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PS chapter 1
Term | Definition |
---|---|
science | the study of the natural word |
observing | using one or more senses to gather information |
inferring | guessing based on reasoning from what you already know |
predicting | making a forecast on past experience or evidence |
chemistry | matter's properties and changes |
physics | interactions of matter, energy, motion |
scientific inquiry | different ways to study the natural world |
hypothesis | possible answer or observation |
parameter | a factor measured in an experiment |
manipulated variable | purposely changed |
responding variable | expected to change |
controlled variable | only one parameter is changed |
data | facts, figures, and other evidence |
communicating | sharing ideas, conclusions through writing and speaking |
model | representation of object or process |
scientific theory | well tested explanation |
scientific law | what scientists expect to happen under certain conditions |
Sl | international system of units |
weight | a measure of the force of gravity on you |
mass | a measure of the amount of matter an object contains |
estimate | a approximate number base in reasonable assumptions |
accuracy | how close the measurement is to the true or actual time |
reproducibility | refers to how close a group of measurements are to each other |
significant figures | in a measurement include all of the digits, that are measured exactly, and one digit which has been estimated |
precision | a measure of the exactness of a measurement |
graph | a picture of information, shows relationship between variables |
horizontal axis | graph line that runs left to right |
vertical axis | graph line that runs up and down |
origin | the point where two axis meet |
coordinate | a pair of numbers used to find the position of a point on a graph |
data point | point showing the location of a piece of data |
line of best fit | smooth line that reflects a general pattern in a graph |
linear graph | a line graph in which the data points yield a straight line |
slope | steepness of the graph line |
nonlinear graph | a line graph in which the data points do not fall along a straight line |