Chapter 2: Scientific Method And Modeling

Front 1

Science

Back 1

-involves objective, logical, and repeatable attempts to understand the principles and forces working in the natural universe

Front 2

Scientific Skepticism

Back 2

-Also referred to as skeptical inquiry, questions claims based on their scientific verifiability rather than accepting claims based on faith

-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; it is only as accurate as the statement

Front 4

Induction

Back 4

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

Front 5

Scientific Methods

Back 5

-the process of scientific investigation

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

Front 6

Hypothesis

Back 6

-A suggested explanation based on evidence that can be tested by observation or experimentation.

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 eliminate one or more of the possible hypotheses until one hypothesis remains

Front 9

Controls

Back 9

-subjects that are not tested during the investigation

Front 10

Variable

Back 10

-a factor that can change over the course of an experiment

Front 11

Independent Variable

Back 11

-factors whose values are controlled by the experimenter

Front 12

Dependent Variable

Back 12

-change in response to the independent variable

Front 13

Constants

(Controlled Variables)

Back 13

- variables that are kept constant to prevent them from influencing the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

Front 14

Accuracy

Back 14

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

Front 15

Precision

Back 15

-reproducibility or repeatability

Front 16

Error

Back 16

-a boundary on the precision and accuracy of the result of a measurement

Front 17

Scientific Theories

Back 17

-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

-guess or an opinion

Front 19

Scientific Laws

Back 19

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

-typically well-supported by observations and/or experimental evidence

-usually refers to rules for how nature will behave under certain conditions

Front 20

Scientific Journals

Back 20

-communicate and document the results of research carried out in universities and various other research institutions

Front 21

Peer Review

Back 21

-peers review your work to ensure that articles meet the journal's standards of quality, and scientific validity

Front 22

Bias

Back 22

-a position for favoring one particular point of view over another, and it is usually based on preconceived ideas about a situation

Front 23

Ethics

Back 23

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

Front 24

Biotechnology

Back 24

-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

Bioremediation

Back 25

-The use of microorganisms to clean up contaminated sites such as an oil spill

Front 26

Simulation

Back 26

-A model that runs over time; brings a model to life and shows how a particular object or phenomenon will behave