Scientific Experimentation Flashcards
Scientific Method
An organized set of investigation procedures.
Hypothesis
An educated and careful guess
variable usually plotted on the horizontal or x-axis
independent varialble (aka manipulated variable)
graph type used to show some fixed quantity broken down into parts
circle graph (pie chart)
First step in designing an experiment
State the problem
A standard for comparison that helps to ensure that the experimental result is caused by the condition being tested
A Control
factor in an experiment that changes from the manipulation of the independent variable
dependent variable
A factor that does NOT change in an experiment
A constant (aka “controlled variable”)
Studying the effect of one thing on another in order to test a hypothesis is a(n) ____.
experiment
A factor that is manipulated in an experiment to change the dependent variable
independent varialble (aka manipulated variable)
“aka” means
also known as
dependent variable is usually plotted on the
vertical or y-axis
dependent variable is aka
responding variable (IM DR)
independent variable is aka
manipulated variable (IM DR)
“IM DR” is a mnemonic device to help remember
(Independent variable = Manipulated variable) and (Dependent variable = Responding Variable)
Why don’t we draw lines between bars on a bar graph?
There is no data between the bars on a bar graph.
Why do we draw lines between ponts on a line graph?
To represent the expected values of the unmeasured data between the measured points.
Why do we typically avoid putting “breaks” in the axes of graphs?
It distorts the appearance of the data.
When do we put “breaks” in the axes of graphs?
When we are willing to live with the distorted appearance of the data so that we can zoom in on a specific region of the data.
Scientific experiments investigate the effect of one ___________ on another.
variable
Graphs are visual representations of data that help scientists to detect _________ in the data.
patterns
Must be in the form of a statement.
A hypothesis
In a graph showing temperature change of a material over time, temperature change is the ____.
dependent variable
The best type of graph to use to show how some fixed quantity is broken down into parts is_____.
circle graph (pie chart)