How Science Works Flashcards
What is a scientific observation?
When scientists look at something they don’t understand e.g. an illness
What is a hypothesis?
A possible explanation for a scientific observation that scientist try to prove e.g. an illness is caused by not washing hands.
What is a prediction?
A way of testing a hypothesis e.g. I predict people who do not wash their hands will be ill more often.
If a hypothesis is proved correct with evidence then it becomes an
accepted theory
What is a variable?
Anything in an experiment that can change
What is a control variable?
Something that is kept the same in an experiment to make it a fair test.
How can the results of an experiment be made more reliable?
By taking lots of measurements
How can the results of an experiment be made more reliable?
By taking lots of measurements
Repeating the experiment
Getting another group to reproduce the same results as you
What do we call a ‘weird’ result in an experiment?
An anomaly
What can anomalies be caused by?
Human error
Different people measuring
Difficult to control variables e.g. classroom temperature
What is an independent variable?
The thing in an experiment that you change
What is the dependent variable?
The thing in an experiment that you record e.g. temperature, number of students.
What is meant by a hazard in an investigation?
things that could cause harm
What is another name for the mean value?
The average value
How do we calculate the mean value?
Add the values together and divide by how many there are. e.g. 1 + 2 + 3 divided by 3
