critical thinking Flashcards
what is science an understanding of
life and its environment based on the scientific method
what is the scientific method
a process:
* To produce reliable reproducable results to a specific question
* Used by anyone who wants to understand how the world works
* Results in conclusions, generalizations and sometimes scientific laws
* Allows us to explain a phenomenon and make
predictions (based on knowledge at the present time)
4 scientific method steps
- Observation
- Hypothesis
- Experiment
- Conclusions
explain the observation step in the scientific method
the action or process of observing something
or someone carefully to gain information
explain the hypothesis step in the scientific method
proposed explanation/ statement made on the basis of limited evidence (observation) as a starting point for further investigation
explain the experiment step in the scientific method
procedure carried out to verify, refute, or establish the validity of a hypothesis
explain the conclusion step in the scientific method
Draw conclusion from the data
what is the scientific theory
grand scheme that relates and explains many observations and is supported by a great deal of evidence - highest level of certainty of any scientific knowledge
what is accuracy
What we know
* Extent to which a measurement agrees with the
accepted (real) value
what is precision
How well we measure
* Extent to which a measurement agrees with the
accepted (real) value
whats a dependent variable
gets measured or tested in an experiment
It is the outcome or the effect that researchers are interested in understanding, and it “depends” on the changes made to the independent variable
*THE EFFECT
whats an independent variable
the changes influence the dependent variable
*THE CAUSE
world population
8.1 billion
how is the Doubling time of human population calculated
dividing annual growth rate (%) into 70 (Rule of 70)
whats a population
Group of individuals of the same species living in the
same area
population dynamics definition
A general study of population changes
whats a species
All individuals that are capable of interbreeding
* A species is made up of populations
whats demography
Statistical study of human populations
