Working Scientifically

Question 1

What is an observation?

Answer 1

When an object or process is looked at carefully

Question 2

What is an investigation?

Answer 2

An experiment or set of experiments designed to produce data to answer a specific question or test a theory

Question 3

What is data?

Answer 3

Words or numbers that you obtain when you make observations or measurements

Question 4

What can an observation do?

Answer 4

Give you an idea that you can test in an investigation

Question 5

What questions can be asked about refridgerated tennis balls?

Answer 5

• How does the size of a ball affect how high it bounces?

- How does the temperature of a ball affect how high it bounces?

Question 6

What is a variable?

Answer 6

• Anything that might affect the outcome of an investigation

- The things that are affected as a result of the change

Question 7

What is an independent variable?

Answer 7

A variable you change that changes the dependent variable

Question 8

What is a dependent variable?

Answer 8

A variable that changes when you change the independent variable

Question 9

What is a control variable?

Answer 9

A variable that you have the keep the same in an investigation

Question 10

What is a prediction?

Answer 10

A statement that says what you think will happen that is backed up using scientific knowledge

Question 11

What should a plan include?

Answer 11

• The scientific question you are trying to answer
• The independent and dependent variables
• A list of variables to control and how you will do it
• A prediction
• List of equipment
• A risk assessment
• What you will use to collect accurate and precise data

Question 12

What is a plan?

Answer 12

A description of how you will use equipment to collect valid data to answer a scientific question

Question 13

What is accurate data?

Answer 13

Data that is close to the true value of what you are trying to measure

Question 14

What is precise data?

Answer 14

Data that gives similar results if you repeat the measurement

Question 15

What is a spread?

Answer 15

The difference between the highest and lowest measurements of a set of repeat measurements

Question 16

How much spread does precise data have?

Answer 16

Not much when measurements are repeated as they are closely grouped together

Question 17

What is uncertainty and why does it occur?

Answer 17

The doubt in a result because of the way that a measurement is made

Question 18

When is data repeatable?

Answer 18

When an investigation, or measurement, is repeated serveral times but still show similar outcomes

Question 19

When is data reproducible?

Answer 19

When other people carry out an investigation and get similar results to the original investigation

Question 20

What is continuous data?

Answer 20

It can have any data, such as length or temperature

Question 21

What is discrete data?

Answer 21

It can have only whole-number values, such as number of paperclips or woodlice

Question 22

What is categoric data?

Answer 22

When the data is a word, such as ‘blue’ or ‘hot’

Question 23

What measurements can you test?

Answer 23

• The biggest and smallest - this is the range

- How many different measurements you can test

Question 24

What is a risk assessment?

Answer 24

A description on how you will make it less likely that people will be injured, or equipment damaged, and what to do if this happens

Question 25

What is an outlier?

Answer 25

An anomalous result that is very different to the others

Question 26

When should you plot a line graph?

Answer 26

If both the independent and dependent variables are continous

Question 27

When should you plot a bar chart?

Answer 27

If the independent variable is categoric

Question 28

When should you plot a pie chart?

Answer 28

When you have discrete or categoric data

Question 29

What variables should go on each axis?

Answer 29

Independent - x axis, dependent - y axis

Question 30

Why are line graphs important?

Answer 30

It helps you to spot a pattern; how the dependent variable depends on the independent variable

Question 31

What is an analysis?

Answer 31

The process of looking at data and writing about what you have found out

Question 32

What is a line of best fit?

Answer 32

A line that goes through as many points above or below the line; ignores any outliers

Question 33

What is a conclusion?

Answer 33

What you write down to say what you have found out during an investigation

Question 34

What should you include in a conclusion?

Answer 34

What you have found out - what does the investigation show and any relationship between the two variables Explain what you found out - Use scientific knowledge to explain the pattern as well as comparing your results with your prediction

Question 35

How can you evaluate your investigation?

Answer 35

- Discuss the quality of the data that you have collected | - Suggest and explain improvements to your method so you can collect data of better quality if you did it again

Question 36

What is confidence in a conclusion?

Answer 36

How sure you are of your conclusion based on the data

Question 37

When would you have less confidence in your conclusion?

Answer 37

If there were lots of outliers

Question 38

When would you have more confidence in your conclusion?

Answer 38

If there was a small spread in the data, e.g. measurements for one temperature do not overlap with the measurements for another

Question 39

What types of error can affect scientific measurements?

Answer 39

Random and systematic

Question 40

What is a random error?

Answer 40

An error that can affect the speed, or cause outliers, e.g. the temperature of the room suddenly changing because someone opens a door

Question 41

What is a systematic error?

Answer 41

An error that can make your measurements less accurate, e.g. a newtonmeter reading 1N even when there is nothing attached to it

Question 42

What other factors can be used to explain your confidence?

Answer 42

Possible errors, outliers and spread

Question 43

How can you get better data?

Answer 43

- Including a bigger range, or taking more readings | - Using different apparatus - giving a smaller spread and fewer outliers

Question 44

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 44

An educated guess, or a guess based on information you already know

Question 45

What should you do when testing the hypothesis?

Answer 45

Make a prediction based on the hypothesis and test it

Question 46

What is validity?

Answer 46

How well a test measures what it is supposed to measure

Question 47

What should valid results be like?

Answer 47

Repeatable, reproducible and answer the original question

Question 48

What is an example of representive data?

Answer 48

If your sample is representative of the entire population you will be able to confidently generalise the results of your study to that population

Question 49

How should a conclusion start?

Answer 49

As the independent variable changes, the dependent variable increases/decreases/stays the same

Question 50

What is an example of a conclusion drawn from a graph?

Answer 50

- As the pH increased the time for no starch to be detected decreased - up to 7.0 pH where it was 1.5 mins - after pH 7.5 the time increases again