What are the characteristics of  the process of experimentation?

    What system of measurement makes more sense? (metric or english?)
 
Multiple choice questions
 1. When did modern science arise:
            a. it's always been with us       b. with the Greeks
            c. with Galileo and Kepler      d. in the last century and a half
            e. none of these are correct
 
2. When did Natural Philosophy arise?
           a. it's always been with us       b. with the Greeks
            c. with Galileo and Kepler      d. in the last century and a half
            e. none of these are correct

3. When did technology arise?
            a. it's always been with us       b. with the Greeks
            c. with Galileo and Kepler      d. in the last century and a half
            e. none of these are correct
 
4.Which of the following cultures is responsible for "inventing" modern science?:
            a. the Greeks     b. the Babylonian agricultural revolution       c. the Chinese  d. Renaissance Western  Europe
            e. it has been around for as long as people have been asking questions

5. Scientific models are changed only by:
          a. assuming that the universe is an orderly place     b. achieving concensus about a new model
          c. speculating about alternate explanations     d. testing the models   e. by none of the above
 
6. New ideas in science become accepted:
          a. after they are proved correct      b. if they are justified      c. after concensus is reached
          d. if they have economic value      e. if they are not offensive

7. Which of the following does not apply to science?
          a.  it is a body of explanations and descriptions    b.  it deals with the physical world
          c.  anyone can do it, by faithfully following the steps of the scientific method
          d.  it assumes that the universe is an orderly, regular place that can be figured out
          e.  all the above are true statements about science

8. All scientific thinking and research is grounded in/based on/gets its information from:
          a. hypotheses     b. theories     c. models     d. nature     e. laws

9.  In the sciences, THE MAIN SOURCE of  information that we rely on is:
          a. experts   b. libraries   c. colleagues   d. nature   e. all of these

10. Science searches for:
          a. peace    b. enlightenment   c. better descriptions and explanations   d. a better life   e. more money

11. The ultimate goal (end result) of SCIENTIFIC thinking and research is:
          a. better observations  b. better theories  c.new inferences  d. a better life  e. more powerful technology

12. In science we make which of the following assumptions?
          a. that the universe is knowable   b. that the universe is orderly    c. that we are capable of understanding it
          d. that we have a right to investigate it    e. they all are assumptions we make in  the sciences

13. The reason mathematics are the language of science is that they are:
          a. concise   b. precise   c. universal   d. safe    e. all the above

14. The reason we often use mathematical models in science is because they are:
           a. cheaper  b. more precise  c. safer  d. more concise    e. all the above

15. Which of the following statements about technology is the correct one?
           a. It is more recent than science.  b. It is primarily concerned with explanations
           c. It is concerned with making our lives better   d. It first requires an understanding of the scientific principles
           e. all of these are correct about technology.

16. Which of the following represents the highest order (=broadest, most general) scientific model?
          a. hypothesis       b. law       c. theory       d. observation        e. inference

17. The ultimate test of the correctness of an idea in science is done by checking it in/ with/ against:
          a. hypotheses  b. theories  c. models    d. nature     e. discussions and professional papers

18. We often see the steps  of the "scientific method" described as follows: observation, hypothesis, testing,  theory, law,
       predictions, new observations, etc.. Which of the following statements is correct?
         a. while this is a neat arrangement, it unfortunately is not how science is done
          b. new investigations in science do not really start with observations; they start because we perceive that something is
          wrong or missing in our present models   c. in science, a law is really not a higher order explanation than a theory
          d. all the above statements are correct     e. the steps described in the question above are the correct ones.

19. All scientific thinking and research begins with/in:
          a. hypotheses   b. theories   c. models    d. problems with existing models     e. laws

20. Before science and natural philosophy, explanations about the physical world were expressed as:
          a. models   b. theories   c. laws   d. myths  e. none of these

21. Which of the following is a misconception about science?
          a. science is not creative    b. science is concerned with the betterment of mankind
          c. science can  ultimately solve any problem   d. scientific truth is always incomplete
          e. they all are  misconceptions about science.

Use the Back button on your browser to go back to the text