Mfnu Flashcards
How can a hypothesis be tested
Gathering evidence from data from investigations
What will a scientist use a hypothesis to make
Make a prediction- a statement based on the hypothesis that can be tested. Then they carry out the investigation
If data from the experiment supports the ………. You are one step closer to figuring out if the ……… Is true
Prediction
Hypothesis
What may other scientists do
Use the hypothesis to make their own prediction and carry out their own experiments
They may try to reproduce the original investigation
If all experiments back up the hypothesis what can scientists start to say
The hypothesis is true
If a scientist does the experiment and obtains results that don’t fit the hypothesis and other scientists can reproduce these results what happens
The hypothesis may be wrong, when this happens a new hypothesis must be devised
What are accepted hypothesises referred to
Theories
What happens if pretty much every scientist believes a hypothesis to be true
It goes in a textbook for students to learn
What have our current accepted theories survived
Trial by evidence, they have been tested many times and survived
Why can a theory never be indisputable fact
It would only take one odd inexplicable result for hypothesising and testing to start again
Where is the easiest place to control variables
In a lab making it easier to carry out a fair test
What do you conduct for things that cannot be conducted in a lab
Scientific studies
What is considered an opinion in science
Something not scientific without evidence
What should a sample be
Large so it is representative of the whole population
Why is studying everyone in a country be unrealistic
Take too long too expensive
What does reliable mean
Data that can be repeated and reproduced by others
When is evidence considered reliable
If it can be repeated and other scientists can reproduce it too
Give an example of when scientists produced unreliable data which was not able to be reproduced by others
In 1989 scientists claimed that they’d produced cold fusion
What does valid mean
The data is reliable and answers the original question
Give an example of when a study does not show a definite link and doesn’t answer the original question
Do power lines cause cancer?:
Correlations were found between the 2 variables- presence of power lines and incidence of cancer, as one changed so did the other
But correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, other explanations may be possible
What does biased data mean
There is an overemphasised relationship in the data
Why may people produce biased data
- They want to keep the organisation funding the research happy; bad results could mean no more funding for further research
- governments might want to persuade voters, other governments, journalists
- companies may want to big up their product
- environmental campaigners might want to persuade people to behave differently
When may an investigation be taken more seriously
If it is conducted by a team of highly regarded scientists
Does highly regarded scientists prove that the evidence is good
No the only way to tell is to see if it is reliable or valid
