Practical Science Key Terms Flashcards
When is a measurement valid?
When it measures what it is supposed to be measuring.
When is a result accurate?
When it is close to the true value.
What are precise results?
When repeat measurements are consistent/agree closely with each other.
What is reproducibility?
How precise repeated measurements are when they are taken by different people using different equipment.
What is the uncertainty of a measurement?
The interval within which the true value is expected to lie.
Define measurement error.
The difference between a measured value and the true value.
Define random error.
A type of error caused by results varying around the true value in an unpredictable way.
What is a systematic error?
A consistent difference between the measured values and true values.
What is a zero error?
A measuring instrument gives a false reading when the true value should be zero.
What is the independent variable?
A variable changed or selected by the investigator.
What is a dependent variable?
A variable that is measured every time the independent variable is changed.
What is a control variable?
Variables that should be kept constant to avoid them affecting the dependent variable.
Define a fair test.
A test in which only the independent variable is allowed to affect the dependent variable.
