| Question |
 |
|
| Answer |
|
|
| DATA |
Collection of readings or measurements |
| DATUM |
The singular word for data |
| TRUE VALUE |
This is the reading that would be obtained if there were no errors at all |
| ACCURACY |
This is when a measurement is close to the true value |
| PRECISION |
This depends on the scale of your measuring instrument. A precise instrument has lots of decimal places or many divisions in its scale. |
| RELIABLE |
This is when the repeated results are the same even when someone else carries out the same experiment |
| FAIR TEST |
This is when only one variable (independent) has been allowed to affect the results (dependent variable) |
| VALID |
Data is not valid if a fair test is not carried out. Only valid data can be used to draw conclusions |
| EVIDENCE |
This is when you have valid data |
| CALIBRATION |
This is the scale between fixed points on a measuring instrument |
| RANDOM ERROR |
These cause readings to be different from the true value. These can be detected by taking a large number of readings. |
| SYSTEMATIC ERROR |
This is when the repeated readings are either mostly above or mostly below the true value |
| ZERO ERROR |
These are caused when the measuring instruments do not read zero correctly.This is a type of systematic error |
| INDEPENDENT |
This is the variable that you choose to change the value of. Usually plotted on the x-axis of a graph |
| DEPENDENT |
This is the variable that you measure when you change the independent variable. Usually plotted on the y-axis of a graph |
| CONTINUOUS |
A variable that can be any number and can go up in any interval. Data is presented in a line/scatter graph |
| CONTROL |
This is when more than one variable could affect the results. The control variable is the one that must be kept constant or closely monitored |
| DISCRETE |
A variable whose values are only whole numbers |
| CATEGORIC |
A variable that has names rather than numbers. Data is presented in a bar or pie chart |
| ORDERED |
These are categoric variables that can be ordered eg large, medium or small |
BIOL3326 Forms
