Scientific Method
an organized, logical way of asking questions and finding answers.
Controlled experiment
experiment where only one variable is changed at a time (others are kept constant)
Ask a question
one that you can test with an experiment. Example: Does acid affect seed germination?
Hypothesis
logical explanation or answer to the question; what do you think will happen?
Example
I think that acid rain will cause fewer seeds to germinate.
Variable
any physical factor that can change and that affects the experiment.
Independent variable
the variable (factor) that gets changed on purpose in the experiment. You change this thing (or it gets changed naturally) to find out what happens.
Dependent variable
The variable that changes as a result of the experiment (what are you testing and measuring, usually the one that gets measured at the end)
Control Group
The group in the experiment where the independent variable stays the same (Receives no treatment)
Experimental Group The group in the experiment where the independent variable is changed (Receives special treatment)
Constants (also called contros)
Everything besides the independent & dependent variables must be kept the same
Data
collected and presented using data TABLES, CHARTS, GRAPHS
Organizing data
where does the independent variable go on a data table? What about the DV?
Results and Conclusions
what happened during the experiment; usually shown as graphs, charts, or tables
Organisms composed of only one cell
unicellular
Organisms with more than 1 cell
multicellular.
Autotrophic
an organism uses energy from the environment to make its own food.
Heterotrophic
organisms do not make their own food and must obtain nutrients from the environment and/or other organisms
Homeostasis
maintaining a stable internal environment
Asexual
1 parent, offspring is identical
Sexual
2 parents, offspring are not different
digestion
breaking down large molecules into smaller ones that can be absorbed (EX - starch into glucose)
transport
moving materials around an organism, into/out of cells, and inside cells
excretion
removal of waste products from the body (EX - carbon dioxide)
control or regulation
controlling and coordinating body systems and response to environment
metabolism
combination of ALL chemical reactions that living things carry out, including respiration
reporduction
sexual or asexual
Basic units of the metric system
Liter (volume), meter (length), gram (mass)
Metric prefixes & their symbols
kilo, hector, deka, deci, centi, milli, and micro
Distance/Length
Metric rulers
Volume of Solid (Block)
Ruler
Volume of Liquid
beakers - larger liquid volume for larger amounts, graduated cylinder - for smaller amounts of liquid (more accurate than beakers for smaller volumes of liquid)
Mass
electronic scale; push "zero" and place object on scale