Steps of the Scientific Method
An organized set of investigative steps used by scientists.
Scientific Method
The factor in an experiment that YOU or the experimenter intentionally changes.
What is the independent variable?
Data that deals with numbers and can be measured or counted.
What is quantitative data?
A series of scientific information or data displayed pictorially.
What is a graph?
Noticing something using one or more of your five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell).
What is an observation?
An educated guess or testable prediction, often written in an "If... then..." statement.
What is a hypothesis?
The outcome or factor that you measure in an experiment to see if it changed.
What is the dependent variable?
Data that describes qualities, traits, or physical characteristics using adjectives.
What is qualitative data?
The act of placing data points onto a grid or coordinate plane.
What is plotting?
A statement or rule that describes a repeating pattern found in nature.
What is a scientific law?
An organized and detailed procedure for testing a hypothesis.
What is an experiment?
The axis on a line graph where you place the independent variable.
What is the X-axis?
"The plant is green and brown" is this specific type of observation.
What is a qualitative observation?
A pair of numbers written as $(x, y)$ used to locate a specific point on a graph.
What is an ordered pair?
A well-tested explanation for a wide range of natural phenomena based on extensive evidence.
What is a scientific theory?
Two essential requirements that every good scientific question must include.
What are being specific and being testable?
Factors in an experiment that are kept completely identical across all test groups.
What are constants (or controlled variables)?
"The plant grew 4 inches" is this specific type of observation.
What is a quantitative observation?
The location on a graph where the $x$-axis and $y$-axis cross at $(0, 0)$.
What is the origin?
The group in an experiment that serves as a standard of comparison because it receives no special treatment.
What is the control group?
What is the steps of the scientific method in order?
Observation - Question - Hypothesis - Experiment - Results - Conclusion - New Hypothesis
In an experiment testing how sunlight affects plant height, this is an example of a constant.
What is using the same type of plant, amount of water, or soil type?
Logical conclusions or judgments made based on prior knowledge and observations, such as claiming "the students are smart."
What are inferences?
Information collected through observation or experimentation that is organized into charts or graphs for analysis.
What is data?
The main structural difference between an observation and an inference when analyzing a picture in a lab setup.
What is direct sensory evidence vs. a logical assumption based on that evidence?