Enquiry Processes

Question 1

What is a variable?

Answer 1

A factor that can be changed, measured and controlled.

Question 2

What is the independent variable?

Answer 2

What you change in an investigation to see how it affects the dependent variable.

Question 3

What is the dependent variable?

Answer 3

What you measure or observe in an investigation when you change then independent variable.

Question 4

What are control variables?

Answer 4

One that remains unchanged or is held constant to stop it affecting the dependant variable.

Question 5

Name the type of variables that you keep the same in an investigation?

Answer 5

The control variables.

Question 6

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 6

An explanation that you can test that includes a reason and a ‘science idea’.

Question 7

State two types of variable that change in an investigation?

Answer 7

Independent and dependent.

The independent variable is changed to see how it affects another variable.
The dependent variable changes as a result of how the independent variable changing.

Question 8

Describe the difference between three types of enquiry question: fair test, observation, pattern seeking.

Answer 8

Fair test = changing only one variable to examine the effect on another variable.

Observation enquiry = an experiment to find out about things that change over time.

Pattern seeking enquiry = an experiment to find out if there is a correlation between variables.

Question 9

Describe two types of pattern seeking enquiry.

Answer 9

Correlations = means that B changes when A changes but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the changes to A causes the change to B (that is causation).

Changes over time = observing and measuring variables over time.

Question 10

What is the difference between accurate and precise data?

Answer 10

Accurate data is close to the true value of what you are trying to measure.

Precise data gives similar results if you repeat the measurement.

Question 11

What is accurate data?

Answer 11

Accurate data is close to the true values of what you are trying to measure.

Question 12

What is precise data?

Answer 12

Precise data gives similar results if you repeat the measurement.

Question 13

What is the spread of data?

Answer 13

To find the spread, you need to repeat your measurements and look at the difference between the smallest and largest measurements. If the spread is small, your measurements are repeatable. Precise data has a very small spread.

Question 14

What is experimental error?

Answer 14

Variations in measurements, owing to the method, measurement techniques or the instrument.

Question 15

What is the range?

Answer 15

The maximum and minimum values of a variable.

Question 16

What is a risk assessment?

Answer 16

A description of how you will make it less likely that people will be injured, or equipment damaged, and what to do if this happens.

Question 17

What 3 things does a risk assessment identify?

Answer 17

Hazards - what could happen to cause damage or injury.
Risks - how likely it is that the hazards will actually cause harm.
Control measures - what you will do to remove the hazard or to reduce exposure to it.

Question 18

What should a plan for a scientific enquiry include?

Answer 18

1 - Hypothesis and the data they need to answer it
2 - Independent and dependent variables
3 - control variables and how they will do it
4 - Hypothesis
5 -List of equipment
6 - Risk assessment
7 - How to use the equipment to collect accurate and precise data

Question 19

What is a control measure?

Answer 19

An action taken to remove the hazard or to reduce the exposure to it.

Question 20

How can you make something a fair test?

Answer 20

Changing only one variable to examine the effect on another variable makes the investigation a fair test.

Question 21

State the best ways of recording data collected during an investigation.

Answer 21

A results table helps you organise the data. It is easier to see patterns if you then draw a graph or chart.

Not all data are numbers. Sometimes you need to use words and record observations using scientific language.

Question 22

What is an outlier when it comes to data results?

Answer 22

An outlier, or anomalous result, is a result that is very different to the others.

You should repeat the measurement to replace an outlier.

Question 23

What is the mean average?

Answer 23

A type of average where you add up all the results and divide by the number of results.

Question 24

What is sampling?

Answer 24

The collection of a small amount of data about a population that is used to make estimates about a whole population.

Question 25

State the two types of discontinuous variable.

Answer 25

Discrete - A variable that can only have whole-number values.

Categoric - a variable that has values that are words.

Question 26

On a line graph or bar chart, where should you plot the independent and dependent variable?

Answer 26

The independent variable is plotted on the x axis.

The dependent variable is plotted on the y axis.