How Science Works Flashcards
what do you do in the aim
ask a question
identify a problem
formulate an aim
what do you do in the hypothesis
research what is known already
formulate a hypothesis
what do you do in the plan
plan experiment/observation
materials, method, variable, controls
what do you do in the data
carry out experiment / make observations record data (table)
what do you do in the analysis
display data (graph) analyse data
what do you do in the conclusion
interpret results
write a conclusion
compare to hypothesis
report results
independent variable
the variable that you change in an experiment
dependent variable
the variable that is measured (observed)
control variable
the variable that you keep the same in an experiment
categorical variable
non-numerical variable
discrete variable
the numerical variable a whole number values
continuos variable
numerical variable that can be any value
fair test / valid
when there is only one independent variable (all of other variables are kept constant, so they don’t affect the experiment (= control variables)
which variable is colour
categoric
which variable is height
continuos
which variable is age
continuos
which variable is number of children
discrete
which variable is left/right handed
categoric
which variable is leg number
discrete
for making tables, which variable goes in the left column?
independent variable
for making tables, which variable goes in the right column?
dependent variable
when calculating the mean do you include or exclude anomalies?
exclude
when drawing graphs, do you use a bar or line graph for a categorical variable?
bar graph
when drawing graphs, do you use a bar or line graph for a discrete variable?
bar graph
when drawing graphs, do you use a bar or line graph for a continuos variable?
line graph
when drawing a graph, which variable goes on the x axis
independent variable
when drawing a graph, which variable goes on the y axis
dependent varibable
with the dependent variable, which value do you only plot on the graph
the mean value
on a bar graph, you should have … widths of columns
same
on a line graph, you should connect points with a …
ruler
reliable
when results are consistent when repeated
anomalies
results that are very different from the rest
accurate
when results are correct (close to true value)
which two things help to achieve accuracy
a goof method of getting results
correctly functioning and sensitive equipment
aim
the purpose of an experiment
hypothesis
a suggestion for what you think you will observe
method
the way you’re doing an experiment
observation
what you notice during an experiment
data
the results you collect
conclusion
a summary explanation of the results
