Term | Definition |
Science | A way of learning about the natural world |
Observing | Using one or more of your senses to gather information |
Quantitative Observation | Deals with numbers or amounts |
Qualitative Observation | Deals with descriptions that cannot be expressed in numbers |
Inferring | When you explain or interpret the things you observe |
Predicting | Making a statement or a claim about what will happen in the future based on past experience or evidence |
Classifying | The grouping together of items that are alike in some ways |
Making Models | Creating representations of complex objects or processes |
Evaluating | Comparing observations and data to reach a conclusion about them |
Scientific Investigation | The way in which scientists study the natural world |
Skepticism | Having an attitude of doubt |
Personal Bias | If a person's likes and dislikes influence how he or she thinks about something, its called Personal Bias |
Cultural Bias | When the culture in which a person grows up affects the way that person thinks, this is called Cultural Bias |
Experimental Bias | A mistake in the design of an experiment that makes a certain result more likely is called Experimental Bias |
Ethics | The rules that enable people to know right from wrong |
Objective | You make decisions and draw conclusions based on available evidence |
Subjective | Means that personal feelings affect how you make a decision or reach a conclusion |
Deductive Reasoning | A way to explain things by starting with a general idea and then applying the idea to a specific observation |
Inductive Reasoning | Specific observations to make generalizations |
Scientific Inquiry | Thinking and questioning |
Hypothesis | A possible answer to a scientific question |
Variables | Factors that can change in an experiment, must be the same |
Independent Variable | The one variable that is purposely changed to test a hypothesis |
Dependent Variable | The factor that may change in response to the independent variable |
Controlled Experiment | An experiment in which only one variable is changed at a time |
Data | The facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through qualitative and quantitative observations |
Scientific Theory | A well tested and widely accepted explanation of observations and experimental results |
Scientific Law | Is a statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions |