Chapters 1,4,5

Question 1

why is the scientific method important?

Answer 1

crucial for understanding the complex world around us, without it we may still hold outdated beliefs, important skill across all domains of life

Question 2

superstition

Answer 2

a belief that violates known laws of nature, can’t be true

Question 3

example of superstition

Answer 3

good vs. bad luck

Question 4

subjective

Answer 4

influenced by personal biases, attitudes and irrational beliefs

Question 5

intuition

Answer 5

knowledge based on personal feelings but emerges without use of research

Question 6

example of intution

Answer 6

trust your gut

Question 7

authority

Answer 7

info. is learned from a trustworthy or credible source

Question 8

rational-inductive argument

Answer 8

based on info. and previous knowledge by using reasoning and logic to make a point

Question 9

scientific method

Answer 9

a method on inquiry used to acquire knowledge in the sciences

Question 10

hypothesis

Answer 10

a testable explanation about what causes a phenomenon to occur

Question 11

why is the scientific method used

Answer 11

to gather results that are meaningful, clear, and free of bias

Question 12

independent variable

Answer 12

variable that is manipulated by experimenter

Question 13

dependent variable

Answer 13

what the researcher measures to see how much affect the IV had

Question 14

subject variable

Answer 14

characteristics of participants that can be measured but cannot be manipulated by researcher

Question 15

theory

Answer 15

set of related statements that explain and predict phenomena

Question 16

laws

Answer 16

very specific statements generally expressed in the form of a math equation

Question 17

principles

Answer 17

statements that predict a phenomenon but are more tentative than laws

Question 18

occum’s razor

Answer 18

when there are two equally accurate explanations for a phenomenon the simpler one if preferred

Question 19

nominal scale

Answer 19

classifies objects/individuals as belongings to different categories, order does not matter

Question 20

ordinal scale

Answer 20

objects put into categories but order does matter, distance between categories is not constant

Question 21

interval scale

Answer 21

characterized by equal units of measurement throughout scale, no true 0

Question 22

ratio scale

Answer 22

provides information about order, all units are equal size, true 0