Science passage vocabulary
Words as they appear in scientific writing — hedging, evidence, and causation.
10 questions, with answers shown. To be quizzed instead — start a session.
core · science
The connection between the two findings was ____; a single contradictory result would have dissolved it.
- tenuousanswer
- robust
- reciprocal
- empirical
Why it fits: The second clause says one contradiction would destroy the connection, so the connection must be weak and barely holding.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- robust — "Robust" means strong enough to survive challenge — the opposite of what the second clause describes.
- reciprocal — "Reciprocal" describes a two-way relationship, which says nothing about how fragile it is.
- empirical — "Empirical" means based on observation. It might be true of the finding, but it does not describe fragility.
foundation · science
The second team repeated the experiment in order to ____ the original result before publication.
- corroborateanswer
- contest
- circumvent
- extrapolate
Why it fits: Repeating an experiment before publishing is done to confirm the finding with independent evidence.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- contest — "Contest" means to dispute. Nothing suggests the second team set out to disagree.
- circumvent — "Circumvent" means to get around something, which does not apply to a result.
- extrapolate — "Extrapolate" means to extend a finding beyond the observed range — that is a different activity from confirming it.
foundation · science
Her field notes were ____: every specimen was logged with its location, the weather, and the hour it was found.
- meticulousanswer
- perfunctory
- anecdotal
- ambivalent
Why it fits: The colon introduces evidence of extreme care and completeness, which is what "meticulous" names.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- perfunctory — "Perfunctory" means done with minimum effort — the opposite of the detail listed.
- anecdotal — "Anecdotal" means based on informal stories rather than systematic record, which contradicts the careful logging.
- ambivalent — "Ambivalent" describes mixed feelings, not a quality of notes.
foundation · science
Neither explanation has been confirmed, but both remain ____ given what is currently known.
- plausibleanswer
- verified
- untenable
- redundant
Why it fits: Unconfirmed but still worth entertaining is exactly the space "plausible" occupies.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- verified — "Verified" means confirmed, which the first clause explicitly denies.
- untenable — "Untenable" means impossible to defend — but the sentence says both survive.
- redundant — "Redundant" means unnecessarily repetitive, which does not follow from being unconfirmed.
stretch · science
Researchers were careful not to ____ the decline to a single cause, since three pressures acted at once.
- attributeanswer
- ascribe wholly
- quantify
- anticipate
Why it fits: To attribute is to assign a cause, and the sentence warns against assigning the decline to one cause when three were acting.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- ascribe wholly — "Ascribe wholly" is close in meaning but reads awkwardly here; the standard verb for assigning a cause is "attribute", and the sentence already supplies "to a single cause".
- quantify — "Quantify" means to measure, which is not what the caution is about.
- anticipate — "Anticipate" means to expect in advance, and the decline has already happened.
foundation · science
Once the predator was removed, the smaller fish began to ____, doubling in number each season.
- proliferateanswer
- diminish
- stagnate
- migrate
Why it fits: Doubling each season is rapid increase in number, which is what proliferate means.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- diminish — "Diminish" means to decrease, contradicting the doubling.
- stagnate — "Stagnate" means to stop changing, which the numbers clearly do not.
- migrate — "Migrate" means to move location, and the sentence describes quantity, not movement.
foundation · science
The material is now so ____ that it turns up in soil samples from the deep ocean to the high Arctic.
- ubiquitousanswer
- volatile
- inert
- scarce
Why it fits: Appearing everywhere from the deep ocean to the Arctic is the definition of being present everywhere.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- volatile — "Volatile" means unstable or evaporating easily, which is about behaviour, not distribution.
- inert — "Inert" means chemically unreactive — again a property, not a matter of where it is found.
- scarce — "Scarce" means rare, contradicting the range described.
core · science
The technique is not wrong, merely ____: faster methods have replaced it entirely in modern labs.
- obsoleteanswer
- erroneous
- nascent
- contentious
Why it fits: "Not wrong, merely —" plus "replaced entirely" points to something superseded rather than mistaken.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- erroneous — "Erroneous" means wrong, which the sentence explicitly rules out.
- nascent — "Nascent" means just emerging, the opposite of superseded.
- contentious — "Contentious" means disputed, but nothing suggests disagreement.
foundation · science
Given the rate of erosion, the collapse of the arch was ____; the only question was when.
- inevitableanswer
- improbable
- reversible
- imperceptible
Why it fits: "The only question was when" means the event itself is certain, only its timing is open.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- improbable — "Improbable" means unlikely, contradicting the certainty.
- reversible — "Reversible" means able to be undone, which the sentence does not address.
- imperceptible — "Imperceptible" means too small to notice, but a collapse is the opposite.
core · science
One reading was ____ — nearly triple the others — so the team checked the instrument before accepting it.
- anomalousanswer
- representative
- negligible
- consistent
Why it fits: A value that departs sharply from the rest is an anomaly, which is why they suspected the instrument.
Why each wrong option is tempting
- representative — "Representative" would mean typical of the set, but this reading is nearly triple the others.
- negligible — "Negligible" means too small to matter, whereas this one is unusually large.
- consistent — "Consistent" means in agreement with the others, which it plainly is not.
Other sets
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