, such as overall health habits or socioeconomic status.
Which type of reasoning moves from general principles to specific conclusions?
Answer: Deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning starts with a general statement or principle and applies it to reach a specific conclusion. For example, 'All mammals are warm-blooded; a dog is a mammal; therefore, a dog is warm-blooded.'
What type of reasoning draws a general conclusion from specific observations?
Answer: Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning involves making generalizations based on specific observations or evidence. For example, observing that the sun has risen every morning leads to the general conclusion that the sun rises every day.
Which of the following best represents a testable hypothesis?
Answer: If plants receive more sunlight, then they will grow taller
A testable hypothesis is a specific, measurable prediction that can be tested through experimentation. It typically follows an 'if...then...' format and involves variables that can be measured.
In the Philippine ecosystem, which of the following is a producer in a food chain?
Answer: Narra tree
Producers are organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis. The narra tree, which is the national tree of the Philippines, is a producer because it converts sunlight into energy.
What happens to the energy available at each successive trophic level in a food chain?
Answer: It decreases by approximately 90%
At each trophic level, approximately 90% of energy is lost as heat through metabolic processes. Only about 10% of the energy is transferred to the next level, which is why food chains rarely have more than four or five levels.