MODULE: Scientific Skills

PISA Intervention Session: Teachers

This session has been designed to help your students to practice answering PISA
questions, both paper and Computer based assessments about Scientific Skills. It
also helps them to practice reading and interpreting text; analysing and interpreting
data; evaluating scientific inquiries; and explaining key concepts and applying their
understanding.
It must be emphasised that PISA assessment items are not designed to test knowledge in
the approach of TIMSS assessment items.
PISA assessment items are designed to test students ability to read and interpret text,
analyse and interpret data, evaluate scientific inquiries; explain the outcomes of inquiries
using their scientific understanding; and apply their understanding of how the world of
science works. These assessment items have been designed to help students practice
those skills.
1. (15 minutes)
Carry out the Shampoo Computer Based Assessment question on the computer. Read
the information, instructions and questions carefully before selecting or typing in your
answers.
Remember that you can navigate backwards and forwards to check and change your
answers.
When you have finished print your answers by clicking on the print icon.
Answers
1. The girls had different hair strengths. Olga had weaker hair. jane had stronger hair.
2. Jane. Her average hair breaking force is greater than that of the other girls. Janes
average result was 3.92N, campared with Olga 1.22, Kiera 2.1, and Urika 3.22.
3.
a. The type of Shampoo
b. The volume of shampoo used in washing; the length of the girls hair; the length of
time of washing; the washing technique; the length of hair cut; the part of the head
from which the hair is cut.
4. No
There are outliers in the data for four of the girls. The tests were not repeated 5 times
for all the girls.
5. Repeat 5 times for all the girls. Repeat more times when there are outliers. Test the
strength of the girls hair before starting the tests. Choos girls with similar hair strength
at the start. Test all the shampoos on each of the girls.
6. Steri-loo (You could also accept Fish oil - depending on how brain power is interpreted)

2. (15 minutes)
Read the article and data below, and then answer the questions.
Acid Rain Recovery
Wildlife is returning to damaged habitats, 20 years after international agreements forced
European countries to clean up fossil fuel emissions. Acid rain is made when fossil fuels
burn. Some of the gases produced, particularly sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen,
dissolve in water vapour in the air to make acids. In the 1970s and`1980s the pollution
emissions caused dreadful destruction in Britain and Europe. Other countries called Britain
the dirty man of Europe because weak British pollution controls caused forest destruction
across Europe. But now the environment seems to be recovering.
Scientists have made the following discoveries:

Acid water kills plants and animals by changing their metabolisms.

Mosses and other plants that disappeared from habitats 15 years ago have now
returned.

Some bird and toad species died out because they depended on water snails and
dragonflies for food.

Over the whole world, levels of sulphur are increasing. Acid rain falls over much of
China.

Scientists found young brown trout at three sites (that used to be very acidic) for
the first time since 1988.

Acidic solutions make toxic aluminium minerals dissolve out of the soil and into
nearby water.

In some areas, acid rain killed all the water snails and dragonflies.

In the 1970s, Britain put 3 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the air each year.
This has been cut to only 600, 000 tonnes/year.

Acid rain removed neutralising minerals from soils in hilly areas.

The populations of caddis larvae and damsel flies have increased. These are vital
in the food chains of salmon and ospreys.

In acidic water, brown trouts gills cant take in oxygen. Their eggs are damaged
and young trout are born dead.

Britain still produces high emissions of oxides of nitrogen.

Country

Sulphur put into the

atmosphere (millions of
tonnes) in 1992

Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany
Great Britain
Holland
Hungry
Norway
Poland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

44
14
228
912
512
16
133
6
500
313
23
8

Sulphur that fell on the

country in acid rain
between (millions of
tonnes) 1992
42
30
202
221
41
60
46
109
340
53
98
50

a. Which countries make much more sulphur pollution than they receive?
Germany, Great Britain. Hungry, Poland, Spain
b. Which countries make about the same amount of sulphur pollution as they receive?
France and Belgium
c. What countries make much less sulphur pollution than they receive?
Denmark, Norway, Holland, Switzerland, Sweden
d. Was it fair to blame Britain?
Yes
e. What evidence is there for your answer?

They were producing a lot of pollution, but they were not the only country, and in fact
Germany was producing more.
f. What are the effects of acid rain?

Acid water kills plants and animals by changing their metabolisms.

Acidic solutions make toxic aluminium minerals dissolve out of the soil and into
nearby water.

In acidic water, brown trouts gills cant take in oxygen. Their eggs are damaged
and young trout are born dead.

g. How does acid rain cause damage?

Some bird and toad species died out because they depended on water snails and
dragonflies for food.

Acid rain removed neutralising minerals from soils in hilly areas

In some areas, acid rain killed all the water snails and dragonflies

h. What evidence is there of recovery?

Mosses and other plants that disappeared from habitats 15 years ago have now
returned.

Scientists found young brown trout at three sites (that used to be very acidic) for
the first time since 1988.

The populations of caddis larvae and damsel flies have increased. These are vital
in the food chains of salmon and ospreys.

i. What are the reasons for recovery?

In the 1970s, Britain put 3 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the air each year. This
has been cut to only 600, 000 tonnes/year.

3. (10 minutes)
Crash tests
Which Car? magazine is comparing how well different cars protect peoples legs in a
crash. These are the results of the tests they have carried out.
Car type

Forces on the legs (kN)

Driver

Car 1
Car 2
Car 3

Upper leg
Left
Right
11.4
8.8
8.5
4.5
6.39
7.74

Lower leg
Left
Right
5.3
1.4
0.57
0.88
0.94
0.66

Passenger
Upper leg
Lower leg
Left
Right
Left
Right
0.5
1.8
2.0
2.1
1.7
2.1
1.4
1.8
0.58
35
1.1
2.0

a. Make a list of all the variables in the table.

Car type
Driver upper leg right
Driver upper leg left
Driver lower leg right
Driver lower leg left
Passenger upper leg right
Passenger upper leg left
Passenger lower leg reight
Passenger lower leg left
Force on the legs
b. Which is the dependent variable?

Force on the leg

c. With car 1, what is the average force on the drivers

i. upper legs
10.1
ii. lower legs
3.35
iii. both legs together?
13.45
d. Use all the data in the table to work out which car protects the legs best. Explain your
answer.
Car 2. It has the lowest average force for the legs of both the driver and the passenger
2.68
The table below gives some data from America.
Vehicle size
Mini (4.2 m long or less)
Small (4.2 4.6 m long)
Medium (4.61 5.0 m)
Large (5.01 5.3 m long)
Very large (over 5.3 m)

Number of deaths (per million cars)

249
181
127
112
133

e. Does it provide strong evidence that big cars are safer than small ones? Explain your
answer.

Yes. It shows a trend that larger cars are safer than smaller cars.

f. Why might the size or weight of a car affect the safety of the passengers in a crash?

The length would mean that there is a greater crumple zone to absorb the force.

4. (10 minutes)
Read the information and then answer the questions
Mucus
Dr Cerri Harrup is a researcher in respiratory
medicine. She is researching Asthma and the
effects of the build up of mucus in the respiratory
tract. For this research she needs mucus. She
knows from her research that you can make
artificial mucus by mixing two solutions, PVA
and borax. When you mix them the short borax
molecules hold the long PVA ones together.

borax

Before

She is going to carry out scientific enquiries on

mucus with different properties.
After

Cerri has made the following observations:

1. the thinner the mucus the bigger the area it
spreads over
2. the stronger the mucus the longer it
stretches before it breaks
3. the stickier the mucus the longer it takes a
ball bearing to drop through it.

a. What are the variables?

Volume of Borax, Volume of PVA, Concentration of Borax, Concentration of PVA,
stirring time, total volume of mixture, fluidity (thinner), strength, viscosity (stickyness)
b. Ceri decided that she wanted to investigate the effects of changing the volume of PVA
on the mucus.
How might she change the volume of PVA to be able to see a pattern in her results?
Over a range of for example 10 to 50ml she could change them at regular intervals
such as 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50ml to see a pattern in her results.

What variables would she control?

Volume of borax, concentration of borax, concentration of PVA, number of stirs,
container mixed in, and surface on which the mucus is placed
c. How would she control those variables?
Measure the same volume of borax with an appropriate measuring cylinder.
Use the same ready made concentrations of borax and PVA (or make them up to the
same specification each time).
Count the stirs with same person doing it.
Use the same type of container (ensuring clean and dry).
Use the same surface ensuring clean and dry.
d. What are the dependent variables?
Strength, Fluidity, Viscosity
e. Cerri decided she was going to measure the strength of the mucus?
How would she measure strength?
Clamp one end to clamp stand and attach a clamp with masses to the other end and
add 5g masses carefully and slowly until it breaks. Record the total mass added.
f. How would she ensure her results are reliable?
Repeat as many times as possible, ensuring same number for each volume. Also
ensure tthat if here are any outliers that she make further repeats.

5.(10 minutes)
Read the information below and then answers the questions.
Lava
There are active volcanoes all over the World. When a volcano erupts lava can flow down the
sides of the volcano and engulf villages and even people and animals. Scientists need to know
what factors can affect the flow lava so that they can predict how long village and emergency
services have to respond in if an eruption happens.
A team of scientists are studying factors that could affect the rate of lava flow. They are carrying
out this research in their laboratory, and so they are using syrup to model lava, as they behave
the same.
They used the following method:

Three boiling tubes (with bungs) containing syrup.

To one they added a few drops of water added, and added a little sugar.
They kept the boiling tubes upright.
When they were ready to carry out their experiment they tilted a tube so it was slanting
downwards. They used a stopwatch to time how long it took for the syrup to reach the other
end. They then repeated this for the other tubes.
Results
Tube
Syrup
Syrup and water
Syrup and sugar

Time for syrup taken to reach

other end of tube (s)
21
17
27

a. What were the variables?

Volume of syrup
Volume of Water
Volume of Sugar
Tilt of the tube
Time to flow
Tube
b. What independent variable did they choose?
Viscosity (addition of water or addition of sugar)
c. What do you think there hypothesis was?
The more the viscous the syrup the slower it will flow or the less viscous the syrup the faster
it will flow.
d. Why did they have a tube with only syrup?
Control
e. Which type of syrup flowed the quickest?
The least viscous the one with water.
f. Which type of syrup was the most viscous?
The one with sugar added.
g. Which type of lava would flow down a volcano more quickly: lava with lots of crystals, or lava
with no crystals?
Lava with no crystals.
h. What further investigations do you think the scientists should carry out? Why
On a range of viscosity by changing the volume of water, because only tried one volume.
On a range of crystal masses by the mass of sugar added because only tried one.
The temperature of the syrup because lava is very hot and cools as it flows.

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