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Nature Science
Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Science | the investigation and exploration of natural events and of the new information that results from those investigations. |
| 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 measurement. |
| 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 than 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. |