Chapter 2 Note Cards

Front 1

Science

Back 1

Science involves objective, logical, and repeatable attempts to understand the principles and forces working in the natural universe. Science is from the Latin word, scientia, which means “knowledge.”

Front 2

Scientific Skepticism

Back 2

Scientific skepticism, also referred to as skeptical inquiry, questions claims based on their scientific verifiability rather than accepting claims based on faith or anecdotes. Scientific skepticism uses critical thinking to analyze such claims and opposes claims which lack scientific evidence.

Front 3

Deduction

Back 3

involves determining a single fact from a general statement

Front 4

induction

Back 4

involves determining a statement that is very likely to be true from several facts.

Front 5

Scientific Methods

Back 5

Scientific methods are based on gathering observable, empirical (produced by experiment or observation), and measurable evidence that is critically evaluated.

Front 6

hypothesis

Back 6

Scientific methods are based on gathering observable, empirical (produced by experiment or observation), and measurable evidence that is critically evaluated.

Front 7

observation

Back 7

The act of noting or detecting phenomenon by the senses. For example, taking measurements is a form of observation.

Front 8

experiment

Back 8

A test that is used to rule out a hypothesis or validate something already known.

Front 9

controls

Back 9

controls, or subjects that are not tested during the investigation.

Front 10

variable

Back 10

A variable is a factor that can change over the course of an experiment.

Front 11

independent variable

Back 11

Independent variables are factors whose values are controlled by the experimenter to determine its relationship to an observed phenomenon

Front 12

dependent variable

Back 12

Dependent variables change in response to the independent variable. Controlled variables are also important to identify in experiments.

Front 13

constants

Back 13

controlled variables are important to identify experiments.

Front 14

accuracy

Back 14

Accuracy is the measure of how close a calculated or measured quantity is to its actual value.

Front 15

precision

Back 15

precision, also called reproducibility or repeatability. Reproducibility and repeatability of experiments are cornerstones of scientific methods.

Front 16

error

Back 16

is a boundary on the precision and accuracy of the result of a measurement.

Front 17

scientific theory's

Back 17

Scientific theories are hypotheses which have stood up to repeated attempts at falsification and are thus supported by a great deal of data and evidence.

Front 18

theory

Back 18

describe a guess or an opinion.

Front 19

Scientific laws

Back 19

Scientific laws are similar to scientific theories in that they are principles which can be used to predict the behavior of the natural world.

Front 20

scientific journals

Back 20

Scientific journals communicate and document the results of research carried out in universities and various other research institutions.

Front 21

peer review

Back 21

Peer review is a process of opening a scientist’s research or ideas (in the form of a scientific paper) to examination by other scientists who are experts in the same field.

Front 22

bias

Back 22

feeling strongly towards one thing over another

Front 23

ethics

Back 23

Ethics, also called moral philosophy, is the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong.

Front 24

biotechnology

Back 24

Biotechnology is technology based on biology; it involves the use of organisms or biological processes and can be especially used in agriculture, food science, and medicine.

Front 25

bio-remediation

Back 25

The use of microorganisms to clean up contaminated sites such as an oil spill is called bioremediation.

Front 26

simulation

Back 26

A simulation is a model that runs over time.