Level 4 Investigative Skills

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Dorcas Malone
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1 John Buchan Middle School Level 4 Investigative Skills 69 min 59 marks John Buchan Middle School 1

1. Travelling sounds (a) Jill investigated whether or not sound travelled through different materials. She made three telephones using plastic cups. She used different materials to connect the cups.

2 1. Travelling sounds (a) Jill investigated whether or not sound travelled through different materials. She made three telephones using plastic cups. She used different materials to connect the cups. One child talked through the telephone and Jill listened. Look at Jill s notes of her investigation. How many different materials did Jill test?... (b) What was the factor Jill observed or measured to collect her results?... John Buchan Middle School 2

(c) Jill changed three factors at the same time. Complete the list to show the THREE factors Jill changed in this investigation The first one has been done for you. 1. The tightness of the line.

3 (c) Jill changed three factors at the same time. Complete the list to show the THREE factors Jill changed in this investigation The first one has been done for you. 1. The tightness of the line marks (d) Why is it important to change only ONE factor at a time in an investigation?... (e) Jill carried out her investigation of sound travelling through different materials again. She made sure only one factor was changed. Jill described her conclusion. Jill s teacher said this was not a useful science conclusion for her investigation. Why was Jill s conclusion not a useful science conclusion? John Buchan Middle School 3

4 2. Magnets (a) Rob holds a magnet near a nail. The magnet attracts the nail. Name ONE metal the nail could be made from... (b) Rob gets some more magnets. He finds out which magnet is strongest by putting pieces of paper between each magnet and the nail. John Buchan Middle School 4

5 The table below shows how many pieces of paper Rob puts between each magnet and the nail before the nail falls off. Magnet A B C D Number of pieces of paper Rob has not drawn the result for magnet C on the graph. Use the results in the table to complete the graph for magnet C Number of pieces of paper A B C D Magnet (c) (i) Tick ONE box to show which magnet is strongest. A B C D John Buchan Middle School 5

(ii) Explain how the results show which magnet is strongest....... 3.

6 (ii) Explain how the results show which magnet is strongest Remote control (a) Ruth wants to find out how well the remote control turns on her TV when different materials are put in front of it. John Buchan Middle School 6

7 Ruth holds writing paper in front of the remote control. The TV still turns on. Ruth repeats the test with different materials. The table below shows her results. Material Distance from TV when remote does not work (steps) writing paper 5 clear plastic bag 25 tracing paper 8 foil 0 book 0 Complete the graph to show the results for the tracing paper. 25 Distance from TV when remote does not work (steps) writing paper clear plastic bag tracing paper foil book Material (a) Ruth s brother says she should not test the book as it makes the test unfair. Why does the book make her test unfair?.. John Buchan Middle School 7

8 (c) Ruth s brother repeats the investigation to check the results. He takes fewer steps back for each material before the TV does not turn on. Tick ONE box to explain why Ruth s brother takes fewer steps back before the TV does not turn on. He presses the remote control harder his steps are bigger he uses smaller pieces of each material the batteries in the remote control are newer (d) Ruth could improve her investigation by getting more accurate results. Describe how Ruth could get more accurate results... (e) Ruth sees a pattern in her results. She states My results suggest that the remote control uses light to turn on the TV. Describe the evidence in Ruth s table of results that supports her statement Straw sounds (a) Polly has a straw. She cuts one end of the straw. John Buchan Middle School 8

9 She blows into the cut end of the straw. It makes a sound. The sound is caused by vibrations. Name TWO things that vibrate to cause this sound.... and... (b) Polly thinks that changing the length of the straw may change how high or low the note is. What is the scientific name for how high or low a note is?... (c) Polly cuts four identical straws into different lengths. John Buchan Middle School 9

10 Her friends blow gently into the straws. The note from each straw is different. Some notes are high and some are low. Describe how the length of a straw affects how high or low the note is..... (d) (i) Tania says Polly s test is not a fair test because a different person is blowing into each straw. Why might Polly s test not be a fair test if different people blow into each straw? (ii) Polly says It might not be a fair test even if one person blows into each straw. Explain why it might not be a fair test even if one person blows into each straw John Buchan Middle School 10

11 5. Magnetic noticeboard (a) Miya uses a magnet to hold a notice on the noticeboard in her classroom. The board is coated in white plastic. Tick ONE box to show which material may be under the plastic coating for the magnet to stick to the board. steel paper wood cork John Buchan Middle School 11

(b) Miya has four magnets. She wants to measure how much force is needed to pull each magnet away from the board. The picture below shows how she carries out her test.

12 (b) Miya has four magnets. She wants to measure how much force is needed to pull each magnet away from the board. The picture below shows how she carries out her test. Write the label on the picture to name the equipment she uses to measure the force. (c) Miya measured the force for each magnet three times to calculate the average force. The table below shows her results. Magnet Average force needed to pull the magnet away (N) A 2 B 10 C 5 D 6 Which magnet is the strongest?... John Buchan Middle School 12

(d) Miya observes that as she pulls on the magnet the force reading increases until the magnet comes away from the board. Tick ONE box to show when Miya should take the force reading.

13 (d) Miya observes that as she pulls on the magnet the force reading increases until the magnet comes away from the board. Tick ONE box to show when Miya should take the force reading. before she starts pulling on the magnet just before the magnet pulls away from the board just after she starts pulling on the magnet after the magnet is pulled away from the board (e) Give ONE reason why it is better to measure the force for each magnet three times instead of just once Mini-beasts (a) Some children find four mini-beasts. They make a table about their observations. Complete Table 1 below by adding the names of these four mini-beasts. hoverfly spider ant butterfly John Buchan Middle School 13

14 Table 1 Name Legs Wings Antennae (b) The children have some ideas about where to put the mini-beasts when they have finished studying them. Tick ONE box to show where the children should put the mini-beasts. in a safe place away from the road in the place where they were found in a pot with food and water in a dark place under a log John Buchan Middle School 14

15 (c) The children find more mini-beasts and make a new table. Table 2 Name Legs Wings Antennae Notes cranefly long thin tail dragonfly long thin tail housefly none tiger moth hairy body Use Table 2 to help you name these two mini-beasts. (i)... (ii)... John Buchan Middle School 15

(d) It would be easier to name the mini-beasts if the children made a key. Tick TWO boxes to show which features would be useful in a key to separate the four mini-beasts in Table 2. Tick TWO boxes. has 6 legs has a long thin tail has 4 wings has 2 antennae 7.

16 (d) It would be easier to name the mini-beasts if the children made a key. Tick TWO boxes to show which features would be useful in a key to separate the four mini-beasts in Table 2. Tick TWO boxes. has 6 legs has a long thin tail has 4 wings has 2 antennae 7. Isaac Newton (a) Isaac Newton was a famous scientist who was born in There is a famous story about Newton watching an apple fall from a tree. Newton thought a force must cause the apple to fall. John Buchan Middle School 16

17 Tick ONE box to show which force on the apple causes it to fall down from the tree. a pulling force towards the tree a pulling force towards the Earth a pushing force from the apple a pushing force from the air (b) Newton did different investigations to test his ideas. Why was it important for Newton to test his ideas using investigations? (c) Newton realised that the force which made the apple fall to the ground also causes the Earth to orbit the Sun. Name the force that causes the Earth to orbit the Sun.... (d) How long does the Earth take to orbit the Sun once? (e) How does the Earth move to cause day and night? John Buchan Middle School 17

18 8. Building materials (a) Some children put 4 bricks made of different materials into 1000 cm 3 of water and left them overnight. They removed each brick and measured the amount of water left in each container. Here is a table of their results. Amount of water in each container (cm 3 ) Amount of water left in the container (cm 3 ) Amount of water absorbed (cm 3 ) Brick A Brick B Brick C Brick D What question were the children investigating?.. John Buchan Middle School 18

19 (b) What was the factor they changed as they carried out their investigation?.. (c) Write TWO factors they should keep the same at the start to make their test fair (d) Suggest another set of data they could collect to compare these bricks Magnets (a) Some children investigated whether or not some materials are attracted to a magnet. They made notes of their results. Attracted to a magnet Iron nail Steel clip. Not attracted to a magnet Metal coin, Chocolate, Modelling clay. John Buchan Middle School 19

20 (i) Write the numbers to show the scale on the chart below. A number has been done for you Number of materials Attracted to a magnet Not attracted to a magnet (ii) Draw a bar on the chart to show the number of materials attracted to a magnet. (b) Jane wrote Our investigation was good as her conclusion for the investigation. Why is this not a useful scientific conclusion? (c) Ali and Jane describe their ideas about metals. John Buchan Middle School 20

21 Jane recorded some observations from their investigation in a table. Does each observation support their ideas? Tick ONE box on each row of the table. Observation Supports Ali s and Jane s ideas Supports only Jane s idea Does not support either idea The iron nail is attracted to the magnet. The steel clip is attracted to the magnet. The metal coin is not attracted to the magnet. The modelling clay is not attracted to the magnet. The chocolate is not attracted to the magnet. 2 marks (d) Ali said To improve our test we should have measured how far each material moved when it was attracted to the magnet. Jane said This would not improve our test. Why was Jane right to think this would not improve their test? John Buchan Middle School 21

22 10. Adding water (a) Safara wants to find out what happens when solids are mixed with water. She adds water to four different solids and stirs the mixtures. After 20 minutes she draws pictures of her results. colourless liquid cloudy liquid beaker A solid pieces beaker B brown solid colourless liquid coloured liquid bubble beaker C beaker D The table below names the four solids that Safara mixed with water. Which solid was in each beaker? Write A, B, C or D to complete each row of the table. Solid soil vitamin tablet plastic beads salt Beaker (b) Explain what happened to the solid in beaker C. (c) In which beaker was there a non-reversible change? Beaker... John Buchan Middle School 22

(d) Safara wants to separate the soil from her mixture of soil and water. Tick ONE box to show which equipment would be best for separating the soil from the water.

23 (d) Safara wants to separate the soil from her mixture of soil and water. Tick ONE box to show which equipment would be best for separating the soil from the water (e) Safara wants to separate the salt from her mixture of salt and water. Describe how Safara could get solid salt back from the salt and water mixture. John Buchan Middle School 23

11. Keeping drinks hot Materials used to keep drinks hot are called insulators. You are asked to plan your own investigation to compare different kinds of insulating materials used to keep drinks hot.

24 11. Keeping drinks hot Materials used to keep drinks hot are called insulators. You are asked to plan your own investigation to compare different kinds of insulating materials used to keep drinks hot. You can plan to use any equipment and as many different kinds of insulating materials as you need. Write a short draft in the box of the question YOU plan to investigate. Use your draft to help you answer the questions below. John Buchan Middle School 24

25 (a) What ONE factor will you plan to change as you carry out your investigation? (b) Give ONE factor you will keep the same to make your test fair. (c) What factor will you observe or measure to collect your results? (d) Think of another investigation into keeping drinks hot. What factor will you change as you carry out your new investigation? John Buchan Middle School 25

26 12. Bean seeds (a) Aysha has three different types of bean seed. She wants to find out which bean seed germinates most quickly. (i) Does using the same type of soil for each bean seed help to make Aysha s test fair? Tick ONE box. yes no (ii) Give a reason for your answer John Buchan Middle School 26

27 (b) (i) Does using watering cans of the same colour for each bean seed help to make Aysha s test fair? Tick ONE box. yes no (ii) Give a reason for your answer.... (c) The table shows some of the factors in Aysha s investigation. Complete the table to show how Aysha should carry out her investigation. Tick ONE box in each row. Factor Factor to be changed Factor to be kept the same Result to be measured the type of bean seed the time taken for the seed to germinate the place where the seeds are left the type of pot the seed is grown in 2 marks (d) Sarah thought it would be better if Aysha used more than one of each type of bean. How could using more than one of each type of bean improve Aysha s investigation? John Buchan Middle School 27

Science Test Revisiom

John Buchan Middle School Science Test Revisiom 6F How We See Things 32 min 30 marks Name John Buchan Middle School 1 Level 3 1. Shadows (a) One sunny day, some children use a rounders post to make shadows