The Invaders: Asking Questions

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See the associated lesson plan atnature.ca/education/cls/lp/lpinv_e.cfm

Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).Brian Coad © Canadian Museum of Nature

Questions Are the Key

• The process of science is

basically about asking

questions and answering them.

• Good science starts by asking

good questions.

Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Paul Hamilton © Canadian Museum of Nature

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Open Questions

What makes a good question?

• Well, for one, open questions

are generally better than

closed questions.

• Open questions do not have

one straightforward answer.

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Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).© Canadian Museum of Nature

Open Questions

• Open questions require evaluation,

analysis and synthesis of multiple

sources of information.

• Typically, there are alternatives to

consider and evidence to be weighed.

• There may not be any one “correct”

answer, but you must justify your

answer.

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Varnish clam (Nuttallia obscurata).André Martel © Canadian Museum of Nature

Examples of Open Questions

• Which process is better and why?

• What is the difference between light

and sound?

• How might thermal pollution affect the

plankton in the area?

• Who should be advocating for

environmental policy change?European frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae).Lynn Gillespie © Lynn Gillespie

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Closed Questions

• Closed questions are ones for

which answers already exist, and

the answers are presumed to be

facts.

• Often, answers to closed questions

help in answering an open

question. Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).Ruben Boles © Canadian Museum of Nature

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Examples of Closed Questions

• Who discovered the light spectrum?

• What was the concentration level of

CO2?

• Where are ring-tailed lemurs found?

• When will the eclipse take place?Eurasian water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum).Ruben Boles © Canadian Museum of Nature

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Open or Closed?

• What is our provincial flower?

• Why might two people with the same illness

react differently?

• Where is the perfect elephant habitat?

• Who should lobby the government for tighter

environmental controls?

• Who was the creator of the Periodic Table?

• How could natural factors alleviate the zebra-

mussel invasion?Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus).Ruben Boles © Canadian Museum of Nature

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The InvadersCan you think of some good questions to ask about invasive species?

Closed Questions Open Questions

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