click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Day-Ch 1-Practicing
Day - Ch 1 - Practicing Science
Question | Answer |
---|---|
science | a way of learning about the natural world through observations and logical reasoning; leads to a body of knowledge |
observing | the process of using one or more of your senses to gain information |
quantitative observation | an observation that deals with a number of amount |
classifying | the process of grouping together items that are alike in some way |
making models | the process of creating representations of complex objects or processes. |
evaluating | comparing observations and datato reach a conclusion about them |
scientific investigation | the process in which a scientist asks a question about the natural world, collects and analyzes data to help answer the question, and communicates the results to the scientific community |
qualitative observation | an observation that deals with characteristcs that cannot be expressed in numbers |
inferring | the process of making an inference, an interpretation based on observations and prior knowledge |
predicting | the process of forecasting what will happen in the future based on past experience or evidence |
Metric system | a system of measurement based on the number 10 |
International System (SI) | a system of units used by scientists to measure the properties of matter. |
mass | the measure of how much matter is in an object |
weight | the measure of the force of gravity acting on an object |
volume | the amount of space that matter occupies |
density | the measurement of how much mass of a substance is contained in a given volume. |
estimate | an approximation of a number based on reasonable assumptions |
accuracy | how close a measurement is to the true or accepted value |
precision | how close a group of measurements are to each other |
significant figures | all the digits in a measurement that have been measured exactly, plus one digit whose value has been estimated, |
percent of error | a calculation used to determine how accurate, or how close to the true value an experimental value really is. |
mean | the numerical average of a set of data |
range | the difference between the greatest value and the least value in a set of data |
median | the middle number in a set of data. |
mode | the number that appears most often in a list of numbers |
anomalous data | data that do not fit with the rest of a set of data |
graph | a picture of information from a data table; shows the relationship between variables |
line graph | a graph that shows changes over time |
nonlinear graph | a line graph in which the data points do not fall in a straight line |
Scientific inquiry | the ongoing process of discovery in science; the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on evidence they gather |
observational research | research that involves investigations trying to observe an event without interfering |
hypothesis | a possible explanation for a set of observations or an answer to a scientific question; must be testable |
dependet variables | the factor that changes as a result of changes to the independent variable in an experiment; also called the responding variable |
data | facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations |
variables | a factor that can change in an experiment |
independent variables | the one factor that a scientist changes during an experiment; also called the manipulated variable |
controlled experiment | an experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time |
opinion-based research | research that involves investigations asking people quesions using surveys and interviews |
linear graph | a line graph in which the data points yield a straight line |