Honors Earth & Space Science: Unit 1 Test Study Guide

These flashcards cover key terminology and concepts necessary for understanding honors Earth and Space Science.

Nature of Science

The overall framework that guides scientific inquiry, focusing on empirical evidence.

Good Science

Science that adheres to principles such as rigorous testing, reproducibility, and peer review.

Bad Science

Scientific claims or practices that are misleading or lack empirical support.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between variables.

Scientific Theory

A well-substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world based on a body of evidence.

Law

A statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes some aspect of the world.

Fact

A simple observation that has been confirmed and accepted as true.

Independent Variable

The variable that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured and affected in an experiment.

Constants

Conditions in an experiment that do not change and are kept the same throughout.

Control

A standard of comparison in an experiment.

Subjective

Based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

Objective

Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions; based on facts.

Empirical

Knowledge gained through observation and experimentation.

Graph

A visual representation of data.

Pie Chart

A circular statistical graphic that is divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportions.

Scatter Plot

A graph with points plotted to show a possible relationship between two sets of data.

Line Graph

A type of graph that shows information that changes over time.

Bar Graph

A graph that represents categorical data with rectangular bars.

Histogram

A graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data.

Correlation

A statistical measure that expresses the extent to which two variables are linearly related.

Causation

The action of causing something; a cause-and-effect relationship.

Scientific Notation

A method of writing very large or very small numbers in a concise form.

Dimensional Analysis

A method used to convert one set of units to another using conversion factors.