AP Biology Unit 0: Scientific Inquiry

Necessary components of any experiment

A hypothesis, a control group, the independent variable, the dependent variable and data to analyze the conclusion.

Controlled experiment

An experiment where the dependent variable is manipulated so that the independent variable can be compared. Every factor besides this is the same.

Controlled variable

The item or person that is used as a constant unchanging standard to the experiment.

Null hypothesis

A hypothesis that states that the independent variable and dependent variable are not related.

Alternate hypothesis

A hypothesis that states that the independent variable and dependent variable are related, it disproves the null hypothesis.

Significance of rejecting or accepting null hypothesis

Rejecting or accepting the null hypothesis is significant since it reflects upon the results that your experiment has concluded on. This states whether or not the null hypothesis accurately represents your conducted experiment.

Standard deviation

Used to tell how far on average any data point is from the mean. The smaller the standard deviation, the closer the scores are on average to the mean. The standard deviation is large, the scores are more widely spread out on average from the mean.