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nature of science
vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| science | the investigating and exploration of natural events and of the new information that results from those investigation |
| observation | the act of using one or more of your senses to gather information and taking note of what occurs |
| inference | a logical explanation of an observation that is drawn from prior knowledge or experience |
| hypothesis | a possible explanation for an observation that can be tested by scientific investigations |
| prediction | a statement of what will happen next in a sequence of events |
| technology | the practical use of scientific knowledge especially for industrial or commercial use |
| scientific theory | an explanation of observations or events that is based on knowledge gained from many observations and investigations |
| scientific law | a rule that describes a pattern in nature |
| critical thinking | comparing what you already know with the information you are given in order to decide whether you agree with it |
| description | a spoken or written summary of observations |
| explanation | an interpretation of observations |
| international system of units (SI) | the internationally accepted system for measurements |
| significant digits | the number of digits in a measurement that you know with a certain degree of reliability |
| variable | any factor that can have more then one value |
| independent variable | the factor that you want to test. it is changed by the investigator to observe how it affects a dependent variable |
| dependent variable | the factor you observe or measure during an experiment |