Identify the Purpose of the Experiment
Sample Question:
What was the primary purpose of Experiment 1?
What’s Being Tested: Your understanding of why the experiment was performed — what concept or relationship it was designed to test.
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Identifying variables being manipulated and measured
- Recognizing physical relationships (e.g., force–mass–acceleration)
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Focus on the stated goal or question the experiment is trying to answer
- Avoid being distracted by data patterns
Correct Approach:
- Read the setup and description of the experiment
- Identify the manipulated variable
- Ask: What relationship were they trying to explore?
Identify Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables
Sample Question:
In Experiment 2, which variable was kept constant?
What’s Being Tested: Do you understand how the experiment is structured?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Definitions:
- Independent variable: changed intentionally
- Dependent variable: measured outcome
- Controlled variable: held constant to ensure fair testing
- Examples: force, mass, distance, voltage, angle, current
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Accurate mapping of physical quantities to variable roles
- Pay close attention to what stays the same across trials
Correct Approach:
- Identify what varied between trials → Independent
- What was measured → Dependent
- What stayed the same → Controlled
Compare or Evaluate Experimental Designs
Sample Question:
Which of the following changes would make the experiment more accurate?
What’s Being Tested: Can you assess the quality of the design and suggest logical improvements?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Experimental best practices:
- Consistent timing or measurement tools
- Reducing friction or external forces
- Adding more trials
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Understand what might introduce error (e.g., friction, air resistance, timing delay)
- Choose improvements that increase accuracy or consistency
Correct Approach:
- Identify sources of experimental error or variation
- Choose the design change that directly reduces noise or increases precision
Explain the Role of a Control Trial or Setup
Sample Question:
Why did the experimenters include a trial with no applied force?
What’s Being Tested: Understanding of the role of a baseline condition for comparison.
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Recognizing a control setup (e.g., no force, 0 volts, flat ramp)
- Understanding that control isolates the effect of the manipulated variable
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Know that a control shows what happens “normally”
- Understand that other trials can then be compared back to it
Correct Approach:
- Identify the trial with no intervention or default values
- Recognize its purpose as a baseline to interpret differences in results
Predict the Effect of a Change in Setup
Sample Question:
What would most likely happen to the object’s acceleration if the mass were halved?
What’s Being Tested: Can you use the experiment’s logic to predict how changes affect outcomes?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Basic proportional reasoning (e.g., inverse or direct relationships)
- Applying simple physics logic (e.g., Newton’s Second Law: F = ma)
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Understand the existing relationships in the experiment
- Apply them logically to the new setup
Correct Approach:
- Identify the original pattern (e.g., acceleration ∝ 1/m)
- Apply it to the new condition logically
- Estimate the direction and scale of the outcome change
Compare Multiple Experiments by Design
Sample Question:
Which of the following best describes the difference between Experiment 1 and Experiment 2?
What’s Being Tested: Can you understand what changed between experiments, and how that affects what’s being tested?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Reading differences in independent variables or setup conditions
- Distinguishing what each experiment was designed to explore
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Clear comparison of what was varied or held constant in each experiment
Correct Approach:
- Identify key design elements of each experiment
- Note how the focus or purpose of the experiments differs
- Match this difference to the answer choices
Understand the Researcher’s Reasoning Behind Setup Choices
Sample Question:
Why did the experimenter increase the incline angle in 5° increments instead of 1°?
What’s Being Tested: Can you explain why a design choice was made, based on practicality or scientific reasoning?
Knowledge & Skills Required:
- Tradeoffs in experiment design (e.g., precision vs. clarity)
- Recognizing the benefit of larger increments: easier to see trends, less noise
What’s Needed to Answer Correctly:
- Recognize that some choices are made for efficiency or clarity in results
Correct Approach:
- Ask: What does this setup choice help them see more clearly?
- Choose the option that best matches that purpose (e.g., “to better observe changes in acceleration”)