Scientific Method
Observation/Infernence
Variables
Variables
Questions/Experimental Group
100

A scientific question must often be testable and compare two things. Which means, often, a scientific question is this level of question.

A Level 2 Question.

100
Using one or more of your senses to gather information is called
observing
100

During an experiment, which factors must be kept the same so that researchers can draw a logical conclusion from the experiment?

constants

100

In a scientific experiment, the variable you measure at the end is the...

dependent variable

100

A question that requires responders to compare two or more things is this level of question.

Level 2 Question

200
In science, a hypothesis must be
testable
200
Explaining or interpreting the things you observe based on reasoning from what you already know is called
inferring
200

During an experiment, if you purposely change the temperature to test a hypothesis, the temperature is called the

independent variable

200

The factor that may change in response to the independent variable is called the

dependent variable

200

This level of question a responder could easily find the answer on the page by pointing to it.

Level 1 Question

300
Which of the following are NOT examples of data? a. theories b. qualitative observations c. quantitative observations d. measurements
theories
300

Identify whether it's an observation or inference:

"Those flowers have brown spots on the tips and are looking droopy... eww yeah, they smell rotten too."

An observation (actually 3 observations)

300

Identify the independent variable in this experiment: A study was done to find out if different tire treads affect the braking distance of a car

tire tread

300

Identify the dependent variable in this experiment: You are observing if the boiling time of water is affected by volume of water

boiling time

300

Stella thinks that if people are exposed to ultraviolet light then they are more likely to get skin cancer. Stella designs an experiment where sample A consisted of people were exposed to ultraviolet light and sample B was not. Which sample of people is in the control group?

Sample B

400
One useful tool that may help a scientist interpret data by revealing unexpected patterns is a
graph
400

Identify observation/inference:

"They don't like being outside and getting cold, that's why they aren't at the game."

Inference

400

Identify the dependent variable in this experiment: The time it takes to run a mile depends on the person’s running speed.

time it takes to run a mile

400

Identify the independent variable in this experiment: You are observing if the boiling time of water is affected by volume of water

volume of water

400

"Why is my computer not working?" would be an example of this level of question.

A level 3 question?

500
A possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question is called a(n)
hypothesis
500
An organized way to collect and record scientific observations is with a(n)
data table
500

What is the dependent variable in this experiment? You are observing 5 crickets to see how many times they chirp (per minute) based on external temperatures of 15, 20, and 25 degrees Celsius

number of chirps

500

What is the independent variable in this experiment? You are observing 5 crickets to see how many times they chirp (per minute) based on external temperatures of 15, 20, and 25 degrees Celsius

temperature

500

We learned about the Coral reef and an experiment with the question "How does the presence of urchins affect the growth of coral?" Sarah, the researcher, put tiles in bins for the coral to grown on. Half of the bins with tiles had sea urchins in them, half did not. Which is the experimental group?

The bins with tiles AND urchins.