Question: A key discovery underlying Marie Curie’s hypothesis about radium was that:
Answer Options:
a. Pitchblende emits less radiation than pure uranium.
b. Thorium emits more radiation than pitchblende.
c. Pitchblende emits more radiation than pure uranium.
d. Pitchblende emits more radiation than radium.
e. Radium emits more radiation than thorium.
Answer: c. Pitchblende emits more radiation than pure uranium.
Question: An implication of the hypothesis leading to the discovery of Neptune was:
Answer Options:
a. Examination of the orbit of Neptune would reveal the existence of a ninth planet.
b. A powerful telescope could detect a previously unseen satellite of Uranus.
c. The gravitational field of Uranus caused perturbations in the orbit of Saturn.
d. Directing a telescope to a particular region of the sky would reveal a new planet.
e. The combined mass of Neptune and Uranus was less than the mass of Saturn.
Answer: d. Directing a telescope to a particular region of the sky would reveal a new planet.
Question: The effect by which people recognize images (such as faces or animals) in clouds or other media is called:
Answer Options:
a. Pareidolia.
b. Psychedelia.
c. Kinesthesia.
d. Echolalia.
e. Precognition.
Answer: a. Pareidolia.
Question: The hypotheses leading to the discovery of Neptune and Radium can be called:
Answer Options:
a. Conditional hypotheses.
b. Theoretical hypotheses.
c. Astronomical hypotheses.
d. Conceptual hypotheses.
e. Empirical hypothesis.
Answer: e. Empirical hypothesis.
Question: Nature abhors a vacuum.
Answer Options:
a. Water rises in an open tube by capillary action.
b. Higher pressure results in a greater volume of flow.
c. Nature abhors a vacuum.
d. Water rises in an open tube by capillary action.
e. Higher pressure results in a greater volume of flow.
Answer: c. Nature abhors a vacuum.
Question: The degree to which a hypothesis does not conflict with other, well-established hypotheses is a measure of its:
Answer Options:
a. External consistency.
b. Respectability.
c. Internal coherence.
d. Fruitfulness.
e. Adequacy.
Answer: a. External consistency.
Question: The extent to which a hypothesis suggests new ideas for future analysis and confirmation is a measure of its:
Answer Options:
a. Internal coherence.
b. Adequacy.
c. Fruitfulness.
d. External consistency.
e. Rationality.
Answer: c. Fruitfulness.
Question: One of the underlying problems that led to the discovery of atmospheric pressure was:
Answer Options:
a. Why barometers work better on mountain tops than they do in valleys.
b. Why vacuum pumps were more effective than siphons.
c. Why it is harder to open a wine barrel in the winter than in the summer.
d. Why siphons would not work beyond certain height limitations.
e. Why fermentation occurs more rapidly in sealed containers than in open containers.
Answer: d. Why siphons would not work beyond certain height limitations.
Question: In relation to earlier theories, Maxwell’s theory of the electromagnetic field, which unified the phenomena of light, electricity, and magnetism, is:
Answer Options:
a. More externally consistent.
b. More adequate.
c. More fruitful.
d. More internally coherent.
e. More phenomenalistic.
Answer: d. More internally coherent.
Question: Hypothetical reasoning is used to produce an explanation for the occurrence of a phenomenon when:
Answer Options:
a. The phenomenon is not observable.
b. The reason for its occurrence is incomprehensible.
c. The phenomenon is not measurable.
d. The reason for its occurrence is not immediately observable.
e. The reason for its occurrence lies outside the realm of science.
Answer: d. The reason for its occurrence is not immediately observable.
Question: One source of support for superstitious hypotheses is:
Answer Options:
a. Satanic influences in the world.
b. The universal desire to advance oneself in the world.
c. The desire to know.
d. The belief in an afterlife.
e. The love many people have for the magical and fantastic.
Answer: e. The love many people have for the magical and fantastic.
Question: One of the implications of the atmospheric pressure hypothesis is that:
Answer Options:
a. A properly constructed vacuum pump would operate to a height of about 45 feet.
b. The atmosphere would support a column of mercury to a height of about 29 inches.
c. Storms are always accompanied by an increase in atmospheric pressure.
d. Barometers do not work as well on mountain tops as they do at sea level.
e. Water boils at a higher temperature on mountain tops than it does at sea level.
Answer: b. The atmosphere would support a column of mercury to a height of about 29 inches.
Question: One of the hypotheses involved in the discovery of radium was:
Answer Options:
a. Pure uranium contained an unknown element later known as radium.
b. The intense rays emitted by pitchblende were caused by uranium.
c. The intense rays emitted by pitchblende were caused by impurities in the crystals.
d. It would be possible to produce a radioactive isotope of barium.
e. Mendeleev’s periodic table of the elements was incorrect in some respects.
Answer: c. The intense rays emitted by pitchblende were caused by impurities in the crystals.
Question: Suppose that a detective formulates the hypothesis that a pair of gloves found at the scene of a burglary belongs to the burglar. Such a hypothesis is called:
Answer Options:
a. An empirical hypothesis.
b. A tentative hypothesis.
c. A theoretical hypothesis.
d. A conjectural hypothesis.
e. An investigational hypothesis.
Answer: a. An empirical hypothesis.
Question: Because Einstein’s theory of relativity accounted for the precise time of certain eclipses with greater accuracy than did Newton’s theory, Einstein’s theory is:
Answer Options:
a. More externally consistent.
b. More adequate.
Answer: b. More adequate.