Comparing an Experiment, Simulation, or Multimedia Source with a Written Account

Question 1

Text: "A foam sleeve keeps a hot drink warm longer than a bare cup." Trial: water at 80 degrees C fell to 61 degrees C in a bare cup and to 72 degrees C in a sleeved cup after 20 minutes. What does the trial add?

Accepted Answer

A measured size for the gap: 11 degrees C after 20 minutes

Answer

A reason that trapped air in the foam slows heat loss

Answer

Evidence that a sleeve also keeps a cold drink cold

Answer

The claim that a sleeved cup stays warm longer

Question 2

Text: "A longer pendulum takes more time to complete one swing." Trial: a 25 centimeter pendulum made 10 swings in 10.0 seconds; a 100 centimeter pendulum made 10 swings in 20.1 seconds. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Both indicate that a longer pendulum takes more time per swing

Answer

Both indicate that doubling the length doubles the time per swing

Answer

Both indicate that the swings slow down as the pendulum tires

Answer

Both indicate that a heavier weight swings more slowly

Question 3

Text: "Warmth speeds the chemical changes inside a seed, so seeds sprout sooner in warm soil." Trial: of 20 seeds at 22 degrees C, 17 sprouted in 6 days; of 20 kept at 8 degrees C, only 3 did. What does the text supply that the trial cannot?

Accepted Answer

The reason warmth matters: it speeds the changes inside the seed

Answer

The number of seeds that sprouted in the warm conditions

Answer

Evidence that the warmer seeds outnumbered the cold ones

Answer

The number of days the warm seeds needed to sprout

Question 4

Text: "A wider canopy meets more air, so a parachute with a wider canopy falls more slowly." Trial: dropped from 2 meters, a 20 centimeter paper canopy landed in 2.4 seconds and a 10 centimeter canopy in 1.5 seconds. What does the trial show?

Accepted Answer

The wider canopy took 0.9 seconds longer to fall the same 2 meters

Answer

The wider canopy weighed more than the narrow canopy did

Answer

The paper's weight is what creates the air resistance

Answer

Both canopies reached the floor at the same moment

Question 5

Text: "Sugar dissolves faster in hot water than in cold." Trial: a cube dissolved in 25 seconds in still water at 60 degrees C, in 95 seconds in still water at 20 degrees C, and in 40 seconds in stirred water at 20 degrees C. What does the trial add?

Accepted Answer

Stirring speeds dissolving too: 40 seconds against 95 at the same temperature

Answer

Stirring matters only in hot water, not in cold

Answer

Stirring beats heat, since the stirred cold cube went fastest

Answer

Hot water and stirring work equally well on a sugar cube

Question 6

Text: "Heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones." Trial: a 1 kilogram ball and a 0.2 kilogram ball of the same size were released together from 2 meters and landed within 0.02 seconds of each other. What does the trial do to the text's claim?

Accepted Answer

It contradicts the claim, since the two balls landed at nearly the same instant

Answer

It supports the claim, since the heavier ball reached the floor first

Answer

It supports the claim, because the heavier ball is pulled with more force

Answer

It leaves the claim untested, because the two balls were the same size

Question 7

Text: "Deer numbers rose after the wolves left in 1985 and crashed in 1998." Simulation: a model ran 200 years of the same island in one minute and produced a rise and crash cycle about every 13 years. What does the simulation offer that the text does not?

Accepted Answer

A pattern across many cycles, far more years than the text's two dates

Answer

A record of what the island's deer actually did after 1998

Answer

The reason the wolves left the island in 1985

Answer

A count of the deer alive on the island in 1985

Question 8

Simulation: a computer flood model raised the river 1.2 meters in six hours and flooded 40 of 300 modeled houses. Text: "The model assumes the drains stay clear; in the 2019 storm they clogged with leaves." What does the text supply that the model cannot?

Accepted Answer

A real condition the model left out: drains that clogged in 2019

Answer

The number of modeled houses the rising water reached

Answer

How far the modeled river rose across six hours

Answer

Evidence that the flooded houses were built too low

Question 9

Text: "When the bat meets the ball, the ball squashes and then springs back." High speed study: frames shot at 10,000 per second showed the ball flattened for about 0.7 milliseconds before it left the bat. What does the study add to the text?

Accepted Answer

A length of time for the squash: about 0.7 milliseconds

Answer

The order of the squashing and the springing back

Answer

The reason a struck ball springs back into shape

Answer

The speed of the ball after it left the bat

Question 10

Text: "Moving air carries water vapor away, so wind speeds evaporation." Trial: two open dishes each held 20 milliliters of water; after 3 hours the dish beside a fan held 14 milliliters and the still dish held 18. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Both indicate that moving air makes water evaporate faster

Answer

Both indicate that warm air holds more water vapor than cool air

Answer

Both indicate that the fan warmed the water in the dish

Answer

Both indicate that evaporation stops entirely in still air

Question 11

Text: "Iron nails rust in damp air." Trial: a nail in water open to the air showed rust in 4 days; a nail in boiled water sealed under a layer of oil showed none after 10 days. What does the trial add to the text?

Accepted Answer

Air is needed as well as water, since the sealed nail stayed clean

Answer

Water on its own is enough to make an iron nail rust

Answer

Rust takes exactly 4 days to appear on any iron nail

Answer

Rust forms faster in a sealed container than in open air

Question 12

Text: "Sound is a wave that needs matter, such as air or water, to carry it." Demonstration: a ringing bell in a jar grew fainter as a pump drew the air out, and was nearly silent after two minutes. What does the text supply that the demonstration cannot?

Accepted Answer

The reason the bell faded: a wave needs matter to travel through

Answer

Evidence that removing the air makes the bell quieter

Answer

A length of time over which the ringing faded

Answer

Proof that the glass of the jar blocked the sound

Question 13

Text: "A magnet's pull weakens as the distance grows." Trial: one bar magnet lifted 8 paper clips at 1 centimeter, 2 clips at 3 centimeters and none at 5 centimeters. What does the trial show that the text only asserts?

Accepted Answer

How steeply the pull drops: from 8 clips to none across 4 centimeters

Answer

That the pull of a magnet weakens as distance grows

Answer

That a magnet loses strength each time it is used

Answer

That a stronger magnet would still lift clips at 5 centimeters

Question 14

Text: "The pond freezes over every winter." Log: a caretaker recorded ice covering the whole pond in 3 of the last 5 winters; in the other two winters only the edges froze. What does the log do to the text's claim?

Accepted Answer

It narrows the claim: full ice came in 3 winters of 5, not in every one

Answer

It confirms the claim, since ice appeared in all five winters

Answer

It overturns the claim, since the pond never froze over at all

Answer

It leaves the claim untouched, since the log covers only winters

Question 15

Text: "Exercise makes the heart beat faster." Trial: 12 students had a mean pulse of 72 beats per minute at rest and 118 beats per minute after two minutes of stepping. What does the trial add to the text?

Accepted Answer

A measured rise of 46 beats per minute after two minutes of stepping

Answer

A reason the heart speeds up while a person exercises

Answer

Evidence that every one of the 12 students sped up

Answer

The claim that exercise raises a person's pulse

Question 16

Text: "Dark surfaces absorb more sunlight than pale ones." Trial: after 15 minutes in the sun, a thermometer under black paper read 41 degrees C and one under white paper read 33 degrees C. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Both indicate that the darker surface takes in more of the sun's energy

Answer

Both indicate that white paper reflects all of the sunlight

Answer

Both indicate that paper color changes the air temperature of a room

Answer

Both give a temperature reading for the darker surface

Question 17

Text: "A rough surface slows a sliding block more than a smooth one." Trial: given the same push, a block slid 96 centimeters on varnished wood and 34 centimeters on carpet. What does the trial show that the text only asserts?

Accepted Answer

A size for the difference: 62 centimeters farther on the smooth wood

Answer

That a rough surface slows a sliding block down

Answer

That carpet fibers catch on the edges of the block

Answer

That a harder push would double the sliding distance

Question 18

Text: "Baking soda and vinegar react to make carbon dioxide gas." Recording: after the two were mixed, foam climbed to the neck of the flask in 3 seconds and settled again after 40 seconds. What does the text supply that the recording does not?

Accepted Answer

The name of the gas driving the foam: carbon dioxide

Answer

How long the foam took to climb to the flask's neck

Answer

That the foam settled again within a minute

Answer

How much vinegar was poured into the flask

Question 19

Text: "A new bridge design must be loaded with weights until it bends." Simulation: a computer model of the design reported 3 millimeters of bending at 5,000 kilograms and 9 millimeters at 12,000 kilograms. What can the model NOT tell the engineers?

Accepted Answer

Whether a bridge actually built to the design will behave as predicted

Answer

How far the modeled bridge bent under 12,000 kilograms

Answer

Whether the bending grew as the modeled load grew

Answer

How the two modeled loads compare in size

Question 20

Text: "A thicker wire carries current more easily than a thin one." Trial: on one battery, the thick wire drew 0.60 amps and the thin wire drew 0.25 amps. True or False: the trial puts a measured size on a difference the text gives only in words.

Accepted Answer

True

Answer

False

Question 21

Text: "Yeast feeds on sugar and gives off gas." Trial: a balloon on warm sugar water with yeast swelled to 18 centimeters around in 30 minutes; a balloon on yeast in plain warm water stayed flat. What does the trial add?

Accepted Answer

A measured comparison showing gas collected only where sugar was present

Answer

Proof that the gas the yeast released was carbon dioxide and not oxygen

Answer

An account of how yeast cells break sugar down to release the gas

Answer

Evidence that the warmth of the water is what made the yeast give off gas

Question 22

Text: "Salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes." Trial: crushed ice alone settled at 0 degrees Celsius; the same ice stirred with salt fell to negative 8 degrees Celsius in 4 minutes. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Salt drives an ice and water mixture below the freezing point of pure water

Answer

Ice cannot drop below 0 degrees Celsius unless it is being stirred

Answer

Salt raises the temperature that ice must reach before it will melt

Answer

Salt melts ice without taking in any heat from what surrounds it

Question 23

Text: "Mold spores drift in the air everywhere, and they grow where it is damp and warm." Trial: bread sealed in a damp bag showed mold on day 4; bread sealed dry showed none by day 10. What does the text supply that the trial cannot?

Accepted Answer

Where the mold came from, since spores were already drifting in the air

Answer

That the damp slice took four days before any mold appeared on it

Answer

That the dry slice stayed clear of mold for the whole ten days

Answer

That damp conditions bring on mold growth sooner than dry ones

Question 24

Text: "A crushed tablet reacts faster because more of it meets the water." Trial: in 200 milliliters of water at 20 degrees Celsius, a whole tablet took 42 seconds to vanish and a crushed one 11 seconds. What does the trial show that the text only asserts?

Accepted Answer

How large the speed difference is, roughly a quarter of the whole tablet's time

Answer

That crushing exposes more of the tablet's surface to the water

Answer

That warmer water would have dissolved both tablets more quickly

Answer

That the crushed tablet gave off a different gas than the whole one

Question 25

Text: "A solar panel makes more electricity when it faces the light squarely." Trial: one small panel drove a motor at 0.42 amps facing a lamp and at 0.19 amps when turned 60 degrees away. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Turning the panel away from the light lowers the current it produces

Answer

The panel produces no current at all once it is turned away from the light

Answer

The panel's output depends on the color of the lamp rather than on its angle

Answer

A larger panel would produce a stronger current than this small one did

Question 26

Text: "Air holds water vapor, and that vapor turns to liquid on a cold surface." Trial: a glass of ice water grew droplets outside in 90 seconds; a room-temperature glass stayed dry for 10 minutes. What does the text supply that the trial cannot?

Accepted Answer

That the droplets came from vapor in the air rather than from water crossing the glass

Answer

That droplets formed on the cold glass in about a minute and a half

Answer

That the room-temperature glass stayed dry for the full ten minutes

Answer

That a cold surface is needed before droplets will appear at all

Question 27

Text: "A ball loses energy at every bounce, so each bounce is lower than the one before it." Trial: dropped from 1 meter, the ball rose to 62 centimeters, then 38 centimeters, then 24 centimeters. What does the trial add?

Accepted Answer

Figures showing each bounce reached about six-tenths of the height before it

Answer

A reason the ball gives up energy each time it strikes the floor

Answer

Proof that the ball came to a complete stop after the third bounce

Answer

Evidence that a heavier ball would have bounced higher each time

Question 28

Text: "A frame with cross-braces resists shaking better than a plain frame." Model: on a shake table, a braced tower of sticks stood through 60 seconds of shaking while an unbraced tower fell after 8 seconds. What can the shake table NOT tell the builders?

Accepted Answer

How a full-size steel and concrete building would hold up in a real earthquake

Answer

Which of the two stick towers came down first under the shaking

Answer

Whether the braces helped the stick tower stay standing

Answer

How long the braced tower lasted before the shaking stopped

Question 29

Text: "Plant roots grip the soil, so bare slopes wash away faster than planted ones." Trial: watered with the same 2 liters, a bare tray lost 240 grams of soil and a grassy tray of equal slope lost 45 grams. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Soil held by growing plants washes away less than bare soil does

Answer

Bare soil loses about half as much soil as planted soil loses

Answer

Roots work by making rain soak in instead of running off the surface

Answer

A steeper slope loses more of its soil than a gentle slope does

Question 30

Text: "Water on a burner keeps warming until it boils, then holds one temperature." Trial: minute-by-minute readings ran 62, 78, 92, 100, 100 and 100 degrees Celsius while the water went on boiling. What does the trial show that the text only asserts?

Accepted Answer

Measured proof that the reading stayed at 100 degrees Celsius once boiling began

Answer

That the burner stopped delivering heat as soon as the water boiled

Answer

That the water climbed at a steady rate through every minute of heating

Answer

That the boiling temperature shifts with how much water is in the pot

Question 31

Text: "An object floats if it is less dense than water." Trial: a 20 gram candle floated, a 20 gram steel bolt sank, and a 60 gram block of pine floated. What does the trial do to the common idea that heavier objects sink?

Accepted Answer

It breaks the idea, since the 60 gram pine floated while the lighter bolt sank

Answer

It supports the idea, since the only object that sank was the steel bolt

Answer

It leaves the idea untested, since the candle and the bolt had the same mass

Answer

It shows that wood always floats and metal always sinks, whatever the weight

Question 32

Text: "Sliding the load nearer the fulcrum makes it easier to lift." Trial: with the effort at a fixed point on the bar, a spring scale read 12 newtons with the load 40 centimeters from the fulcrum and 6 newtons at 20 centimeters. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Moving the load closer to the fulcrum lowers the force needed to raise it

Answer

Moving the load closer to the fulcrum raises the force needed to lift it

Answer

The force needed stays the same wherever the load sits on the bar

Answer

Moving the effort closer to the fulcrum lowers the force needed to lift the load

Question 33

Text: "A flu swept through one school of 400 students over three weeks in 1997." Simulation: a model of that same school was run 500 times and produced outbreaks lasting between two and six weeks. What does the simulation offer that the text does not?

Accepted Answer

A range of outcomes drawn from many runs rather than one recorded season

Answer

A record of what actually happened inside the school in 1997

Answer

Proof that the 1997 outbreak ran for the most likely length of time

Answer

Reasons the illness moved so quickly among those particular students

Question 34

Text: "A sunflower seedling leans toward a window over several days." Time-lapse: six days of frames played in 20 seconds showed the stem swinging 40 degrees toward the glass. What does the time-lapse show that the text only asserts?

Accepted Answer

The leaning as continuous motion, with its size measured at 40 degrees

Answer

Why the stem bends toward the light instead of away from it

Answer

That the seedling kept leaning for weeks after the six days ended

Answer

That every sunflower seedling leans exactly 40 degrees toward a window

Question 35

Text: "The Moon cycles through its phases in about 29.5 days, from new moon to new moon." Model: a student turned a ball by a lamp; its lit part looked like a crescent, then a half, then a circle. What does the text supply that the model lacks?

Accepted Answer

How long the real phase cycle takes, about 29.5 days

Answer

That the lit part changes shape as the viewer's position changes

Answer

That the light falls on the ball from a single direction

Answer

That the ball itself gives off no light of its own

Question 36

Text: "A rubber band stretches further the more weight it carries." Trial: one band measured 12 centimeters holding 100 grams, 15 centimeters holding 200 grams and 18 centimeters holding 300 grams. True or False: the trial explains why the band stretches.

Accepted Answer

False

Answer

True

Question 37

Text: "Sound travels through air at about 340 meters per second." Trial: a student standing 170 meters from a cliff clapped once and heard the echo 1.0 second later. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

A round trip of 340 meters in one second matches the speed the text gives

Answer

The clap traveled the 170 meters to the cliff in one full second

Answer

Sound moves faster toward a hard surface than it does away from one

Answer

The echo shows that sound needs a hard surface in order to travel

Question 38

Text: "A car's shape changes how much air resistance it meets at highway speed." Wind tunnel: smoke streams ran in smooth lines over a curved clay model and broke into swirls behind a boxy one. What can the wind tunnel NOT tell the designers?

Accepted Answer

How much fuel the finished full-size car would use on a real highway

Answer

Which of the two clay shapes left swirling air behind it

Answer

Whether the air stayed smooth as it passed over the curved shape

Answer

Where along each model the smoke streams began to break up

Question 39

Text: "Metals carry heat better than plastics, so a metal spoon in hot water warms fastest." Trial: after 2 minutes in water at 90 degrees Celsius, the aluminum handle read 54 degrees Celsius, the steel 41 and the plastic 24. What does the trial add?

Accepted Answer

That the two metals differ from each other, with aluminum well ahead of steel

Answer

That steel carries heat better than aluminum does

Answer

That the water in the container cooled as the three spoons warmed

Answer

An explanation of how heat moves along a metal handle from one end to the other

Question 40

Text: "A paper filter traps solid particles but lets dissolved salt pass through." Trial: muddy salt water came out of the filter clear, still tasted salty, and left 3 grams of white solid when the water was evaporated away. Where do the two agree?

Accepted Answer

Filtering takes out the mud while the dissolved salt stays in the water

Answer

The paper removed the mud and the salt together in one pass

Answer

Filtering the muddy water made it safe to drink afterward

Answer

Evaporating the water carried the salt off along with the mud

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Comparing an Experiment, Simulation, or Multimedia Source with a Written Account

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

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Mystery Blast

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Castle Siege

Hot Potato

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King of the Hill

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Top Corner

Comparing an Experiment, Simulation, or Multimedia Source with a Written Account

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

Like what you see?

More like this

Zombie Escape

Avalanche

Maze Blast

Cave Climb

Blast Out

Mystery Auction

Tour Guide

Food Truck Rush

Tug of War

Bug Blast

Alien Blast

Glacier Rush

BlastRace

BlastQuiz

BlastBoard

Seek & Destroy

Mystery Blast

Checkers

Texas Hold 'Em

Da Bomb

Castle Siege

Hot Potato

Market Mayhem

King of the Hill

Bank Heist

Top Corner