Identify Which Setup Produced a Given Result
Sample Question:
Which experiment resulted in the highest final speed for the object?
What’s Being Tested: Can you link specific outcomes to the setups that caused them?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Understanding measurable quantities like speed, force, or voltage
- Associating outcomes with initial conditions (e.g., mass, angle, height)
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Know which variable differences (e.g., incline angle or force applied) would logically lead to greater or lesser values of the measured outcome
Correct Approach:
- Identify the variable that affects the outcome (e.g., steeper incline = more acceleration)
- Find the experiment with that variable set to the extreme
- Match to the outcome described
Determine What Caused the Difference in Results
Sample Question:
What factor most likely explains why the object in Experiment 2 traveled a greater distance than in Experiment 1?
What’s Being Tested: Can you reason through the cause of observed differences?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Logical cause-effect thinking (e.g., increasing energy input = more motion)
- Understanding of how different physics conditions influence results
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Accurately link specific input differences (mass, height, friction) to outcome changes
Correct Approach:
- Identify the key variable that changed between experiments
- Use conceptual reasoning: “Which change would naturally increase distance?”
- Match the outcome difference to the most plausible cause
Compare Outcome Magnitudes or Rates
Sample Question:
Which trial resulted in the greatest average acceleration?
What’s Being Tested: Can you calculate or extract derived outcomes (like acceleration, power, velocity) from each experiment?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Using basic formulas if needed (e.g., acceleration = Δv/Δt), though most math is simple
- Comparing numerical differences accurately
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Basic understanding of what the measured quantity means
- Ability to estimate or calculate and compare values
Correct Approach:
- Identify or calculate each experiment’s value (if needed)
- Compare values directly
- Select the one with the highest magnitude
Match a Result to a Hypothetical Setup
Sample Question:
Which of the following experimental setups would most likely produce the same result as Experiment 3?
What’s Being Tested: Can you recognize equivalent outcomes under different combinations of input variables?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Recognizing inverse or compensating relationships
- Applying proportional reasoning (e.g., halving mass but doubling force = same acceleration)
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Logical deduction from prior relationships shown in the experiment
- Ability to match input-effect equivalencies
Correct Approach:
- Analyze the key variables in Experiment 3
- Find combinations in other setups that would logically result in the same outcome
- Eliminate setups where relationships diverge too far
Explain Why Two Setups Gave Similar or Different Results
Sample Question:
Despite having different incline angles, why did both objects reach the bottom at the same time?
What’s Being Tested: Can you reason about why results converge or diverge, even when inputs differ?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Understanding compensating effects (e.g., friction offsets steeper angle)
- Recognizing tradeoffs in design (e.g., higher force but more resistance)
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Consider multiple variables simultaneously
- Evaluate how changes in one may cancel or reinforce others
Correct Approach:
- Identify all differing variables
- Ask: Could any change have canceled out the effect of another?
- Choose the explanation that logically balances the input/output
Predict Results for a New Setup Based on Patterns
Sample Question:
If a third object with half the mass were used in the same setup as Experiment 1, what final speed would you expect?
What’s Being Tested: Can you extend patterns observed in experiments to predict a new result?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Apply logical extensions from known trends
- Know whether a variable like mass should affect final speed in that setup
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- General understanding of physics relationships (e.g., mass often doesn’t affect final speed on frictionless ramps)
- Logical interpolation or extrapolation from known cases
Correct Approach:
- Review how changes in mass affected speed in other experiments
- Determine if pattern is linear, inverse, constant, or not applicable
- Predict outcome consistent with trend
Distinguish Confounding Variables or Experimental Weaknesses
Sample Question:
Why might the results of Trial B be less reliable than those of Trial A?
What’s Being Tested: Can you identify limitations, inconsistencies, or uncontrolled variables?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Understanding that confounding variables (e.g., surface type, air resistance) affect results
- Recognizing irregular data or suspect setup differences
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Compare the two trials’ conditions and execution
- Identify where validity or consistency may have broken down
Correct Approach:
- Check for setup differences (e.g., non-level surface, stopwatch error)
- Look at result consistency (e.g., outliers, sudden spikes)
- Choose the answer that best explains the result weakness