Variables
What is an independent variable?
The factor that is changed by the investigator to observe how it affects a dependent variable
What is the definition of a credible source?
A source that uses scientific practices to collect and analyze data. It is typically written by experts and is current
What is a scientific law?
Explains how the phenomenon happens or what nature does under certain circumstances.
The act of using one or more of your senses to gather information and taking notes of what occurs is?
Observation
What is the first step of the scientific method?
Question
What is the dependent variable?
The factor measured or observed during an experiment
What is the definition of accuracy?
A description of how close a measurement is to an accepted value
What is scientific theory?
An explanation of why a phenomenon is occurring
True or false: When a scientist makes a quick guess about something, it is called a scientific theory
False
I wonder if you smoke more cigarettes, will you have a better chance of getting lung cancer? State a good hypothesis for this question.
The more cigarettes a person smokes, the better chance of them getting lung cancer
Justin wants to determine the effect of fertilizer on the growth of grass. What is the dependent variable of this scenario?
Growth of grass
The accepted weight value of a pineapple is 32 ounces. Sarah bought a pineapple from Walmart and weighed it at home. Her weighted value came out to be 32.3 ounces. Would this be an accurate pineapple?
Yes, as it is close to the accepted value
Theory or law: Energy can be converted into matter in the ratio of E = mc2
Law (Remember laws usually have an equation attached to them)
A logical explanation of an observation that is drawn from prior knowledge is the definition of a(n) __________
inference
List the steps of the scientific method
Hypothesis, experiment, observe and record, analyze results, share results
Allison wants to determine if the deer population in the area is influenced by the coyote population. What is the independent variable of this scenario?
Coyote population
An article about Iguanas was published by the institute of Food and Nutrition of Chicago. Is this a reliable source?
No, as experts in food and nutrition are not experts in animals
A scientist discovered that Earth's outer layer is made of plates. These plates can move. The movement of these plates explains why volcanoes and earthquakes occurs and formation of mountains. Theory or law?
Theory
Theory, law, fact, or hypothesis:
I have a theory that the reason why birds can fly is because their wings are controlled by remote controllers by the government
Hypothesis
What is the term we use to describe the manipulated variable or factor that the experimenter intentionally changes?
Independent variable
A student wanted to test how the mass of a paper airplane affected the distance it would fly. Paper clips were added before each test flight. As each paper clip was added, the plane was tested to determine how far it would. What is the dependent variable of this situation?
Distance the paper airplane flew
Julian tells his friend that he just read an article online that talks great things about putting this new oil on your face called "Swifa." You come to find out that the author of this article works for a top dermatology (the branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of skin disorders) company that gives reviews on different companies/products in the United States. Is this a reliable source?
Yes, as dermatologists are experts in skin conditions
What takes less time to test, a theory or law?
Theory
Frank is playing on the local high school football team. Practice is very important in preparing for each week’s football game. So in order to prepare, Frank’s team must run their offensive plays over and over in practice. By doing this their execution should be where they need it to be for game time. Is this repetition or replication?
Repetition
Read the following experiment and state a good hypothesis. I am doing a test to see if there is a connection between how long you run and how fast your heart beats. I will be performing an experiment where a person will run for a 1 minute and I will check their heartbeat. Then they will run for 2 minutes and I will check their heart rate. I will do this up to 6 minutes and see if there is a connection. What do you think my hypothesis should be?
The longer the person is running for, the faster their heart will beat