scientific laws/theories (bio)

What is a hypothesis?

An educated guess that must be testable

What must a hypothesis be in order to be proven correct or incorrect

The hypothesis must be tested

A guess is only a hypothesis if it is

testable

What is a theory?

A well-tested explanation of experimental data

How are scientific theories created?

By repeatedly testing a hypothesis through the scientific method

Can one scientist alone create a theory?

No, theories must be confirmed by repeated testing

Theories must always be supported by what?

Data

Theories must be verified by what?

By repeated testing

Theories must be subject to what?

peer review

Can a theory be modified

Yes, if new data is found

What must a scientist come up with for a hypothesis to become a theory?

The exact same conclusion each time

What are scientific laws

Statements based on repeated experimental observations

What are laws based on?

Proven, reliable evidence

Why are laws accepted as true

Because they are consistently observed

How are laws different from theories

Laws are conclusions (what happens) and theories are explanations (why it happens)

What is pure science

a field of natural science that seeks knowledge

What is applied science?

Science that uses pure knowledge to solve practical problems

Give an examples of pure science?

Biology, chemistry, geology

Give examples of applied science

Engineering, medicine, forensics

How many variables should a valid experiment test?

one

What must a valid experiment include

a control group

What is the purpose of a control group

to compare results with the test group

What are two types of data

qualitative and quantitative

What is qualitative data

data from observations or approximations

What is quantitative data

data from measurements

What makes qualitative and quantitative data valid

if collected carefully using the scientific method

What is an important step in reporting results

representing the data in an understandable way

what is a good way or representing data

graphing

which axis is the independent variable placed on

x-axis (horizontal)

which axis is the dependent variable placed on

y-axis (vertical)