1
CEM 141 Questions with Answers (100%
Correct Answers)
Is there such a thing as a "scientific method?" Answer: no
What do scientists do? Answer: 1. ask questions
2. design experiments
3. gather/analyze data and evidence
4. make claims (based on the data/evidence)
5. develop models, explanations, and theories about how/why the universe
behaves as it does
How can scientific questions be answered? Answer: -doing experiments
-making observations
-taking measurements
-it must be replicable
What makes something not science? Answer: if an experiment can't be
replicated reliably, then it's not science
What do you need when you make a claim? Answer: you need evidence to
support it and maybe even a model
What is a scientific model? Answer: it can be a drawing, graph, diagram, or
equation that's physical/mental
What are models used for? Answer: -explain how things happen
-make testable, quantifiable predictions
,2
What do we do with our claims, evidence, and data? Answer: we develop an
explanation/scientific theory to help us explain why these things happen
What should scientists aim for? Answer: the most complete set of ideas we can
come up with
How do you create a scientific explanation? Answer: 1. Claim: the target of
your explanation
2. Evidence: data/scientific principle you are using to support your claim
3. Reasoning: connection between your claim and evidence
What is a scientific theory? Answer: the best available explanation of the
existing evidence/data/observations
What are the characteristics of a good scientific theory? Answer: -explains
how/why something happens
-makes testable predictions
-is falsifiable
-may change over time as new evidence is uncovered
What's the difference between a law and a theory? Answer: a law describes the
phenomenon (so it tells you what happens); a theory explains the phenomenon
(so it tells you why it happens)
Which has atoms in it? Heat, cells, air, or gold? Answer: cells, air, and gold
How big do you think an H atom is? Answer: about 0.1 nanometer
How do we know atoms exist/ what's the evidence? Answer: we can actually
"see" them
What are the two methods that allow us to see things at the atomic level?
Answer: atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy
(STM)
, 3
Where did the original idea for atoms come from? Answer: the Greeks
("atomos"- not to be cut)
What were some of the Greeks most prominent ideas about atoms? Answer: -
based on philosophy
-based on the elements
-thought atoms were in constant motion with a "void" between them (Brownian
motion)
What was important about how the Greeks theorized atoms were shaped?
Answer: it foreshadowed the idea that the atomic/ molecular structure of a
substance determines its observable properties
What keeps atoms in constant motion? Answer: thermal energy
What differentiates one atom from another? Answer: the number of protons it
has
How do we know atoms of certain elements differ from atoms of another?
Answer: they have new/ different properties
What's the difference between an atom and a molecule? Answer: an atom is the
smallest form of an element and molecules are many atoms bonded together
What's the difference between an element and a compound? Answer: elements
are all one type of atom while compounds are many elements combined
What is the smallest unit of an element? Answer: an atom
What are the five key points of Dalton's Atomic Theory? Answer: 1. Elements
are composed of small, indestructible, indivisible particles called atoms
2. All atoms of an elements are identical and have the same mass and
properties
3. Atoms of a given element are different from atoms of other elements
CEM 141 Questions with Answers (100%
Correct Answers)
Is there such a thing as a "scientific method?" Answer: no
What do scientists do? Answer: 1. ask questions
2. design experiments
3. gather/analyze data and evidence
4. make claims (based on the data/evidence)
5. develop models, explanations, and theories about how/why the universe
behaves as it does
How can scientific questions be answered? Answer: -doing experiments
-making observations
-taking measurements
-it must be replicable
What makes something not science? Answer: if an experiment can't be
replicated reliably, then it's not science
What do you need when you make a claim? Answer: you need evidence to
support it and maybe even a model
What is a scientific model? Answer: it can be a drawing, graph, diagram, or
equation that's physical/mental
What are models used for? Answer: -explain how things happen
-make testable, quantifiable predictions
,2
What do we do with our claims, evidence, and data? Answer: we develop an
explanation/scientific theory to help us explain why these things happen
What should scientists aim for? Answer: the most complete set of ideas we can
come up with
How do you create a scientific explanation? Answer: 1. Claim: the target of
your explanation
2. Evidence: data/scientific principle you are using to support your claim
3. Reasoning: connection between your claim and evidence
What is a scientific theory? Answer: the best available explanation of the
existing evidence/data/observations
What are the characteristics of a good scientific theory? Answer: -explains
how/why something happens
-makes testable predictions
-is falsifiable
-may change over time as new evidence is uncovered
What's the difference between a law and a theory? Answer: a law describes the
phenomenon (so it tells you what happens); a theory explains the phenomenon
(so it tells you why it happens)
Which has atoms in it? Heat, cells, air, or gold? Answer: cells, air, and gold
How big do you think an H atom is? Answer: about 0.1 nanometer
How do we know atoms exist/ what's the evidence? Answer: we can actually
"see" them
What are the two methods that allow us to see things at the atomic level?
Answer: atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy
(STM)
, 3
Where did the original idea for atoms come from? Answer: the Greeks
("atomos"- not to be cut)
What were some of the Greeks most prominent ideas about atoms? Answer: -
based on philosophy
-based on the elements
-thought atoms were in constant motion with a "void" between them (Brownian
motion)
What was important about how the Greeks theorized atoms were shaped?
Answer: it foreshadowed the idea that the atomic/ molecular structure of a
substance determines its observable properties
What keeps atoms in constant motion? Answer: thermal energy
What differentiates one atom from another? Answer: the number of protons it
has
How do we know atoms of certain elements differ from atoms of another?
Answer: they have new/ different properties
What's the difference between an atom and a molecule? Answer: an atom is the
smallest form of an element and molecules are many atoms bonded together
What's the difference between an element and a compound? Answer: elements
are all one type of atom while compounds are many elements combined
What is the smallest unit of an element? Answer: an atom
What are the five key points of Dalton's Atomic Theory? Answer: 1. Elements
are composed of small, indestructible, indivisible particles called atoms
2. All atoms of an elements are identical and have the same mass and
properties
3. Atoms of a given element are different from atoms of other elements
