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How Science Actually Works
The word "theory" causes more confusion than any other term in science. Start there.
About this topic
Science is often taught as a body of facts and is better understood as a set of procedures for being wrong less often. Controls exist because the human tendency to see a pattern is extremely strong. Blinding exists because expectation changes what people report. Peer review exists because the author is the person least able to spot the flaw. These questions cover those procedures and the vocabulary attached to them, including several words that mean something quite different inside science from their ordinary use.
Questions & answers
How Science Actually Works: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
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1In science, a "theory" means what?
- A An untested guess
- B A mathematical formula
- C An opinion held by most researchers
- D A well-supported explanation tested repeatedly Correct
Answer: D. A well-supported explanation tested repeatedly
Why: It is close to the opposite of the everyday meaning, which is why "just a theory" is a misunderstanding rather than an argument.
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2A control group exists in order to do what?
- A Reduce cost
- B Confirm the hypothesis
- C Provide a comparison so the effect can be attributed to the treatment Correct
- D Increase the sample size
Answer: C. Provide a comparison so the effect can be attributed to the treatment
Why: Without one, any improvement could be the illness resolving on its own, the placebo effect, or chance.
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3A double-blind study means what?
- A Data is discarded before analysis
- B Neither participants nor those assessing them know who got the treatment Correct
- C The study is run twice
- D Participants are not told the purpose
Answer: B. Neither participants nor those assessing them know who got the treatment
Why: Expectation influences both what participants report and how assessors interpret it, so concealing allocation from both is necessary.
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4Peer review is best described as what?
- A Assessment by other researchers before publication Correct
- B A guarantee the results are correct
- C A vote among scientists
- D A legal requirement
Answer: A. Assessment by other researchers before publication
Why: It filters obvious problems and checks methods, but reviewers rarely see raw data and cannot detect determined fraud.
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5A falsifiable claim is one that what?
- A Has already been disproved
- B Cannot be tested
- C Is definitely true
- D Could in principle be shown false by evidence Correct
Answer: D. Could in principle be shown false by evidence
Why: Popper argued this is what separates a scientific claim from one that explains any possible outcome and therefore predicts nothing.
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6Statistical significance indicates what?
- A The finding is important
- B The study was well designed
- C A result is unlikely to have arisen by chance alone Correct
- D The effect is large
Answer: C. A result is unlikely to have arisen by chance alone
Why: It says nothing about the size or usefulness of an effect, which is why significant findings can be practically meaningless.
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7Replication matters because what?
- A It is faster than a new study
- B A single result can arise from chance, bias or error Correct
- C It doubles the sample size
- D Journals require it
Answer: B. A single result can arise from chance, bias or error
Why: Systematic replication attempts across several fields have found a substantial share of published findings do not reproduce.
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8A hypothesis differs from a theory how?
- A It is a specific testable prediction rather than a broad explanation Correct
- B It is always wrong
- C It requires no evidence
- D It applies only to physics
Answer: A. It is a specific testable prediction rather than a broad explanation
Why: A theory typically accounts for many observations and generates many hypotheses, each of which can be tested individually.
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9A meta-analysis does what?
- A Reviews one study in depth
- B Predicts future research
- C Replaces original research
- D Combines results from many studies statistically Correct
Answer: D. Combines results from many studies statistically
Why: It can reveal effects too small for individual studies to detect, but it inherits any bias present in the studies it pools.
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10Correlation does not imply causation because what?
- A Causation cannot be measured
- B Statistics are unreliable
- C Another factor may cause both, or the direction may be reversed Correct
- D Correlations are always errors
Answer: C. Another factor may cause both, or the direction may be reversed
Why: The most common trap is a shared cause. Establishing direction usually requires an experiment rather than more observation.
Frequently asked questions about How Science Actually Works
How many questions are in How Science Actually Works?
How Science Actually Works has 10 questions and takes about 7 minutes to finish. It is rated Medium and sits in our Science & Nature category.
How is How Science Actually Works scored?
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Are the answers to How Science Actually Works explained?
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Can I replay How Science Actually Works?
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
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