| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Science | The study of the natural world through observations and logical reasoning; leads t a body of knowledge |
| Observing | The process of using one or more of your senses to gather information |
| Inferring | The process of making an inference, an interpretation based on observations and prior knowledge |
| Predicting | The process of forecasting what will happen in the future based on past experience or evidence |
| Chemistry | The study of properties of matter and how matter changes |
| Physics | The study of matter, energy, motion, and forces, and how they attract |
| Hypothesis | A possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question |
| Parameters | A factor that can be measured in an experiment |
| Communicating | The process of sharing ideas with others through writing and speaking |
| Model | A representation of an object or process |
| Scientific Theory | Well- tested explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results |
| Scientific Law | A statement that describes what scientist expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions |
| scientific inquiry | The ongoing process of discovery in science. |
| manipulated variable | The one variable parameter that scientists change during an experiment. |
| responding variable | The variable parameter that changes as a result of changes to the manipulated variable, or independent, variable in an experiment. |
| controlled experiment | An experiment in which only one parameter is changed at a time |
| qualitative | Qualitative data is observations that do not involve numbers |
| quantitative | Quantitative data is data that is measurements and numbers |
| graph | A picture information from a data table;shows the relationship between variables |
| vertical axis | A line that runs up and down along the side of a graph, on which the responding variable(or dependant variable) is labled |
| horizantal axis | A line that runs left to right along the bottom of a graph, on which the manipulated variable(or independent variable) is labled |
| origin | The (0,0) point on a line graph where the x-axis and y-axis cross on a graph |
| coordinate | A pair of numbers used to determine the position of a point on a graph |
| data point | A point on a graph showing the location of a piece of data |
| line of best fit | A smooth line that reflects the general pattern in a graph |
| linear graph | A line graph in which the data points yield a straight line |
| slope | The steepness of a line on a graph, equal to its vertical change divided by its horizontal change |
| nonlinear graph | A line graph in which the data points do not fall along a straight line |
| data | Facts, figures, and other evidence gathered through observations |
