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196 CHAPTER 8involve responses regarding facts, dates, terms, or lists. The following
are examples of lower level questions:- What is the definition of a molecule?
- What are the three major categories of marine life?
- Why do experimental psychologists formulate hypotheses before
beginning research investigations? - What are the reasons for the start of the World War II?
- What is the law of definite proportions?
Higher level questions require you to apply the information that you
learned in a new situation, solve problems, analyze information, develop
a novel plan or solution, or make judgments about the value of the
information. The following are examples of higher level questions:- Why does the temperature of the water influence the velocity
of sound? (Analyze) - How effective was the president’s State of the Union address in
urging Congress to increase the defense budget? (Make judgments) - What is the density of iron if 156 g of iron occupies a volume
of 20 cm^3? (Solve problems) - What are the differences in the Keynesian and monetarist views
on how money affects the economy? (Analyze) - How do behavioral and cognitive psychologists differ in the
explanation of human motivation? (Analyze)
As you attempt to determine the main ideas presented by the
author, think about the level of questions that might be asked on
exams. In this way, you will move beyond factual or low-level ques-
tions. Students who spend considerable time studying for an exam and
still do not do well often find that they failed to ask appropriate
higher level questions in their exam preparation. Underline the
answers to your questions.
The headings in a textbook often indicate the subject matter of a
series of paragraphs. Therefore, if you can answer the questions gen-
erated from the headings, you will focus on the main ideas and sup-
porting details in the specific passage in the textbook. For example,
if you are reading a book and come to the heading “Physical Prop-
erties of Matter” you should ask yourself: What are the different phys-
ical properties of matter? As you read the passage, you will learn that
they are solid, liquid, and gas. If your question is on target, you can
write it as part of the heading and underline the answer in the text-
book. If you develop a question and find that the passage focuses on
something else, you can change your question and underline the
answer to the alternative question. For example, you read the heading