First Quiz Terms Flashcards
Hypothesis
a tentative explanation for one or more observations
Controlled Experiment
an experiment which has two identical groups, except one has a variable. Thus, a researcher can observe how the variable alters the results
Experimental Group
the group in a controlled experiment with the variable
Control Group
the group in a controlled experiment without the variable
Independent Variable
the variable that is manipulated to test the hypothesis
Dependent Variable
expected to vary based on the independent variable
Negative Control
a group that controls for potential extra variables—should not have any response to the test
ex: in a test to see how the medication works, you give one group a dummy pill that doesn’t have effects to control for the placebo effect
Positive Control
a group that receives a variable with a known result. Used to detect any problems with the experiment.
ex: in a test for how exercise affects heart rate, you’d give a group of people caffeine to see if it rises as expected
Quantitative Data
data expressed numerically
Qualitative Data
descriptive data (based on judgement)
Null Hypothesis
a prediction that the variable in a test will have no effect
Experimental Hypothesis
a prediction that the variable will have an effect
Mean
average
Median
number in the middle of a data set
Mode
most frequently occurring
Why is carbon an important molecule?
It is versatile and can form complex, stable bonds.
What are the 4 major organic molecules?
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
What are the basic units (monomers) of carbohydrates?
monosaccharides
What are the basic units (monomers) of lipids?
glycerol and fatty acids
What are the basic units (monomers) of proteins?
amino acids
What are the basic units (monomers) of nucleic acids?
nucleotides - adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C)
