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UCLA EPS SCI 1 FINAL EXAM – Questions & Solutions
UCLA EPS SCI 1 FINAL EXAM – Questions & Solutions
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UCLA EPS SCI 1 FINAL EXAM – Questions & SolutionsDefine science Correct Ans - The observation, identification,
description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of
phenomena. OR a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge
in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Define geology Correct Ans - The scientific study of the origin, history,
and structure of the earth.
Give examples of how science can be useful Correct Ans - They can
prevent harmful false explanations ie when George Washington died from
blood-letting when he just had a cold. They can have useful applications ie
filtered water, smart phones, aviation.
Distinguish between"basic"and"applied"science,and explain how the former
can lead to the latter. Correct Ans - Basic science, such as
understanding how cells work, is research aimed at understanding
fundamental problems. Applied science, such as the medical field, is the
application of basic scientific knowledge to solve practical problems. So there
are applications in the medical field based on the understanding of how cells
work.
State different ways in which geology can be useful, and give examples.
Correct Ans - Geology gives us an understanding of the Earth (and other
planets) so it can help mitigate natural hazards (ie reinforced concrete in
earthquake-prone areas) and unnatural hazards (ie solving the effects of a
sewage leak into groundwater), it is key to finding and extracting useful
resources (ie oil and important minerals for day-to-day use), and to dealing
with the resulting environmental consequences (ie over-mining and
pollution)
Distinguish between a science, the thing being studied scientifically, and the
people doing it. Correct Ans - science is an enterprise (or pursuit,
endeavor, etc.), which can investigate different things and the different things
could be like earth (geology), life (biology), behavior/mind (psychology), etc.
It's conducted by "scientists," but if it's a matter of the thing being studied
then they're classified as like geologists, biologists, psychologists, etc
,Give examples of scientists doing good. Correct Ans - Edward Jenner
coming up with the idea for vaccines, Jonas Salk creating the Polio vaccine,
Rachel Carson writing Silent Spring--a conservation science book about the
effects of ddt on egg shells of birds of prey
Discuss how science considered morally bad can beprevented. Correct
Ans - Can be prevented through government regulation ie the FDA and by
funding "good" science programs ie NASA and NSF. Also, scientists can join
associations like the World Medical Association (WMA) which declares ethical
principles regrading human experimentation.
Describe how human flaws can negatively impact the quality of the science
that they do. Correct Ans - Scientists can be biased or dishonest with
their findings which can affect the data and make their findings
untrustworthy.
List the steps/components of the scientific method. Correct Ans - It's a
cycle of making observations, then thinking of questions, then forming a
hypothesis and developing testable predictions. From there, you can gather
data to test predictions which will either lead to developing general theories
or altering the initial hypothesis leading back to developing testable
predictions. Once you're at the stage of developing general theories, though,
you can make more observations and the cycle continues.
Describe how adherence to the scientific method ensures evidence-based
explanations for phenomena. Correct Ans - It ensures evidence-based
explanations because part of the scientific method is literally gathering data to
test the predictions and from that developing general theories.
Discuss factors in good experimental design. Correct Ans - A control
group (used to challenge previous scientific method; does not receive
treatment), sufficient sample size (to get more reliable results), a
representative sample(must represent the population of what's being
studied), and it should be a reproducible experiment(so that it can be redone
and more data can be gathered).
Explain how the scientific method is applicable to historical sciences, using the
Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event as an example. Correct Ans -
Scientists observed a high amount of iridium in the Creataceous-Paleogene
, boundary which is rare in Earth's crust. This led to questions of why it's there,
so it was hypothesized that an asteroid impact caused this. To test this, they
needed more evidence and it was later found that there was shocked quartz at
the boundary, suggesting an impact of some sort, and that the crater in the
Yucatan peninsula was likely the site of impact. This supporting data helps
develop the theory that the extinction event was caused by an asteroid impact.
Define data, and distinguish between different types (quantitative vs.
qualitative, and continuous vs. discrete vs. categorical). Correct Ans -
Data (singular datum) are individual units of information. Quantitative applies
to numerical data, and qualitative applies to more descriptive data.
Continuous data is like how if you're measuring something, there's an infinite
amount of measurements between 1 and 2 cm. Discrete is like if you roll a
dice, there will only be 6 possible outcomes, not an infinite amount.
Categorical is like data that can be divided into groups ie race, sex, age,
education level.
Convert between different units of measure. Correct Ans - use
dimensional analysis I guess. I don't know how I should define this
Explain how data can be analyzed, visualized, andinterpreted. Correct Ans
- Can be analyzed through statistics. Can be visualized through graphs and
plots. Can be interpreted to attempt to understand its implications.
Give an example of how a graph/chart can be misleading, even if not
technically inaccurate. Correct Ans - Can be misleading if the graph
doesn't start at zero, it has a weirdly large or small scale, or there just isn't a
connection between the two variables (ie drowning deaths and ice cream
production)
Explain the difference between compositional and mechanical layering.
Correct Ans - Compositional layering has to do with the chemical
properties so like the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core each have a
different chemical composition. Mechanical layering has to do with each
layers' physical property so if it's solid, liquid, or that putty consistency.
For both compositional and mechanical layering, list the layers of the Earth
from the outside to the center, and briefly describe what distinguishes each
layer from the others. Correct Ans - Compositional:
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