Cambridge IELTS 3 · Academic · Test 1 · Passage 3
The Scientific Method — IELTS Reading Answers
All 11 answers for The Scientific Method, Cambridge IELTS 3 Academic Reading Test 1 Passage 3, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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The Scientific Method answer key at a glance
Questions 29–40. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Headings (Q29–33), Two Choices (Q34–35), Yes / No / Not Given (Q36–39), One Choice (Q40–40). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 29–33: Matching Headings
Strategy: Read the paragraph first and summarise its main idea in five words. Choose the heading that matches the whole paragraph, not a repeated keyword.
Paragraph C
“The myth of scientific method is that it is inductive: that the formulation of scientific theory starts with the basic, raw evidence of the senses - simple, unbiased, unprejudiced observation”
Paragraph C describes the myth that scientific method is inductive, starting from simple, unbiased, unprejudiced observation, so the heading about that myth fits.
Paragraph D
“Hypotheses provide the initiative and incentive for the inquiry and influence the method. It is in the light of an expectation that some observations are held to be relevant and some irrelevant, that one methodology is chosen and others discarded, that some experiments are conducted and others are not”
Paragraph D says hypotheses provide the initiative and incentive for inquiry and influence the method, deciding which observations and experiments are relevant.
Paragraph E
“Hypotheses arise by guesswork, or by inspiration, but having been formulated they can and must be tested rigorously, using the appropriate methodology. If the predictions you make as a result of deducing certain consequences from your hypothesis are not shown to be correct then you discard or modify your hypothesis”
Paragraph E says hypotheses arise by guesswork or inspiration but must then be tested rigorously, and discarded or modified if predictions fail.
Paragraph F
“So don’t worry if you have some idea of what your results will tell you before you even begin to collect data; there are no scientists in existence who really wait until they have all the evidence in front of them before they try to work out what it might possibly mean”
Paragraph F reassures readers they need not wait until all evidence is collected before forming an idea of what results might mean.
Paragraph G
“From this point of view, ‘scientific method’ may more usefully be thought of as a way of writing up research rather than as a way of carrying it out”
Paragraph G says scientific method may more usefully be thought of as a way of writing up research than as a way of carrying it out.
Questions 34–35: Two Choices
Strategy: Both answers must be supported by the passage. Check each option independently; order does not usually matter.
“It is essential that you, as an intending researcher, understand the difference between these two interpretations of the research process so that you do not become discouraged or begin to suffer from a feeling of ‘cheating’ or not going about it the right way So don’t worry if you have some idea of what your results...”
B and F are correct: the writer reassures researchers they need not feel they are cheating, and that no scientist waits for all the evidence first.
Questions 36–39: Yes / No / Not Given
Strategy: These test the writer's opinions, not facts. Look for evaluative language, and treat 'may' or 'could' as weaker than the question's claim.
Popper says that the scientific method is hypothetico-deductive.
“He was arguing in favour of the position taken by Karl Popper in The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1972, 3rd edition) that the nature of scientific method is hypothetico-deductive and not, as is generally believed, inductive”
The text says Popper argued the nature of scientific method is hypothetico-deductive and not, as is generally believed, inductive.
If a prediction based on a hypothesis is fulfilled, then the hypothesis is confirmed as true.
“If the predictions turn out to be correct then your hypothesis has been supported and may be retained until such time as some further test shows it not to be correct”
Correct predictions only mean the hypothesis has been supported and may be retained until a further test shows it wrong, not confirmed as true.
Many people carry out research in a mistaken way.
“It is essential that you, as an intending researcher, understand the difference between these two interpretations of the research process so that you do not become discouraged or begin to suffer from a feeling of ‘cheating’ or not going about it the right way”
The passage warns an intending researcher about feeling they are going about it the wrong way but never says many people actually research mistakenly.
The ‘scientific method’ is more a way of describing research than a way of doing it.
“From this point of view, ‘scientific method’ may more usefully be thought of as a way of writing up research rather than as a way of carrying it out”
The writer says scientific method may more usefully be seen as a way of writing up research rather than carrying it out.
Questions 40–40: One Choice
Strategy: Read the question stem and predict the answer before looking at the options. Wrong options often repeat passage words while the correct one paraphrases them.
Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s main purpose in Reading Passage 3?
- Ato advise Ph.D students not to cheat while carrying out research
- Bto encourage Ph.D students to work by guesswork and inspiration
- Cto explain to Ph.D students the logic which the scientific research paper follows
- Dto help Ph.D students by explaining different conceptions of the research processcorrect
“It is essential that you, as an intending researcher, understand the difference between these two interpretations of the research process so that you do not become discouraged or begin to suffer from a feeling of ‘cheating’ or not going about it the right way”
The writer's stated aim is helping the intending researcher understand two interpretations of the research process so they are not discouraged, option D.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the The Scientific Method passage come from?
It is Passage 3 of Cambridge IELTS 3 Academic Reading Test 1, and it covers Questions 29–40.
What question types appear in The Scientific Method?
The passage is tested with Matching Headings, Two Choices, Yes / No / Not Given, One Choice. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.