Skills Lesson: Evaluating Explanations Answers

Scientists follow specific processes in order to determine valid explanations and conclusions from observations. David observed strange lights in the sky above his home outside of Roswell, New Mexico. The only explanation that makes sense to him is that there are UFOs in the area. What should David do next to verify his explanation?

The city of San Francisco reported more missing dogs the week before a massive earthquake than any other week of the year. Therefore, this is factual evidence that dogs can sense impending danger.

Courtney believes that the dinosaurs went extinct as a result of a giant asteroid hitting the earth. Scientists discovered a 150 km wide crater dating back to the time of their extinction, according to the fossil record. The crater and the fossil record are examples of researched data that support Courtney’s explanation.

Scientists follow specific processes in order to determine valid explanations and conclusions from scientific data. Students graduating from Rydell High School in 2010 were asked to fill out an exit survey the last week of school. When students were asked to compare language arts courses with science courses, 20% of males reported preferring language arts and 80% reported preferring science. For females, 90% reported preferring language arts and 10% reported preferring science. Which of the following would be a valid conclusion based on the data from this study?

Researched information can never be biased.