Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. If you toss a coin and it comes up heads 73 consecutive times, what is the probability that it will come up
heads on the 74th toss?
a. 1
b. 1/2
c. 0
d. 73/74
e. 1/74
ANSWER: b
2. While measuring the fingers of people in different groups to study physical symmetry, a researcher noted that
when she measured individuals from a group that she predicted would be more symmetrical, she was more
likely to remeasure if her digital ruler indicated a large asymmetry. This is an example of which of the
following?
a. experimenter bias
b. placebo effect
c. double-blind experimental design
d. randomized effect
e. a treatment/control study
ANSWER: a
3. In a well-designed experiment:
a. the prediction will most likely be true.
b. you can prove your hypothesis to be true.
c. the prediction will be highly probable if the explanation is correct.
d. the null hypothesis will not be tested.
e. only the researchers will know who is receiving a placebo.
ANSWER: c
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,Name: Class: Date:
Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
4. If your hypothesis is “Echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the common cold,” what is the best
testable prediction for this hypothesis?
a. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then it should also
reduce the duration and severity of symptoms of the flu.
b. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea should get sick less frequently than those who do not take it.
c. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea and get sick with colds should suffer a shorter duration of milder illness .
d. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea should get sick less frequently than those who do not take it, and when they do get
sick, their illness should not last as long.
e. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea should get sick more frequently than those who do not take it, and when they do
get sick, their illness should last longer.
ANSWER: c
5. Which factor would be important in testing whether robins liked to eat worms?
a. Was there great variation in the redness of breast feathers in the robins tested?
b. Did the robins tested cock their heads before eating a worm?
c. Were the robins tested deprived of food for equal amounts of time?
d. How many hops did the robins tested make before eating a worm?
e. Did the robins tested sing or chirp before eating a worm?
ANSWER: c
6. Scientific data:
a. can be generalized to a much larger population.
b. are used to support or refute a hypothesis.
c. cannot be collected in a completely unbiased way.
d. are always true.
e. must be collected in laboratories.
ANSWER: b
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,Name: Class: Date:
Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
7. Which issue would be least helped by application of the scientific method?
a. comparing the effectiveness of two potential antibiotics
b. determining the most effective safety products for automobiles
c. developing more effective high school curricula
d. formulating public policy on euthanasia
e. evaluating the relationship between violence in video games and criminal behavior in teens
ANSWER: d
8. Professor Marsh wanted to know if using a textbook helped students perform better in biology class. She
asked a group of students if they had access to a textbook and then looked at their average exam scores. She
found that the students who said they had access to textbooks scored an average of 75% +/− 8%, and those
who did not scored on average 71% +/− 7%. What can Professor Marsh conclude from this study?
a. Students who have access to textbooks perform better in class than those who do not.
b. Students who have access to textbooks are less smart than those who do not.
c. Nothing. Perhaps, by chance, more high-performing students had access to textbooks.
d. A strong effect of textbook access can be generalized to other subject areas.
e. The variation in averages is large, so nothing can be concluded.
ANSWER: c
9. Which of the following is a good example of two phenomena that are correlated but show no causal
relationship?
a. Whenever the price of oil goes up, the price of airplane tickets goes up.
b. Whenever I do poorly on a biology exam, I eat a quart of ice cream.
c. I did poorly on my last biology exam, so I ate a quart of ice cream.
d. Between 1937 and 1979, every year that a Democrat was elected President of the United States, a
National League team won the World Series, whereas every year a Republican was elected President
of the United States, an American League team won the World Series.
e. When I walk to the bus, the trees I pass are a maple, an oak, an elm, a hickory, and another maple, in
that order.
ANSWER: d
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, Name: Class: Date:
Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
10. Which of the following is the best description of a control group in an experiment?
a. The control group and the test groups may have several differences between them.
b. The control group is identical to each test group, except for the variable under investigation.
c. There can be more than one difference between the control group and test groups but not several
differences; otherwise, the experiment is invalid.
d. There should be more than one control group in any experiment.
e. The control group is a test group that is chosen at random.
ANSWER: b
11. Which statement regarding visual displays of data is false?
a. In a line graph, a line or curve may be used to illustrate a relationship between two variables.
b. In a bar graph, the height of each bar is proportional to the value it represents.
c. In a line graph, a line or curve may be used to connect related data points.
d. In a pie chart, data is represented in “slices.”
e. The legend describes the content of the display.
ANSWER: e
12. In a recent study, patients treated with a genetically engineered heart drug were able to walk on a treadmill for
26 seconds longer than patients who did not receive the drug and showed no side effects. Can we conclude
that this drug is an effective treatment for heart disease?
a. Yes. Twenty-six seconds is a statistically significant difference.
b. No. It is not clear that the proper controls were made.
c. Yes. The ability to walk longer distances on a treadmill is correlated with cardiac capacity.
d. No. It is not clear how many subjects were in the study.
e. No. Genetically engineered drugs cannot be tested via the scientific method; they require comparative
observations.
ANSWER: b
13. The raw materials of science are:
a. hunches.
b. theories.
c. predictions.
d. observations.
e. hypotheses.
ANSWER: d
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Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. If you toss a coin and it comes up heads 73 consecutive times, what is the probability that it will come up
heads on the 74th toss?
a. 1
b. 1/2
c. 0
d. 73/74
e. 1/74
ANSWER: b
2. While measuring the fingers of people in different groups to study physical symmetry, a researcher noted that
when she measured individuals from a group that she predicted would be more symmetrical, she was more
likely to remeasure if her digital ruler indicated a large asymmetry. This is an example of which of the
following?
a. experimenter bias
b. placebo effect
c. double-blind experimental design
d. randomized effect
e. a treatment/control study
ANSWER: a
3. In a well-designed experiment:
a. the prediction will most likely be true.
b. you can prove your hypothesis to be true.
c. the prediction will be highly probable if the explanation is correct.
d. the null hypothesis will not be tested.
e. only the researchers will know who is receiving a placebo.
ANSWER: c
Page 1
,Name: Class: Date:
Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
4. If your hypothesis is “Echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the common cold,” what is the best
testable prediction for this hypothesis?
a. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then it should also
reduce the duration and severity of symptoms of the flu.
b. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea should get sick less frequently than those who do not take it.
c. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea and get sick with colds should suffer a shorter duration of milder illness .
d. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea should get sick less frequently than those who do not take it, and when they do get
sick, their illness should not last as long.
e. If echinacea reduces the duration and severity of the symptoms of the common cold, then individuals
who take echinacea should get sick more frequently than those who do not take it, and when they do
get sick, their illness should last longer.
ANSWER: c
5. Which factor would be important in testing whether robins liked to eat worms?
a. Was there great variation in the redness of breast feathers in the robins tested?
b. Did the robins tested cock their heads before eating a worm?
c. Were the robins tested deprived of food for equal amounts of time?
d. How many hops did the robins tested make before eating a worm?
e. Did the robins tested sing or chirp before eating a worm?
ANSWER: c
6. Scientific data:
a. can be generalized to a much larger population.
b. are used to support or refute a hypothesis.
c. cannot be collected in a completely unbiased way.
d. are always true.
e. must be collected in laboratories.
ANSWER: b
Page 2
,Name: Class: Date:
Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
7. Which issue would be least helped by application of the scientific method?
a. comparing the effectiveness of two potential antibiotics
b. determining the most effective safety products for automobiles
c. developing more effective high school curricula
d. formulating public policy on euthanasia
e. evaluating the relationship between violence in video games and criminal behavior in teens
ANSWER: d
8. Professor Marsh wanted to know if using a textbook helped students perform better in biology class. She
asked a group of students if they had access to a textbook and then looked at their average exam scores. She
found that the students who said they had access to textbooks scored an average of 75% +/− 8%, and those
who did not scored on average 71% +/− 7%. What can Professor Marsh conclude from this study?
a. Students who have access to textbooks perform better in class than those who do not.
b. Students who have access to textbooks are less smart than those who do not.
c. Nothing. Perhaps, by chance, more high-performing students had access to textbooks.
d. A strong effect of textbook access can be generalized to other subject areas.
e. The variation in averages is large, so nothing can be concluded.
ANSWER: c
9. Which of the following is a good example of two phenomena that are correlated but show no causal
relationship?
a. Whenever the price of oil goes up, the price of airplane tickets goes up.
b. Whenever I do poorly on a biology exam, I eat a quart of ice cream.
c. I did poorly on my last biology exam, so I ate a quart of ice cream.
d. Between 1937 and 1979, every year that a Democrat was elected President of the United States, a
National League team won the World Series, whereas every year a Republican was elected President
of the United States, an American League team won the World Series.
e. When I walk to the bus, the trees I pass are a maple, an oak, an elm, a hickory, and another maple, in
that order.
ANSWER: d
Page 3
, Name: Class: Date:
Chap 01 5e - Phelan - Update
10. Which of the following is the best description of a control group in an experiment?
a. The control group and the test groups may have several differences between them.
b. The control group is identical to each test group, except for the variable under investigation.
c. There can be more than one difference between the control group and test groups but not several
differences; otherwise, the experiment is invalid.
d. There should be more than one control group in any experiment.
e. The control group is a test group that is chosen at random.
ANSWER: b
11. Which statement regarding visual displays of data is false?
a. In a line graph, a line or curve may be used to illustrate a relationship between two variables.
b. In a bar graph, the height of each bar is proportional to the value it represents.
c. In a line graph, a line or curve may be used to connect related data points.
d. In a pie chart, data is represented in “slices.”
e. The legend describes the content of the display.
ANSWER: e
12. In a recent study, patients treated with a genetically engineered heart drug were able to walk on a treadmill for
26 seconds longer than patients who did not receive the drug and showed no side effects. Can we conclude
that this drug is an effective treatment for heart disease?
a. Yes. Twenty-six seconds is a statistically significant difference.
b. No. It is not clear that the proper controls were made.
c. Yes. The ability to walk longer distances on a treadmill is correlated with cardiac capacity.
d. No. It is not clear how many subjects were in the study.
e. No. Genetically engineered drugs cannot be tested via the scientific method; they require comparative
observations.
ANSWER: b
13. The raw materials of science are:
a. hunches.
b. theories.
c. predictions.
d. observations.
e. hypotheses.
ANSWER: d
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