Water evaporates faster when it has a larger surface area.
Evidence:
After 24 hours, 40 mL of water evaporated from the wide dish, while only 15 mL evaporated from the narrow beaker, showing that a larger surface area leads to faster evaporation.
Reasoning:
Evaporation happens when water molecules gain energy and turn into gas. A larger surface area allows more molecules to escape at once, speeding up evaporation, while a smaller surface area limits exposure, slowing it down.
Question:
How does light direction affect plant growth?
Claim:
Plants grow towards light sources.
Evidence:
In an experiment, plants near a window leaned towards the light over time.
Reasoning:
Plants respond to light through phototropism, where cells on the shaded side elongate, causing the plant to bend toward the light. This helps maximize light absorption for photosynthesis, allowing the plant to grow efficiently.
Question:
How does heating a magnet affect its strength?
Claim:
Heating a magnet decreases its magnetic strength.
Evidence:
Magnets were tested by picking up paperclips before and after heating. Before heating, they held 20 paperclips; after being heated to 80°C, they held only 8, showing a loss in strength.
Reasoning:
Heat makes atoms vibrate more, disrupting their alignment and weakening the magnetic field, reducing the magnet's strength.
Question:
How does salt affect water's freezing point?
Claim:
Salt lowers the freezing point of water.
Evidence:
Two containers of water were placed in a freezer—one with pure water and one with saltwater. The pure water froze at 0°C, while the saltwater remained liquid until -5°C.
Reasoning:
Salt lowers the freezing point of water by interfering with the formation of ice crystals. Dissolved salt ions hinder water molecules from bonding as solid ice, thus requiring colder temperatures to freeze, a process known as freezing point depression.
Question:
How does an object's weight affect how fast it falls in a vacuum?
Claim:
In a vacuum, an object's weight does not affect how fast it falls.
Evidence:
In a vacuum, a heavy and light object were dropped simultaneously. Both hit the ground at the same time, showing weight does not affect falling speed.
Reasoning:
Without air resistance, the only force acting on the objects is gravity, which accelerates all objects at the same rate regardless of their mass.
