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Scientific Method
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| science | an organized way of using evidence to learn about the natural world |
| observation | the process of gathering information about events or processes in a careful, orderly way |
| data | the information gathered from observations |
| quantitative data | data expressed as numbers |
| qualitative data | data that are descriptive and involve characteristics that can't usually be counted |
| inference | a logical interpretation based on prior knowledge or experience |
| hypothesis | a proposed scientific explanation for a set of observations |
| variables | factors in an experiment that can change |
| controlled experiment | an experiment in which variables are unchanged, or controlled |
| independent variable | the variable that is deliberately changed |
| dependent variable | the variable that is observed and that changes in response to the manipulated variable |
| constants | variables that are kept unchanged, or controlled |
| theory | a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations |