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Intro to Science
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| scientific inquiry | the ongoing process of discovery in science; the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on evidence they gather |
| science | a way of learning about the natural world and the knowledge gained through the process |
| inferring | the process of making an inference, an interpretation based on observations and prior knowledge |
| predicting | the process of forecasting what will happen based on past experience or evidence |
| observing | the process of using one or more of your senses to gather information |
| classifying | the process of grouping things based on their similarities |
| qualitative observation | an observation that deals with characteristics that cannot be expressed in numbers |
| quantitative observation | an observation that deals with a number or amount |
| variable | a factor that can change in an experiment |
| scientific theory | a well-tested explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results |
| scientific law | a statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions |
| hypothesis | a possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question |
| data | facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations |
| communicating | the process of sharing ideas with others through writing and speaking |
| manipulated variable | the one factor that a scientist changes during an experiment |
| responding variable | the factor that changes as a result of changes to the manipulated, or independent, variable |
| controlled experiment | an experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time |
| technology | how people modify the world around them to meet their needs or to solve practical problems |