Keywords Flashcards
Data
Measurements or information you collect during your investigation
Mean
Calculated by finding the sum of the values and dividing by the number of values
Range
Highest and lowest vales
Intervals
Gap between the readings
Independant variables
Thing that you deliberately change
Dependant variables
The thing that you measure
Control varibale
The thing you keep the same to make it a fair test
Fair test
Only the independant variable changes
Categoric variables
Have word labels and cannot be placed in order, plotted on a bar chart
Continuous variables
Have any numeric value, plotted on a line graph
Hypothesis
Suggestion to explain facts or observations
Prediction
Suggestion of what will happen based on an observation or hypothesis
Repeatable
Do the same experiment again, with same method and equipment and results
Reproducible
Same results obtained by somebody else or using a different technique
Bias
Someone’s opinion is due to favouritism or hidden interest
Valid
Only if a fair test and no bias
Evidence
Data which is considered valid
Secondary evidence
Data collected from somebody else
True value
Correct value to be found without errors
Uncertainty
Range which the true value is expected to be
Random error
Cause readings to be spread about the true value, cannot be corrected but reduced by taking more measurements
Systematic error
Results are consistently higher or lower than true value
Zero error
Caused by instruments that have a false zero
Measurement error
Difference between a measured value and true value
Anomalies
Results that are strange and not just random errors
Calibration
Fixing known points and them marking a scale on a measuring instrument between fixed points
Accuracy
Measurement close to the true value
Presicion
Measurements which are all very close to overall mean
Resolution
How small the scale divisions of measurement
Y axis
Dependant variable
X axis
Independant variable
