Scientific Investigation

Question 1

absolute zero

Answer 1

temperature at which all molecular motion ceases

Question 2

accuracy

Answer 2

the closeness of a measured value to an accepted value

Question 3

Big Bang Theory

Answer 3

instant formation of the Universe in an enormous explosion billions of years ago

Question 4

biology

Answer 4

branch of science that studies life

Question 5

box and whisker plot

Answer 5

a graph showing the median, quartiles, and extremes of a set of data

Question 6

calibration

Answer 6

process of comparing a measuring instrument to a known standard and adjusting it to read accurately

Question 7

Celsius

Answer 7

temperature scale where water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 under one atmosphere of pressure

Question 8

chemistry

Answer 8

branch of science that studies the elements and the interactions of atoms

Question 9

conservation of mass

Answer 9

scientific law that states that there are always the same number and type of atoms before and after a chemical reaction

Question 10

continental drift

Answer 10

the theory that Earth originally had a single landmass that split and began to drift apart some 200 million years ago

Question 11

controlled variable

Answer 11

experimental parameter that is kept constant

Question 12

conversion factor

Answer 12

ratio of equivalent values that expresses a single quantity in two different units

Question 13

dependent variable

Answer 13

factor that changes in response to changes of the independent variable

Question 14

derived units

Answer 14

unit that is defined a combination of fundamental units diffusion process of mixing that occurs as two substances in the gas or liquid phase mix with one another by way of random motion

Question 15

empiricism

Answer 15

philosophy that scientific theories are objective, testable, and predictive of results that can be checked, and possibly falsified through proper experimentation

Question 16

exothermic

Answer 16

process or reaction that releases energy and usually produces heat

Question 17

experiment

Answer 17

set of controlled tests and observations of the results that determine whether a prediction is correct

Question 18

exponential decay

Answer 18

process that decreases based on a multiple of current value

Question 19

exponential growth

Answer 19

process that increases based on a multiple of current value

Question 20

Fahrenheit

Answer 20

temperature scale based on 32° as freezing point and 212° as boiling point of water

Question 21

falsifiable

Answer 21

a hypothesis for which a test exists that could show it to be incorrect

Question 22

fundamental units

Answer 22

quantifiable aspects, such as time, distance, velocity, mass, and weight, and the accepted units to measure them

Question 23

geology

Answer 23

branch of science that studies Earth and its systems; often grouped with astronomy and cosmology as Earth and Space Sciences

Question 24

half-life

Answer 24

the time it takes for a radioactive element to decay into one-half its original amount

Question 25

hypothesis

Answer 25

a possible explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested

Question 26

independent variable

Answer 26

factor that is controlled by the experimenter

Question 27

International System of Units (SI)

Answer 27

system of base units and multipliers used internationally by scientists

Question 28

interquartile range

Answer 28

the range of the middle 50 percent of observations

Question 29

Kelvin scale

Answer 29

temperature scale based on absolute zero and units identical to the Celsius scale; named after Lord W. T. Kelvin, a Scottish physicist

Question 30

mathematics

Answer 30

the study of numbers

Question 31

mean

Answer 31

the average of a collection of values, derived by summing the values and dividing by the number of values

Question 32

median

Answer 32

a type of average that is found by arranging values in ascending order and selecting the value in the middle

Question 33

natural selection

Answer 33

the process of organisms best adapted to their environment the most likely to survive and transmit their hereditary characteristics to subsequent generations

Question 34

observation

Answer 34

act of collecting data in an experiment

Question 35

physics

Answer 35

science that studies the physical Universe and how its parts interact

Question 36

precision

Answer 36

exactness to which a measurement can be reproduced

Question 37

prediction

Answer 37

expected outcome of an experiment based on a hypothesis or theory

Question 38

realism

Answer 38

philosophy of identify structure and cause in science

Question 39

scientific investigation

Answer 39

the process of asking and answering a question, and comparing the answer(s) with what is already known

Question 40

science

Answer 40

way of observing nature and the Universe and of testing explanations for how and why things are the way they are

Question 41

scientific law

Answer 41

statement of fact that explains a relationship in nature that is generally accepted to be true and universal

Question 42

scientific method

Answer 42

the principles and procedures used for the systematic pursuit of scientific knowledge

Question 43

significant digits

Answer 43

all the known digits in a measured or calculated result plus one estimated digit

Question 44

standard deviation

Answer 44

a statistical measure of variability; derived by the square root of the average of the squares of deviations about the mean of a set of data

Question 45

theory

Answer 45

explanation of the natural world that incorporates conclusions from a number of well-tested hypotheses

Question 46

temperature

Answer 46

measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in a sample of matter

Question 47

variable

Answer 47

factor that can change in an experiment

Question 48

Wallace, Alfred

Answer 48

(1823-1913) began promoting the idea of geographic distribution as a factor in evolutionary biology independent of Darwin and also developed the idea of natural selection

Question 49

Wegener, Alfred

Answer 49

(1880-1930) credited with the ideas of continental drift and plate tectonics