MC. What sort of evidence would falsify the statement “All primates have fingernails”?

A. A primate that does not have fingernails

B. A non-primate that does not have fingernails

C. A non-primate that does have fingernails

D. A slice of pizza

E. Either A or C

Use this information for the next two questions. A famous experiment compared bacterial growth in broth that was boiled in short-necked flasks and swan-necked flasks. Bacteria grew in the short-necked, but not in the swan-necked, flasks.

MC. What is your interpretation of this result?

A. Bacteria are spontaneously generated in the short-necked flasks

B. Some bacteria survive boiling and grow in the short-necked flasks

C. Bacteria arrive from the environment and grow in the short-necked flasks, but are blocked from entering the swan-necked flasks

D. Bacteria are adapted to grow in short-necked flasks.

MC. Assume the experiment above was done carefully and correctly, as described. What is a possible objection to reaching the conclusion above based only on this experiment?

A. The experimenter may have overheated the flasks

B. The experimenter may not have allowed enough time for spontaneous generation to occur

C. The right kind of bacteria may not be present in the laboratory environment

D. Spontaneous generation may require free air flow, which may have been blocked by the swan-necked flasks

E. The broth may not have been nutritious enough