| definition | term |
|---|---|
| the investigation and exploration of natural events and of the new information that results from those investigations | science |
| a way to investigate what is happening around you | science |
| what do scientists do | observe, investigate, and experiment to find answers ask questions use clues use prior knowledge use technology |
| what are the science process skills (8 total) | -observing -classifying -measuring -experimenting -communicating -inferring and predicting -control variables -representing data |
| using one or more of your senses to gather information and take note of what occurs. WHAT you learn through your senses | observation |
| a logical explanation of an observation that is drawn from prior knowledge or experience. Also a guess to explain the past or present- ex. the puddle on the floor came from a melted ice cube (but you never saw the ice) | inference |
| what is the difference between an observation and an inference | Observation-fact, what you learned through your senses Inference-guess, how you explained what you observed |
| a statement of what will happen next in a sequence of events. it is a guess to explain the future. ex. I think it will rain next week | prediction |
| what is the difference between and inference and a prediction? | an inference is about the past or present. a prediction is about the future |
| placing objects or events into group based on common characteristics | classifying |
| to determine length, area, volume, mass or temperature to describe and quantify objects or to assign a value to something or describe as a measurement of quantity or quality | measuring |
| a type of measurement giving a numerical value ex. 5 inches | quantity |
| a measurement of condition or comparison ex. the leaves of this plant are a darker green | quality |
| describing an event or an object to another person. scientist us new information in their research or perform other scientists' investigations to verify results. this can be verbal, graphic, written, electronic, etc… | communicate |
| studying how attributes (outcomes, characteristics) vary by manipulating (changing) variables and managing conditions during an experiment and changing others. Ex. watering all plants the same, but giving only half the plants plant food | controlling variables |
| organizing measurements to make your information easier to use and interpret | representing data |
| putting all of the process skills together in one activity | experimenting |
| the practical use of scientific knowledge, especially for industrial or commercial use | technology |
| an explanation of observations or events based on knowledge gained from many observations and investigations. these are accepted until proven wrong | scientific theory |
| describes a pattern or an event in nature that is always true. these are proven facts!! | scientific laws |
| comparing what you already know with the information you are given in order to decide whether you agree with it | critical thinking |
| _____________________, also called _______________________, is a process where the scientists performing the research influence the results, in order to portray a certain outcome | research bias, experimenter bias |
| what are the steps of the scientific method in order | 1. purpose- question 2. research 3. hypothesis 4. experiment 5. analyze data 6. conclusion |
| the ___________ is what you want to learn or where you state the problem. Should be written as a question. | purpose |
| ____________ is finding out as much about the topic as you can. (Read information related to Purpose/Problem) | research |
| the __________ predicts the answer to the problem (educated guess). Should be written as an If……. ( I do this),…….. then…… (this will happen)…….. statement | hypothesis |
| the ______________ is where you design and conduct a test to confirm or disprove your hypothesis (materials will be included here). Use DETAILED STEP BY STEP instructions. | experiment |
| ____________ data is gathered using your senses | qualitative |
| ____________ data is always reported as a number | quantitative |
| in the ______________ record what happened during the experiment. this is shown in lists, graphs, charts, etc…. gather enough information to get averages | analysis |
| _______________ address what happened — Was your hypothesis correct? (use all data to determine this). Always refer to hypothesis and state data in your _________________. | Both blanks are conclusion |
| the _____________ is defined as the group in an experiment or study that does not receive treatment by the researchers and is then used as a benchmark to measure how the other tested subjects do. Sometimes they may "think" they are a part of a test group | control group |
| what are the 3 types of variables | -dependent -independent -constant |
| the ___________________ is the variable/factor that is changed in an experiment. | independent variable |
| the __________________ is the variable/factor being measured in an experiment | dependent variable |
| the _________________ are variables/factors/ that stay the same | constant variables |
| the thing you change to test the hypothesis-the scientist does it on purpose | independent variable |
| it is what you are recording for the analysis and you depend on it to answer the question | dependent variable |
| all things are kept the same in each test group | constant variable |
