The Nature of Science - Mrs. Moody - Study Guide

Nature of Science Quiz Study Guide 09/03/2025

Scientific Method

When one investigates a natural occurrence

Observation

Anything one determines using one’s 5 senses

(Observation a.) Quantitative

Numerical observation

(Observation b.) Qualitative

Observation made from the 5 senses

Inference

An assumption made from reasoning or prior knowledge

Alternative Hypothesis (H sub. 1)

Testable, measurable, specific (If ____, Then ____.)

Independent Variable

Manipulated variable

Dependent Variable

Measured variable

Experimental Groups

What we are interested in testing

Constant

What doesn’t change in an experiment

Control Groups

The standard (at least 1)

(Control a.) + Control

Known (Ex. name brand)

(Control b.) - Control

No (Ex. Placebo), or normal (Ex. sunlight)

Natural Occurrence

Something observable that can be tested, which happens due to the world’s autonomy

Placebo

When half a group of people get the experiment and the other half doesn’t, but all are told they’re taking the experiment

Verification

Use multiple trials (Or other peoples data

Correlation

A data trend

Key

Shows what different things represent on a graph

Mean

The average number in an experiment or graph of each group of data

Axis Break

At the bottom of the y-axis to indicate you’re not starting at zero

Equidistant

Make sure the axis scale numbers are equally spread apart

Line of Best Fit

The line that shows the most accurate correlation in a graph