Assessment-Cause and Effect

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1) Type in your first and last name in the “Name” box in the top-left corner.
2) Next type in your teacher’s name in the “ID” box.
3) Then type in your school’s name in the “Email” box.
4) Select the best answer for each question.
5) When you are finished click the “Grade and Submit” button.
6) The grade will be emailed to your teacher.

One day a student recorded the speed of blue cars and red cars on a neabyby road. The average speed for the red cars was 50 mph while the average speed of the blue cars was 58 mph. The student concluded that red paint (cause) makes cars go faster (effect).
Which statement identifies an error in the students conclusion?

a.	The conclusion claims that there is a cause and effect without evidence.
b.	The observation was made on several highways.
c.	The conclusion was made based on only two types of cars.
d.	The observation shows information for several times of day.

A student filled three identical cups with equal amounts of water. The student placed each cup in a room with a different air temperature. After a few days, the student compared the amounts of water remaining in each cup.

What cause-and-effect relationship does this investigation support?

a.	As evaporation decreases, air temperature decreases.
b.	At higher air temperatures, more water evaporates.
c.	At higher air temperatures, less water evaporates.
d.	As evaporation increases, air temperature increases.

By modifying the genetic structure of certain corn plants, scientists have developed a type of corn that is able to survive and even thrive in hot and dry environments with very little water.
Which practice is unnecessary with this new plant variety?

a.	removing weeds from crops	c.	using fertilizer on the plants
b.	massive irrigation methods	d.	eroding the land by tilling

When the lamp below is switched on (cause), the paper will spin (effect).

Which most likely causes the paper to spin?

a.	warm air rising	c.	cool air sinking
b.	warm paper expanding	d.	cool light bulb expanding

Electromagnets
Coils of wire	Paper clips picked up
10	3
15	6
20	9
25	12

A coil of wire, nail, and a battery were used to make an electromagnet. The number of coils wrapped around the nail was varied and data was collected about the number of paper clips that it could lift.
What cause and effect relationship is displayed in this data table?

a.	Doubling the number of coils will double the strength of the magnet.
b.	Increasing the number of coils increases the magnetic force.
c.	The strength of the magnet depends only on the number of nails used.
d.	Increasing the number of coils decreases the magnetic force.

A student observes a weed growing in his front yard. He cuts down the weed, but it grows back. He cuts it down again, but again it grows back.
The effect is the weed keeps growing back. What is the most likely cause?

a.	The roots of the plant are deep and allow the weed to regrow a stem when it is cut.
b.	The stem of the plant is made up of plant cells which contain cell walls and chlorophyll.
c.	All plants can grow back after being cut down due to magnetic radiation.
d.	Weeds are very delicate plants that are easily damaged and easily killed.

Students investigated pendulums. The students plotted a graph to show the relationship between different lengths of the string and the time it took the pendulum to complete one full swing.

Which conclusion is best supported by the graph?

a.	The time it takes the pendulum to swing back and forth decreases over a period of time.
b.	The time it takes the pendulum to swing back and forth is unpredictable based on the length of the string.
c.	As the length of the string increases, the pendulum takes longer to swing back and forth each time.
d.	The shorter the string, the fewer times the pendulum swings.

Austin builds three pinewood derby cars for racing.

Pinewood Car	Weight
Car A	weighs 2 Newtons (about 7 ounces)
Car B	weighs 3 Newtons (about 11 ounces)
Car C	weighs 4 Newtons (about 14 ounces)

He predicts that more weight added to a car (cause) will result in a faster finish (effect).
Which cause and effect evidence would support Austin’s prediction?

a.	Car A finishes faster than Car B and Car C
b.	All three cars finish at the same time
c.	Car C finishes faster than Car A and Car B
d.	Car B finishes faster than Car A and Car C

When the burners are lit the balloon will expand and lift off.

The effect is lift off. What is the cause?

a.	The self-sealing parachute valve	c.	The basket
b.	warm air rising	d.	cool air sinking

10.

By inserting a special gene into crop plants, scientists have developed plants that are resistant to insects. If an insect eats the plant, the insect is likely to get sick and die.
Which practice may now be unnecessary with this new plant variety?

a.	spraying plants with pesticides	c.	overproducing food crops
b.	removing weeds from crops	d.	eroding the land by tilling