Term | Definition |
science | a way of learning about the natural world through observations and logical reasoning |
observing | the process of using one or more of your senses to gather information |
inferring | the process of making an inference, or an interpretation based on observations and prior knowledge |
predicting | the process of forecasting what will happen in the future based on based experience or evidence |
classifying | the process of grouping together items that are alike in some way |
evaluating | comparing observations and data to reach a conclusion about them |
making models | the process of creating rerepresentations of complex objects or processes |
variable | a factor that can change in an experiment |
independent variable | the one factor that a scientist changes during an experiment |
dependent variable | the factor that changes as a result of changes to the manipulated or independent variable in an experiment |
metric system | a system of measurement based on the number 10 |
SI | a system of measurement based on multiples of 10 and on established measures of mass length and time |
mass | a measure of how much matter is in an object |
weight | a measure of the force of gravity acting on an object |
volume | the amount of space that matter occupies |
meniscus | the curved upper surface of a liquid in a column of liquid |
density | the measurement of how much mass of a substance is contained in a given volume |
scientific inquirey | the ongoing process of discovery in science |
hypothesis | a possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question |
controlled experiment | an experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time |
data | facts figures and other evidence gathered through observations |
repeated trials | a repetition of an experiment to gather additional data and determine whether the experiment results support the hypothesis |
replication | an attempt to repeat a scientists experiment by a different scientist or group of scientists |