Evaluating Scientific Explanations Answers

Penny measured the time that it took her rat to run through a maze. She conducted the experiment 10 times and recorded the set of data below.Times: 67 s, 69 s, 68 s, 66 s, 78 s, 70 s, 67 s, 69 s, 68 s, 66 sWhich time is most likely an outlier?

Yannick’s class measured the width of one leaf several times. The values that the class recorded included 10 mm, 8 mm, 15 mm, 5 mm, and 13 mm. What is lacking from the measurements that the class made?

One way to get consistent, valid data is to

Which part of a scientific argument must be supported by valid data?

Medical researchers often test medicines on patients who have given informed consent for the tests. The researchers divide the patients into two groups. One group is given the medicine. The second group is given a harmless substitute such as sugar pills. Neither the patients nor the researchers know which patients have received the medicine and which have received the substitute. What is the purpose of having neither the patients nor the researchers know who is receiving which treatment?

The graph below shows changes in Earth’s average surface temperature since 1880.If Earth’s average surface temperature continues to change over the next 30 years at the same rate it changed between 1980 and 2010, the average temperature will most likely be around

Doctors report incidences of illness, such as influenza, to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The graph below shows data for three years. Note that this graph shows from October of one year to October of the following year. The leftmost data on the graph begins with week 40 (October) and shows data through the end of the year. The tick mark for week 1 (beginning of January) is roughly in the middle of the x axis. One journal said that influenza trends in 2008-09 were unusual. Based on the evidence in the graph, what range of data did the journal most likely use to support the claim?

The scientific evidence that scientists use in supporting or critiquing the conclusions of experiments usually consists of

In which way could the results of an experiment have bias?

Poor measurement practices are likely to lead to data that are