James Chadwick, like Ernest Rutherford, had to infer that neutrons were present in atoms. He made inferences based on observations of the behavior of atoms during experimental tests. Using evidence from Rutherford’s gold foil experiment, defend the following claim: Scientific knowledge is based on observation and inference.

the principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to test the hypothesis, and development of a conclusion that confirms, rejects, or modifies the hypothesis.

answer-

the statement that f(x) = |x+a| + b has exactly one x-intercept is sometimes correct.

solution-

it solely depends on b, whether the function will have one or two or zero x intercept.

this plot of the given function, f(x) = |x+a| + b will be the basic absolute value graph i.e v shape, with vertex translated to (-a, b), instead of origin.

1-   if b is zero, the graph will have exactly one x-intercept, at x= -a

2- if b is positive, the whole graph will be above the x-axis, hence it will have no x-intercepts.

3- if b is negative, the graph will be below the x-axis, hence it will have two x-intercepts.

∴ the statement is sometimes true.