1.1-1.2 Flashcards
What is observation?
The process of gathering information about events or processes in careful, organized way
What is data?
Information gathered from observation
What is inference?
A logical interpretation based on prior knowledge or experience
What is a hypothesis?
A proposed scientific explanation for a set observations;educated guess
What does science study?
Natural world
What does it mean to describe a scientist as skeptical? Why is skepticism considered a valuable quality in a scientist?
It means they question both existing and new hypotheses;they must keep an open-mind and consider new hypotheses if data demands it.
What is difference between quantitative and qualitative data?
Quantitative-data that is expressed as counted numbers
Qualitative-data that is descriptive and involves characteristics that can’t be counted
What two ways can a hypothesis be tested?
Gather data or experiment
What is goal of science?
To investigate and understand the natural world, to explain events in the natural world, and to use those explanations to make useful predictions
What is science not?
Something that is general or can’t proven
What does science start with?
Observation
What is spontaneous generation?
The idea that idea that life could arise from non living matter(hypothesis)
What are variables?
Things that can be changed in experiments
What is a controlled experiment?
An experiment in which only one variable is changed at a time. All others should be controlled(hypotheses need to be tested under these if possible)
What are the two types of variables?
Responding-variable that responds to the manipulated variable
Manipulated-variable that is deliberately changed
