Vocabulary
The way things really are.
What is truth?
Science seeks _________________ _______________ not ______________.
What are scientific fact(s) and truth?
This is what you start with when you plan an experiment.
What is a hypothesis?
The Independent Variable is the one being _________________ and the Dependent Variable is the one responding to the one being _______________.
What is manipulated?
Science is a ______________.
What is process?
A scientific test of a hypothesis.
What is an experiment?
A mental model that is the best current explanation of facts, and can be used to produce hypotheses.
What is a theory?
This is how you put a hypothesis to the test.
What is an experiment?
Of two cows one is given growth hormone and the other is not. They are fed identical diets then weighed at regular intervals. These are the independent and dependent variables.
What are giving the growth hormone or not as the independent variable and the cows' weights as the dependent variable?
Scientists say this because measurements have to be taken multiple times to make sure they are accurate and because many scientists need to replicate the work before it is considered valid.
What is "repeat the work"?
Scientific Fact
What is a scientific statement supported by a great deal of evidence that is correct as far as we know?
According to philosophy we know truth by these.
What are direct observation and valid reasoning based on true premises?
New scientific facts become part of this.
What is a theory?
A stapler is used to staple 100 papers; it jams 5 times during the trial. A different brand of stapler is used to perform the same test; it jams 22 times. These are the independent and dependent variables.
What are the brand of staplers as the independent variable and the number of times it jams as the dependent variable.
These are the basic tools of science.
What are experiment, observation, and reasoning?
Hypothesis
What is a testable prediction based on a theory of what will happen in certain circumstances?
According to theology we know truth by these.
What are Special Revelation (Scripture) and General Revelation (creation)?
This is what analysis of experimental results is looking for.
What is are the results consistent with the theory you began with?
Two identical cars have two different brands of brakes put on. The two cars are brought up to 65 mph then brake and the distance to stop is measured. These are the independent and dependent variables.
What are the brands of the brakes as the independent variable and the distance to stop as the dependent variable?
This is the goal of science.
What is to develop mental models that accurately describe how the natural world works?
Mental Model
What is a conceptual representation of how part of the natural world works?
A counter to "I don't believe that; it is just a theory."
What is "theories are not truth and can never be definitively proven; nor are they hunches or guesses. They are supported by experiments and data collected over long periods of time to explain the reality of the natural world as best as we can with the information we have"?
If you conclude during analysis that the results are not consistent with the theory you started with, you do this.
What is review (i.e. reconsider the experimental methods, appropriateness of the hypothesis, adequacy of the theory) and then try a new experiment?
A brand new medication is being trialed among three groups. One group is given a low dose, one group is given a higher dose, and one group is given a placebo. These are the independent and dependent variables.
What are the medication dosages or placebo as the independent variables and what is the effects on the condition being treated as the dependent variable?
These are ways the scientific method can be used to discover new scientific facts. (minimum of 3)
What are physical labor, thinking/reasoning, looking at the world from a different point of view, applying mathematics in different ways?