Scientist Galileo Galilei used the to observe the stars and planets. This same tool has allowed modern
that are billions of light years from Earth. This tool also detects things such as

Ricardo notices that when he plays soccer in the rain, his ball does not seem to go as far after a kick. what is the best scientific question that ricardo could ask about this observation? is soccer better played in the rain or sun? how does rain affect the distance a soccer ball can travel? how does rain affect the speed of a soccer ball? is soccer affected by the rain?

To answer this question, researchers studied populations of the dusky salamander (desmognathus ochrophaeus) living on different mountain ranges in the southern appalachian mountains. the researchers tested the reproductive isolation of pairs of salamander populations by leaving one male and one female together and later checking the females for the presence of sperm. four mating combinations were tested for each pair of populations (a and b)—two within the same population (female a with male a and female b with male b) and two between populations (female a with male b and female b with male a). the proportion of successful matings for each mating combination was measured. for example, when all the matings of a particular combination were successful, the researchers gave it a value of 1; when none of the matings were successful, they gave it a value of 0. then the researchers calculated an index of reproductive isolation that ranged from 0 (no isolation) to 2 (full isolation). the reproductive isolation value for two populations is the sum of the proportion of successful matings of each type within populations (aa + bb) minus the sum of the proportion of successful matings of each type between populations (ab + ba). the table provides data for the geographic distances and reproductive isolation values for 27 pairs of dusky salamander populations.

What advantages does a pedigree have over a written passage?