TEAS Test of Essential Academic Skills - Set 5 - Part 2

Correct Answer: a testable, falsifiable explanation

A hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable, meaning some possible result could demonstrate it is wrong, which makes it useful for guiding scientific investigation and experiment design. Option a is incorrect because a final law describes a confirmed pattern in nature, not a tentative testable proposal. Option b is incorrect because a hypothesis has not yet been confirmed; it remains a proposal until tested by experiment. Option d is incorrect because hypotheses must be tied to observations and possible evidence, not based purely on personal opinion.

Correct Answer: cherry-picking

Cherry-picking is the practice of selecting only data that support a desired conclusion while ignoring data that contradict it, distorting the overall scientific picture for readers. Option b is incorrect because random sampling is a fair method of selecting participants and is not a logical flaw in this scenario. Option c is incorrect because peer review describes external evaluation of a study and is unrelated to the act of hiding negative results. Option d is incorrect because deductive reasoning describes a logical structure, not the selective use of supporting evidence in publications.

Correct Answer: not a scientific claim

For a claim to be scientific it must be falsifiable, meaning some imaginable result could refute it. Claims that no test could disprove fall outside science altogether. Option a is incorrect because scientific laws describe patterns supported by repeated evidence and are testable in principle. Option b is incorrect because a sound hypothesis must be falsifiable; without testability it does not qualify as a hypothesis. Option d is incorrect because confirmed theories are supported by evidence and remain testable, not immune to all possible disproof.

Correct Answer: to reduce researcher and participant bias

Blinding hides treatment assignment so researchers and participants cannot let their expectations influence the data, which improves the trustworthiness of the resulting conclusions about effects. Option a is incorrect because blinding does not reduce study costs and may actually increase them slightly through extra procedures and oversight. Option b is incorrect because blinding is intended to control rather than amplify the placebo effect in research designs. Option c is incorrect because blinding does not influence study length; it influences how data are interpreted by participants and researchers involved.

Correct Answer: post hoc reasoning

The post hoc fallacy assumes that simply because one event followed another, the first must have caused the second, ignoring the difference between sequence and causation. Option b is incorrect because peer reasoning is not a recognized fallacy or formal logical category in scientific thinking. Option c is incorrect because balanced reasoning is not a recognized term in evaluating causal claims or logical errors. Option d is incorrect because experimental reasoning describes scientific testing, not the specific fallacy of confusing sequence with cause.

Correct Answer: increases

In a direct relationship, two variables move together in the same direction, so when one rises the other also rises, and when one falls the other falls. Option a is incorrect because staying the same describes no relationship rather than a positive direct relationship between variables. Option b is incorrect because decreasing while the other rises describes an inverse relationship, the opposite of a direct one. Option c is incorrect because random changes do not describe any consistent relationship between two variables in a study.

Correct Answer: decreases

In an inverse relationship, the two variables move in opposite directions, so increasing one variable reliably leads to a decrease in the value of the other. Option b is incorrect because both variables rising together describes a direct relationship, not an inverse one between them. Option c is incorrect because staying constant indicates no relationship between the variables, not an inverse one specifically. Option d is incorrect because doubling reflects a specific mathematical pattern unrelated to the general definition of inverse relationships.

Correct Answer: the x-axis

By scientific convention, the independent variable, which is the one the experimenter manipulates, is shown on the horizontal x-axis when results are graphed for review. Option a is incorrect because the y-axis is reserved for the dependent variable, which is the measured outcome rather than the manipulated factor. Option b is incorrect because each variable is plotted on a single axis, not on both axes at the same time. Option d is incorrect because every standard scientific graph plots both variables on the axes, including the independent one being changed.

Correct Answer: an outlier

An outlier is a measurement that lies far from the overall pattern and may signal measurement error, an unusual condition, or a finding that warrants further investigation. Option a is incorrect because a trend describes the general direction of data, not a single point that breaks the pattern. Option b is incorrect because a baseline refers to a starting reference point rather than a deviation from a pattern in data. Option c is incorrect because a control refers to an experimental comparison group, not to a single unusual data point in results.

Correct Answer: inverse

When one variable increases while the other consistently decreases, as with pressure and volume in this scenario, the relationship between them is inverse, also called negative. Option a is incorrect because a direct relationship requires both variables to move in the same direction, which does not happen here at all. Option b is incorrect because a linear constant relationship would show no change in the second variable, contradicting the observed decrease. Option d is incorrect because the data show a clear consistent pattern rather than random unrelated behavior between the variables.

Correct Answer: increases

Increasing the concentration of reactants raises the number of particle collisions per unit time, which generally speeds up the rate at which the reaction proceeds. Option b is incorrect because more reactant particles produce more collisions, which speeds up rather than slows down most chemical reactions. Option c is incorrect because reaction rate normally responds to changes in concentration rather than remaining constant under these conditions. Option d is incorrect because reactions do not stop when concentration increases; they typically accelerate under those conditions instead.

Correct Answer: differences appear exaggerated

Starting the y-axis above zero compresses the visible range, making small differences in the data appear visually larger than they really are when compared honestly. Option a is incorrect because cropping the axis tends to magnify rather than minimize visual differences in plotted data displays. Option c is incorrect because changing the axis starting point does not flip or invert the plotted relationship in any direction. Option d is incorrect because the visual impression changes noticeably even though the underlying numerical values themselves do not change.

Correct Answer: linear and direct

A constant upward slope means that one variable increases at a steady proportional rate as the other increases, defining a linear and direct relationship between the two variables. Option b is incorrect because an inverse relationship would slope downward rather than upward across the graph as displayed. Option c is incorrect because exponential inverse relationships produce curves that drop steeply, not steadily upward straight lines like the one described. Option d is incorrect because a steady slope shows a consistent pattern, not randomness between the variables being studied here.

Correct Answer: increases

Higher temperatures give particles more kinetic energy, increasing both the frequency and the energy of collisions, which usually causes reaction rates to rise noticeably. Option a is incorrect because raising the temperature normally speeds up reactions rather than slowing them down in most situations. Option b is incorrect because changes in temperature generally do influence reaction rate rather than leaving it unchanged in observable ways. Option d is incorrect because reactions almost never stop completely when temperature increases under typical laboratory conditions involved in study.

Correct Answer: a nonlinear relationship

When changes in one variable produce disproportionate changes in another, the relationship is nonlinear, often described as quadratic, exponential, or another more complex curved pattern observed in graphs. Option a is incorrect because a linear relationship would produce a proportional change rather than a much larger one in output. Option b is incorrect because an inverse relationship would cause the output to decrease, not to grow rapidly with the input. Option c is incorrect because a flat relationship shows no change at all in the output as the input changes through values.

Correct Answer: independent variable

The independent variable is the factor the experimenter deliberately changes between groups, and the type of fertilizer applied is exactly that manipulated factor in this study design. Option a is incorrect because the dependent variable is what gets measured as a response, such as plant height, not the fertilizer itself. Option b is incorrect because controlled variables are factors kept constant, like soil type or water amount, not the manipulated treatment given. Option d is incorrect because a confounding variable is an unwanted factor that could distort results, not the planned manipulation of interest.

Correct Answer: dependent variable

The dependent variable is the measured outcome that responds to changes in the independent variable, which is why it is sometimes also called the responding variable. Option a is incorrect because the independent variable is the manipulated factor, not the outcome that is measured during the experiment. Option c is incorrect because controlled variables are held constant, not measured as the experiment's primary result of interest. Option d is incorrect because confounding variables are unwanted influences rather than the planned outcome variable being measured here.

Correct Answer: control group

The placebo group does not receive the actual treatment, so it serves as the control group, providing a comparison that helps isolate the medication's effect on headaches reliably. Option a is incorrect because the experimental group is the one that actually receives the medication being tested, not the placebo. Option b is incorrect because a confounding factor is an unwanted influence, not the planned comparison group in the design plan. Option c is incorrect because the independent variable is the type of pill given, not the group that receives the placebo treatment.

Correct Answer: making an observation and asking a question

Scientific investigation begins when an observation prompts a question, which then leads to the formation of a hypothesis and the design of an experiment to test it. Option b is incorrect because a conclusion can only be drawn after data have been collected and carefully analyzed in an experiment. Option c is incorrect because data analysis happens after the experiment has been carried out and observations recorded by the researcher. Option d is incorrect because forming a theory requires extensive prior testing and is not the first step in any single investigation conducted.

Correct Answer: makes them more reliable

Larger samples reduce the influence of random individual variation and make it more likely that the observed effects reflect real patterns rather than chance findings in the data. Option a is incorrect because smaller samples, not larger ones, are more vulnerable to chance and produce less reliable conclusions overall. Option b is incorrect because sample size has a direct, well-documented effect on the reliability of statistical findings produced. Option c is incorrect because no sample size can prove a hypothesis; experiments only support or fail to support hypotheses tested.