Experimental Controls
Biology ⇒ Scientific Inquiry and Experimental Design in Biology
Experimental Controls starts at 7 and continues till grade 12.
QuestionsToday has an evolving set of questions to continuously challenge students so that their knowledge grows in Experimental Controls.
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See sample questions for grade 11
A researcher is testing a new antibiotic. She uses one group with the antibiotic, one with a known antibiotic, and one with no antibiotic. What is the purpose of the group with the known antibiotic?
A scientist is testing the effect of a new fertilizer on tomato plants. She uses one group with the fertilizer and one group without. What is the control group in this experiment?
A scientist is testing the effect of temperature on bacterial growth. She uses one group at 37°C and another at 25°C. What is the independent variable?
A student wants to test if salt affects the boiling point of water. She boils pure water and water with salt. What is the control in this experiment?
A researcher is testing a new antibiotic. She uses one group with the antibiotic, one with a known antibiotic, and one with no antibiotic. What is the purpose of the group with the known antibiotic?
A researcher is testing the effect of pH on enzyme activity. She uses a buffer solution with no enzyme as one group. What type of control is this? (1) Positive control, (2) Negative control, (3) Placebo control, (4) Variable control
A scientist is testing the effect of a new fertilizer on tomato plants. She uses one group with the fertilizer and one group without. What is the control group in this experiment?
A scientist is testing the effect of temperature on bacterial growth. She uses one group at 37°C and another at 25°C. What is the independent variable?
A researcher is testing the effect of pH on enzyme activity. She uses a buffer solution with no enzyme as one group. What type of control is this? (1) Positive control, (2) Negative control, (3) Placebo control, (4) Variable control
In an experiment testing the effect of light on seed germination, what would be an appropriate negative control? (1) Seeds exposed to light, (2) Seeds kept in the dark, (3) Seeds given extra water, (4) Seeds placed in a refrigerator
Which of the following best describes a confounding variable? (1) A variable that is kept constant, (2) A variable that changes with the independent variable, (3) A variable that affects the dependent variable but is not controlled, (4) A variable that is measured at the end
Which of the following best describes a negative control? (1) A group where no treatment is applied, (2) A group where a known effect is expected, (3) A group where the independent variable is increased, (4) A group where the dependent variable is measured only at the end.
Fill in the blank: A __________ control is used to show that the experimental system is capable of producing a positive result.
Fill in the blank: A __________ variable is one that is kept the same in all groups of an experiment.
Fill in the blank: In a controlled experiment, the variable that is deliberately changed is called the __________ variable.
Fill in the blank: In a double-blind experiment, neither the participants nor the __________ know who is receiving the treatment.
True or False: A control group can sometimes receive a standard treatment rather than no treatment at all.
True or False: A placebo is often used as a control in clinical trials.
True or False: A positive control is used to show that the experimental setup can produce results.
True or False: All experiments require both a positive and a negative control.
