| Study Questions Scientific Inquiry |
| 1. Describe what you see on one of the web cams. |
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| 2. Formulate a question that can be explored using scientific observation and experiment. |
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| 3. Give an example of a non-scientific question. |
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| 4. Why is this question not scientific? |
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| 5. If you drop a paper airplane and a bowling ball from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa which object will hit the ground first? |
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| 6. Does your answer invalidate the theory of gravity? |
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| 7. Provide a scientific hypothesis as to why the paper airplane might travel at a slower speed. |
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| 8. Give an example in everyday language where the use of “fact” is different from scientific facts. |
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| 9. Give an example in everyday language where the use of “law” is different from scientific laws. |
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| 10. Give an example in everyday language where the use of “theory” is different from scientific theories. |
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| 11. Discuss whether the following hypotheses are scientific: A) All sheep are white; B) There is life on Mars; C) Dogs make better pets than cats; D) the Sun always rises in the East. |
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| 12. In the NASA fruit fly experiment, where is the control group? |
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| 13. What is the purpose of the control group of fruit flies? |
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| 14. Give another example of important scientific research that is often dismissed as “just a theory.” |
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| 15. Is the hypothesis that reindeer can fly falsifiable? |
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| 16. Is there a place in our society for the idea that reindeer can fly? |
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| 17. Consider estimates for the parameters in the Drake equation and enter them into the correct field as follows: R=10, Fp=0.5, Ne=2, Fl=1, Fi=0.01, Fc=0.01, L=10,000. What does the Drake equation estimate as the number of communicative civilizations? |
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| 18. Can you think of another experiment that you could do with a Twinkie? Describe the test. |
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