Chapters 1 and 2- Human Biological science and Scientific Inquiry

Question 1

How do scientists investigate?

Answer 1

literature review, observation, classifying and experimentation

Question 2

How do scientists avoid bias and error?

Answer 2

objectivity- should not allow their own thoughts and feelings to influence an experiment

Question 3

Define validity?

Answer 3

an experiment is valid if it had tested what it is supposed to test

Question 4

What are hypotheses?

Answer 4

a tentative proposal made to explain certain observations

Question 5

What are the variables?

Answer 5

any factor that may change during an experiment

Question 6

What is an independent variable?

Answer 6

the factor that is being investigated

Question 7

What is the dependent variable?

Answer 7

the factor that changes in response to the changes being made to the independent variable

Question 8

What are the controlled variables?

Answer 8

factors that are kept the same

Question 9

What are the uncontrolled variables?

Answer 9

factors that are not kept the same

Question 10

What is experimental error?

Answer 10

results of experiments that contain errors

Question 11

What is systematic error?

Answer 11

caused by the experimental design

Question 12

What is human error?

Answer 12

simply a mistake made by the experimenter

Question 13

What is random error?

Answer 13

unpredictable error that occurs

Question 14

What are ethics?

Answer 14

set of moral principles or values

Question 15

What is ethical behaviour?

Answer 15

behaviour that conforms to principles or values

Question 16

What are placebos?

Answer 16

an inactive substance that appears like a real medication. They are used within the experimental group of the experiment to test whether they produce any psychological effects (if the subject believes it has worked)

Question 17

What is a scientific model?

Answer 17

a simplified representation of an idea or a process