Guided Practice
Overview
Practice working with scientific models - understanding their purpose, identifying their limitations, and using them to make predictions.
Practice Problems
Question 1: What is the purpose of a scientific model?
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Answer: To represent complex systems or phenomena in a simplified way that aids understanding, explanation, and prediction
Models help us visualize things we can't directly observe (atoms, cells) or simplify complex systems (weather, ecosystems).
Question 2: Name three types of scientific models and give an example of each.
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Answer: Physical (globe), Mathematical (F=ma), Conceptual/Visual (food web diagram), Computer (climate simulations)
Different model types serve different purposes - physical models for visualization, mathematical for calculations, etc.
Question 3: A globe model of Earth doesn't show individual buildings. Is this a flaw?
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Answer: No - it's a necessary simplification; all models have limitations based on their purpose
The globe's purpose is to show continental positions and relative sizes, not building-level detail.
Question 4: The Bohr model shows electrons orbiting the nucleus in rings. How is this both useful and limited?
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Answer: Useful: shows energy levels, explains many phenomena. Limited: electrons are actually in probability clouds, not fixed orbits
The Bohr model is valuable for introductory understanding but doesn't capture quantum behavior.
Question 5: A food web model shows arrows pointing from prey to predator. What does the arrow actually represent?
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Answer: Energy flow - energy transfers from prey to predator when eaten
The arrow shows direction of energy transfer, not "who eats whom" (that would point the other way).
Question 6: Why do scientists sometimes use multiple models to represent the same thing?
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Answer: Different models highlight different aspects; no single model captures everything
Example: Wave model of light explains interference; particle model explains the photoelectric effect.
Question 7: A model predicts outcomes that don't match experimental results. What should happen?
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Answer: The model should be revised or replaced with a better one
Models are tools, not truth. When reality contradicts a model, we update the model.
Question 8: What makes a mathematical model like d = rt useful?
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Answer: It allows precise predictions and calculations, can be tested, and applies to many situations
Mathematical models provide quantitative predictions that can be verified experimentally.
Question 9: A student builds a model of the solar system with the Sun the size of a basketball. Why can't they show Earth at the correct scale?
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Answer: Earth would be about 0.2 mm across and 26 meters away - too small to see and too far to display
Scale models often can't show both size AND distance accurately. This limitation should be acknowledged.
Question 10: How can computer models simulate things we can't experiment with directly?
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Answer: They use mathematical equations to predict behavior of systems like climate, galaxies, or disease spread
Computer models allow "experiments" on systems too large, slow, or dangerous to study directly.