1.0 scientific method Flashcards
scientific process steps
- make an observation/identify a problem
- gather information
- formulate hypothesis and prediction
- design and experiment
- record and organize data
- analyze data
- draw conclusions
use conclusions to develop a new hypothesis
how to gather knowledge?
conduct background knowledge
use references
after making observations and gathering knowledge, scientists use _. what is it? explain
inductive reasoning (use of creative thinking to combine isolated facts into a cohesive whole)
-logical process where all valid observations are combined before producing a general statement
hypothesis definition
possible explanation for a natural event
statement that can be tested
influenced by past experiences
what does a hypothesis include?
organism being studied
independent variable (cause)
dependent variable (effect)
deductive reasoning definition
logical process by which a prediction is produced from a general statement
what format does deductive reasoning use?
if-then
what is the importance of a prediction?
helps a scientist know what to do next/how to test a hypothesis
null hypothesis definition
States that there is no relation between the independent and dependent variable
the relationship proposed in alternate hypothesis is not true
negatively phrased
research hypothesis is only accepted if
the null hypothesis is rejected
its easier to disprove a null hypothesis than
prove an alternative hypothesis
methods to test hypothesis
experimental treatment/test groups (independent variable changed for each group)
control group
variables
variable definition
any characteristic or property able to take a range of values
independent variable definition
factor of the experiment being tested
changed by scientist on purpose
the “cause”
variable axis plots
independent: x axis
dependent: y axis
dependent variable definition
result/change that occurs from independent variable
measured in experiment
controlled variable definition
all experimental factors kept the same except independent variable
what is the purpose of the controlled variable?
keep the experiment unbiased
experimental groups definition
treatment/test groups with a different independent variable in each group, everything else is held constant
tests the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
control group defintion
standard treatment group
lacks independent variable, same controlled variables
ensures that the independent variable is the cause of change in an experiment
3 types of graphs used
bar
line
pie
what are statistical tests used for?
determining if there is statistically significant effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
if you should accept/reject null hypothesis, then accept/reject alternative hypothesis
