Lab Topic 1: Scientific Investigation Flashcards
What is the scientific method?
the common elements and procedures shared by scientific investigations
What are the steps of the methodology of scientists?
asking questions, proposing explanations, designing experiments, predicting results, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting your results in light of your hypotheses.
What must happen in order for a question to be pursued by scientists?
the phenomenon must be well defined and testable
What is a hypothesis?
a proposed possible explanation for questions
What must a scientifically useful hypothesis be?
testable and falsifiable
What can a hypothesis never be?
proven true
What does an experiment involve?
defining variables, outlining a procedure, and determining controls to be used as the experiment is performed
What are the three different types of variables?
dependent, independent, controlled
What is a dependent variable?
the variable(s) that will be measured or counted or observed in response to the experimental conditions
What is the independent variable?
A variable or experimental condition that the scientist chooses to manipulate
What is a controlled variable?
the variables that are kept constant during the course of the experiment
What is a procedure?
The stepwise method, or the sequence of steps, to be performed for the experiment.
What is the level of treatment?
the value set for the independent variable
What is replication?
the same procedure repeated several times
What is the control?
a group/treatment in which the independent variable is held at an established level or omitted.
How are predictions written?
If … then
What variable is on the x-axis?
the independent variable?
What variable is on the y-axis
the dependent variable
How much of the total graphing area must the graph cover?
2/3
How do you label the axes?
with the variable and unit of measurement
When should you include a legend?
if colors or shading is used to indicate different aspects of the experiment
What does the choice of graph depend on?
the nature of the variable being graphed
What should a caption describe?
its contents, giving enough information to allow the figure to be self-contained.
T/F: All letters in a title should be lowercase
False - you capitalize only the first word.
What type of data is a line graph used for?
continuous data
