11) The difference between a theory and a hypothesis is that a:

A) theory must be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

B) hypothesis must be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

C) hypothesis must be supported by evidence.

D) theory must be supported by evidence.

12) Which scientist disproved the theory of spontaneous generation?

A) Einstein

B) Watson

C) Pauling

D) Crick

E) Pasteur

13) A scientific finding is believed to be true until new evidence arises. This view is referred to as:

A) provisional assent.

B) immutable laws.

C) a theory.

D) a supernatural explanation.

14) A good hypothesis must:

A) be falsifiable.

B) be false.

C) be theoretical.

D) lead to a question.

E) be true.

15) If you flip the light switch in your living room and nothing happens, what might be a good hypothesis to explain the absence of light?

A) Electricity sometimes flows backward in a wire, preventing the light from shining.

B) The circuit breaker for the living room might be the “off” position.

C) You might have made too many telephone calls this month, thereby reducing the amount of electricity in your lines.

D) The air conditioner is also running upstairs, and it might be using all of the electricity available in your house at the moment.

16) Which one of the following is true about scientific knowledge?

A) Scientific knowledge is derived from careful thinking about the way things must work based on application of a few fundamental principles.

B) When based on many experiments, scientific knowledge is absolutely true.

C) Scientific knowledge is acquired though teachings passed on by great scientists.

D) Scientific knowledge is not absolute, because the possibility is always held open that new experiments may one day prove it wrong.

E) Scientific knowledge is derived from the strongest arguments made by the brightest scientists.

17) When Pasteur tested the hypothesis of spontaneous generation, he compared the ability of a sterilized growth medium (meat broth) to produce a population of bacteria in two different types of flasks. One had a simple neck open to the outside, and the other had a “goose neck” bend that also was open to the environment. Pasteur expected that bacteria would appear in the flask with the standard neck. In this experiment, the standard neck flask served as a/an:

A) observation.

B) variable.

C) control.

D) statistic.

E) hypothesis.

18) The questions that can be answered by science are:

A) limited by religious doctrine.

B) without limit.

C) limited by what can be investigated using the scientific method.

D) limited by what is found in the living world.

E) limited only by imagination.

19) Which of the following is the most complex level of organization?

A) a heart

B) a water molecule

C) a rainforest

D) the circulatory system

20) A tree in your backyard is home to robins, squirrels, beetles, and lichens. Together all these organisms compose a/an:

A) biosphere.

B) organism.

C) population.

D) community.

E) niche.