Physical Science Course Vocab

science

The systematic study of the world that produces observations, inferences, and models, including the products that it creates through this systematic study

physical science

The study of nonliving matter and energy

chemistry

The study of the composition, structure, and properties of matter, and the changes that take place in matter

physics

The study of matter and energy and the interactions between them

the Creation Mandate

God’s command that directs us to exercise wise and good dominion over His creation to the glory of God and to the benefit of fellow humans

model

A workable explanation or description of a phenomenon, either physical, conceptual, or mathematical

theory

A model that explains a related set of phenomena, used to predict unobserved aspects of the phenomena

law

A model, often written as an equation, that describes phenomena under certain conditions, but does not attempt to explain it

hypothesis

An initial, testable explanation of a phenomenon that stimulates and guides the scientific investigation

accuracy

The comparison of a measurement to an acceptable or expected value

precision

The degree of exactness of a measurement; can indicate the closeness or repeatability of measurements