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Difficulty: EasyAssessing Model Support and Contradiction

Two models are proposed to explain how a certain species of lizard changes its color between green and brown.

* Model 1: The color change is regulated solely by ambient temperature. At low temperatures (below 20∘C20^\circ\text{C}), the lizards turn brown to absorb heat. At high temperatures (above 30∘C30^\circ\text{C}), they turn green to reflect solar radiation.
* Model 2: The color change is regulated solely by background color. When on a brown background, the lizards turn brown for camouflage. When on a green background, they turn green.

Match each new experimental finding on the left to its relationship with Model 1 and Model 2 on the right.

  • Lizards placed on a brown background at 35∘C35^\circ\text{C} turn green.Supports Model 1 but contradicts Model 2
  • Lizards placed on a green background at 15∘C15^\circ\text{C} turn green.Supports Model 2 but contradicts Model 1
  • Lizards placed on a brown background at 15∘C15^\circ\text{C} turn brown.Supports both Model 1 and Model 2
  • Lizards placed on a green background at 35∘C35^\circ\text{C} turn brown.Contradicts both Model 1 and Model 2

Answer

The correct pairings are: (1) Lizards placed on a brown background at 35∘C35^\circ\text{C} turning green matches with supporting Model 1 but contradicting Model 2; (2) Lizards placed on a green background at 15∘C15^\circ\text{C} turning green matches with supporting Model 2 but contradicting Model 1; (3) Lizards placed on a brown background at 15∘C15^\circ\text{C} turning brown matches with supporting both Model 1 and Model 2; (4) Lizards placed on a green background at 35∘C35^\circ\text{C} turning brown matches with contradicting both Model 1 and Model 2.
The matching correctly pairs each experimental outcome to the logical support and contradiction patterns. Specifically: temperature-consistent behavior that violates background color supports only the temperature model; background-consistent behavior that violates temperature rules supports only the background model; outcomes matching both criteria support both models; outcomes violating both criteria contradict both models.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Model 1 and Model 2's predictions for each condition.
Model 1 predicts green for high temperature (35∘C35^\circ\text{C}) and brown for low temperature (15∘C15^\circ\text{C}). Model 2 predicts green for green background and brown for brown background.
To determine if findings support or contradict each model, we must first establish what each model predicts.
2
Compare each experimental finding against the models' predictions.
For the first finding (brown background, 35∘C35^\circ\text{C}, green result): Model 1 predicted green (supported) and Model 2 predicted brown (contradicted). For the second finding (green background, 15∘C15^\circ\text{C}, green result): Model 1 predicted brown (contradicted) and Model 2 predicted green (supported). For the third finding (brown background, 15∘C15^\circ\text{C}, brown result): Model 1 predicted brown (supported) and Model 2 predicted brown (supported). For the fourth finding (green background, 35∘C35^\circ\text{C}, brown result): Model 1 predicted green (contradicted) and Model 2 predicted green (contradicted).
Matching findings with predictions determines the relationship (support vs. contradiction) for both models.
3
Pair the left items with the matching relationship statements on the right.
The pairings are correctly made based on the results from Step 2.
This completes the matching task.

Key Concept

Assessing whether experimental results support, contradict, or are consistent with proposed scientific models.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Assessing Model Support and Contradiction

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