Chapter 1 - Scientific method
Terms
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- technology
- the practical use of scientific information to improve the quality of human life.
- scientific law
- a rule that describes but doesn't explain a pattern in nature and predicts what will happen under scientific conditions.
- physical science
- the study of matter and energy; topics for study include chemistry and physics.
- observation
- using your sense to gather information
- model
- a symbolic representation of an idea, system or structure to make something understandable
- independent variable
- in an experiment the factor adjusted to a different value by the experimenter to see what effect it will have on a dependent variable.
- hypothesis
- a testable prediction used to see how something works or to solve a problem.
- experiment
- an organized procedure for testing a hypothesis. An experiment typically has a control, dependent and independent variables.
- dependent variable
- in an experiment, the factor whose values change because of a change in the independent variable.
- control
- in an experiment a standard for comparison that is often needed to draw meaningful conclusions.
- constant
- in an experiment, a factor that doesn't change.