C165 Integrated Physical Sciences PRE-
ASSESSMENT INTEGRATED PHYSICAL SCIENCES
(MTC1) (PMTC) 2024-2025 Western Governors
University
, WGU Knowledge Center
PRE-ASSESSMENT: INTEGRATED PHYSICAL SCIENCES (MTC1) (PMTC)
Attempt #1
Status: Passed
1. Which question could be answered with a controlled experiment?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Does ice melt faster in an empty glass or in a glass full of water?
Do all planets have the same shape of orbit around the sun?
What is the maximum distance between Earth and Jupiter? What is
the length of the longest river in North America?
2. Which topic would be appropriate for a controlled experiment?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Determining how fast different chemical pollutants dissolve in water
Comparing the elements present in different stars
Measuring how fast a river hows
Predicting the path of a tornado
3. Which question requires a controlled experiment to answer?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Which type of rock contains the most calcium?
Which planet has the most moons?
Which elements are found in Earth's atmosphere? Which
fossils formed earliest in Earth's history?
4. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that the force of gravity between two masses increases if the masses increase,
relationshi
p.
,9/11/23, 4:36 WGU Student
PM Portal
Which type of scientific statement is this?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Hypothesis
Theory
Law
Inference
5. The well-accepted scientific explanation for many characteristics of Earth's crust states that the crust is broken into several large
plates. These plates move slowly over the mantle below because of convection and
other processes. Earthquakes and volcanoes are most common at places where the plates interact. Evidence from physics, chemistry,
and geology supports this explanation.
Which type of scientific idea is this explanation an example of?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Hypothesis
Theory
Law
Prediction
6. A student proposes that sugar will dissolve faster in rubbing alcohol than in water. The student reasons that sugar and rubbing
alcohol both contain carbon so they will mix more easily.
Which type of scientific idea is the student's proposal an example of?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Hypothesis
Theory Law
Observation
7. Why was the shrinking Earth idea replaced by the theory of plate tectonics?
, 9/11/23, 4:36 WGU Student
PM Portal
YOUR
CORRECT
ANSWER
ANSWER
Plate tectonics was a new theory, which made it more reliable.
Plate tectonics explained observations about Earth that the shrinking Earth
idea could not explain.
Geologists voted on which theory to accept, and chose plate tectonics. Many
well-known geologists were involved in proposing plate tectonics.
8. Astronomers have long accepted that plate tectonics exists nowhere in our solar system except on Earth. In 2011, a scientist
analyzed 100 NASA-space-mission photographs of Valles Marineris on Mars, the longest known series of canyons in the solar
system. The scientist found that Valles Marineris showed features found
only in locations on Earth where major tectonic plates divide.
What would be the appropriate response of scientists to this information?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Reject plate tectonics on Mars as the explanation because it contradicts
accepted science
Decide whether to accept plate tectonics on Mars based on the
reputation of scientists involved
Hold public debates among scientists and then vote whether plate tectonics
occurs on Mars
Carry out further research to gain more understanding of possible plate
tectonics on Mars
9. According to the theory of plate tectonics, volcanoes are especially likely to form along plate boundaries because of rising
magma. New satellite data mapping the ocean floor reveals thousands of seamounts, which
are small volcanoes. Some of the seamounts are in lines that could correspond to past or present plate boundaries, but many
are not aligned in this way.
How should scientists appropriately respond to the idea that some new mechanism of forming the volcanoes is involved?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Reject it because it contradicts the theory of plate tectonics
Accept it if the person proposing it is a credible expert on plate tectonics.
Carry out more research to understand better how the seamounts form
ASSESSMENT INTEGRATED PHYSICAL SCIENCES
(MTC1) (PMTC) 2024-2025 Western Governors
University
, WGU Knowledge Center
PRE-ASSESSMENT: INTEGRATED PHYSICAL SCIENCES (MTC1) (PMTC)
Attempt #1
Status: Passed
1. Which question could be answered with a controlled experiment?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Does ice melt faster in an empty glass or in a glass full of water?
Do all planets have the same shape of orbit around the sun?
What is the maximum distance between Earth and Jupiter? What is
the length of the longest river in North America?
2. Which topic would be appropriate for a controlled experiment?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Determining how fast different chemical pollutants dissolve in water
Comparing the elements present in different stars
Measuring how fast a river hows
Predicting the path of a tornado
3. Which question requires a controlled experiment to answer?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Which type of rock contains the most calcium?
Which planet has the most moons?
Which elements are found in Earth's atmosphere? Which
fossils formed earliest in Earth's history?
4. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that the force of gravity between two masses increases if the masses increase,
relationshi
p.
,9/11/23, 4:36 WGU Student
PM Portal
Which type of scientific statement is this?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Hypothesis
Theory
Law
Inference
5. The well-accepted scientific explanation for many characteristics of Earth's crust states that the crust is broken into several large
plates. These plates move slowly over the mantle below because of convection and
other processes. Earthquakes and volcanoes are most common at places where the plates interact. Evidence from physics, chemistry,
and geology supports this explanation.
Which type of scientific idea is this explanation an example of?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Hypothesis
Theory
Law
Prediction
6. A student proposes that sugar will dissolve faster in rubbing alcohol than in water. The student reasons that sugar and rubbing
alcohol both contain carbon so they will mix more easily.
Which type of scientific idea is the student's proposal an example of?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Hypothesis
Theory Law
Observation
7. Why was the shrinking Earth idea replaced by the theory of plate tectonics?
, 9/11/23, 4:36 WGU Student
PM Portal
YOUR
CORRECT
ANSWER
ANSWER
Plate tectonics was a new theory, which made it more reliable.
Plate tectonics explained observations about Earth that the shrinking Earth
idea could not explain.
Geologists voted on which theory to accept, and chose plate tectonics. Many
well-known geologists were involved in proposing plate tectonics.
8. Astronomers have long accepted that plate tectonics exists nowhere in our solar system except on Earth. In 2011, a scientist
analyzed 100 NASA-space-mission photographs of Valles Marineris on Mars, the longest known series of canyons in the solar
system. The scientist found that Valles Marineris showed features found
only in locations on Earth where major tectonic plates divide.
What would be the appropriate response of scientists to this information?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Reject plate tectonics on Mars as the explanation because it contradicts
accepted science
Decide whether to accept plate tectonics on Mars based on the
reputation of scientists involved
Hold public debates among scientists and then vote whether plate tectonics
occurs on Mars
Carry out further research to gain more understanding of possible plate
tectonics on Mars
9. According to the theory of plate tectonics, volcanoes are especially likely to form along plate boundaries because of rising
magma. New satellite data mapping the ocean floor reveals thousands of seamounts, which
are small volcanoes. Some of the seamounts are in lines that could correspond to past or present plate boundaries, but many
are not aligned in this way.
How should scientists appropriately respond to the idea that some new mechanism of forming the volcanoes is involved?
YOUR CORRECT
ANSWER ANSWER
Reject it because it contradicts the theory of plate tectonics
Accept it if the person proposing it is a credible expert on plate tectonics.
Carry out more research to understand better how the seamounts form
