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In The News

Last month we published the questions used by the National Science Foundation to gauge Americans’ understanding of science. This month we publish the answers -- at least as well as your editor could assemble them. (In parentheses: percent answering correctly among college graduates, sub-sample size n=260.)

Public Understanding of Science - Science Literacy

Answers to "the questions."

True - False Questions

The center of the earth is very hot (83) yes, so we infer from the increase of temperature with depth.
All radioactivity is man-made (86) Hell, no. Aside from that nuclear furnace which is the sun, many minerals are radioactive, i.e. contain radioactive elements.
The oxygen we breathe comes from plants (90) I thought it came from the air, and ultimately was liberated from water - plants are merely intermediaries.
It is the father's gene which decides whether the baby is a boy or girl (74) Actually it is his x or y chromosome, not a gene.
Lasers work by focusing sound waves (56) Actually, light is stimulated, amplified, and emitted as a coherent narrow beam.
Electrons are smaller than atoms (64) Yes, since they are parts of atoms.
Antibiotics kill viruses as well as bacteria (59) No way, we have no means of killing viruses in the body.
The universe began with a huge explosion (46) known as the Big Bang, at least that is the leading theory at this time.
The continents on which we live have been moving their location for millions of years and will continue to move in the future (89) Actually, continents ride on large plates (which include major parts of ocean bottom) which move, this is known as plate tectonics, formerly called continental drift when it was thought only the continents move.
Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals (61) Monkeys and apes to be precise.
Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer (92) Well, it contributes strongly, but a person can get lung cancer without ever smoking, and not every smoker contracts lung cancer.
The earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs (59) No, Fred Flintstone is wrong. Dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago, first human beings lived about 2 million years ago, so there is about a 60 million year hiatus.
Radioactive milk can be made safe by boiling it (70) No, and not by pasteurizing it either.
A majority of American workers are members of a union or other collective bargaining organization (57) No, only about 15.5 percent of the labor force is unionized.
Tariffs, that is taxes on imported goods, benefit some groups at the expense of others (84) Yes, those who make the same goods internally at the expense of all consumers.
A general increase in the tax on goods imported into the United States is likely to result in an increase in the amount of American goods sold to other countries (60) No way, especially not if other countries raise tariffs in retaliation.
One of the best ways to increase the productivity of labor is to encourage greater investment in equipment, machinery, and other capital (67) Yes, no amount of motivation, time and hard work will much improve farming with a hoe, but give a man a tractor...
In a market economy, the level of wages will depend primarily on the level of output per worker (46) The general level, yes; what an individual gets depends more on market forces, ie. supply and demand.

Multiple choice questions

Which travels faster, light or sound (86) Light, 299,793 km/s in a vacuum; speed of sound depends on the medium in which it travels and the temperature of that medium, in air 333 m/s, in water 1407 m/s, in solids 3 to 5 thousand m/s (approximately). Light also slows slightly when not travelling through a vacuum; the amount depends on the medium.
Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth? (43) actually neither, both revolve around their common center of gravity, which is however deep inside the sun because the sun is much larger and more massive.
How long does it take for the Earth to go around the Sun: one day, one month, or one year? (66) One year; however, there are two sorts of years. The one we use most is the tropical year, which is the amount of time between two successive coincidences of the sun with the vernal equinox, and is about 365.2422 days. The sidereal year is the amount of time for the sun to make one complete circle in the sky relative to the background stars, and is about 365.2564 days. The difference between the two is about 20 minutes per year.
If you were to hear on the news that the Federal Reserve Board is going to tighten the money supply, would you expect interest rates to go up or go down? (83) Up, but I may be mistaken, sometimes they do their own thing.
If you had $1,000 to invest and did not want to lose it, which one of the following investments would be safest for you to buy: municipal bonds, US treasury bonds, preferred stock, or common stock? (72) Would you trust a borrower who is billions in debt and not willing to restrain spending to bring his budget into balance?

Explain in your own words questions

What is DNA? (43) Deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as a chromosome, a string of bases (adenine, cytosine, tyrosine, and guanine) in the cell nucleus, which acts as program for building the individual's tissues.
What is a molecule? (19) The smallest unit of a chemical compound, consists of several atoms held together by electric forces (electron exchange/sharing).
Why is there a hole in the ozone layer? (31) This refers to a thinning of the quantity of ozone in the lower stratosphere. It is thought to be caused by certain man-made and released gases (CFC's) which act as catalysts in breaking up the ozone molecule.
Where is the hole in the ozone layer? (27) The greatest thinning has been measured over the Antarctic continent, but some also exists over north polar regions.
Are there any harms or dangers which might result from a hole in the ozone layer? (49) Since ozone absorbs ultraviolet rays from the sun, these will increase, they contribute to causing skin cancers, which may thus increase in number.
What do you believe is the primary cause of acid rain? (11) Sulphur and nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. These combine with water to form sulfuric and nitrous acids. There are however some, few natural acid compounds in the atmosphere from vulcanism, forest fires, lightning, etc.
What does the term "free trade" mean to you? (24) Trade of goods and services among nations with no, or minimal tariffs and other restrictions, including bureaucratic, quality or health restrictions.
Now please think of this situation: Two scientists want to know if a certain drug is effective against high blood pressure. The first scientist wants to give the drug to 1,000 people with high blood pressure and see how many experience lower blood pressure levels. The second scientist wants to give the drug to 500 people with high blood pressure, and not give the drug to another 500 people with high blood pressure, and see how many in both groups experience lower blood pressure levels. Which is the better way to test this drug? Why is it better to test the drug this way? (some understanding 63) This is the standard experimental model in which one group gets the treatment (blood pressure medicine), while the control group receives a placebo. If all 1000 persons received the treatment, we could not tell if some outside trend (e.g. a popular diet fad) had changed the blood pressure of the group. With a split sample any changes in the treatment group which do not appear in the control group can be ascribed to the medical treatment.
What does the concept "theory" mean to you?

While there is broad consensus that theory building is the primary objective of science, this level of conceptualization is relatively rare in the public and not universal among graduates of science, engineering, or medical programs. The measurement of the understanding of scientific inquiry at this level is compounded by the dual meaning of theory in American English. In the usage employed in the preceding paragraph, we mean theory to refer to comprehensive sets of statements about the operation of various aspects of nature, or the development of models of natural processes. This usage would apply to generalizations or models in the biological, social, or physical sciences. At the same time, theory is often used in everyday language to refer to speculations or suppositions not yet supported by evidence. For example, it is common to hear a person dismiss a speculation by another person by saying that it is 'only a theory,' meaning that there is no evidence, or insufficient evidence, for that conclusion. Ironically, this is almost exactly the opposite meaning of the term as used in science.

Science & Engineering Indicators (12.ed) 1996, chap. 7, p. 9