Scientific Method Vocabulary

Data

Information collected during an investigation.

Observation

Information gathered using your senses or measuring tools.

Qualitative Data

Descriptive information that cannot be counted.

Quantitative Data

Numerical information that can be measured or counted.

Variable

Anything that can change during an investigation.

Independent Variable

The variable that the scientist purposely changes.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured or observed.

Constant

Something kept the same throughout an investigation.

Trial

One repetition of an experiment.

Accuracy

How close a measurement is to the true value.

Precision

How close repeated measurements are to one another.

Outlier

A value that is very different from the other data.

Average (Mean)

The sum of all numbers divided by the number of values.

Median

The middle number after the data are arranged in order.

Mode

The number that appears most often.

Range

Largest value − Smallest value.

Trend

The overall pattern shown by data. .

Graph

A visual display of data.

Data Table

A chart used to organize information before graphing.

Conclusion

A statement explaining what the data shows.