Science Skills

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IMPORTANT TERMS:

OBSERVATION = Using your SENSES to find out information (DATA)

a) QUALITATIVE = recorded in WORDS

b) QUANTITATIVE = taking measurements

GENERALISATION = a PATTERN you observe

e.g. the warmer the day the faster the paint will dry

HYPOTHESIS = an EDUCATED GUESS written as a STATEMENT

e.g. If (INDEPENDENT VARIABLE) then (DEPENDENT VARIABLE)

If (TEMPERATURE is increased) then (TIME for paint to dry is decreased)

INFERRING = trying to EXPLAIN your observation

e.g. if the DVD player doesn't work, then there must be a faulty connection

PREDICTING = an EDUCATED GUESS of an FUTURE observation

e.g. Buying a new chord will make the DVD player work

EXPERIMENT = TEST

VARIABLES = FACTORS that can CHANGE the result of an experiment

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE = the variable you PURPOSELY change (x-axis)

DEPENDENT VARIABLE = the variable you MEASURE (y-axis)

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PLACEBO = a substance, often presented as a medicine, that has an effect because of a patient's expectations rather than because of an active ingredient.

BLIND EXPERIMENT = an experiment in which the subjects do not know whether they are members of the experimental group or the control group.

DOUBLE BLIND EXPERIMENT = neither participants nor researchers know which participants belong to the control group or the test group.

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1. PLANNING

a) Identify the PROBLEM

b) Write a HYPOTHESIS

c) Identify the VARIABLES, INDEPENDENT, DEP. VARIABLE

d) Write a METHOD

2. CONDUCTING

a) DO the experiment

b) Record OBSERVATIONS (QUALITATIVE/QUANTITATIVE) (e.g. table)

3. PROCESSING DATA

a) ORGANISE the data (e.g. graphs)

Graphs help to:

i) identify PATTERNS in the data

- Line of best fit

i) 2 variables are directly related

ii) average of the points

- Scatter Graphs (degree of correlation)

- Curve of best fit

ii) make PREDICTIONS from the data

- INTERPOLATING (Between measurements)

- EXTRAPOLATING (Beyond measurements)