Unit 1: Scientific Method and Measurement Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the scientific method, metric units, laboratory equipment, and graphing rules from Unit 1 lecture notes.

Independent Variable

The variable that you change or manipulate in an experiment, plotted on the X-axis.

Dependent Variable

The variable that you measure or observe to collect data, plotted on the Y-axis.

Control Group

The experimental setup kept constant to compare outcomes against the independent variable.

Constants

Things in an experiment that stay the same across trials.

Hypothesis

A statement predicting what you think will happen in an investigation.

Research

Finding out what is already known about a topic prior to hypothesizing.

Experiment

The step of carrying out the investigation and repeating trials.

Collect Data

Gathering precise and accurate measurements during an experiment.

Communicate Results

Reporting findings so that others can learn from them.

Thermometer

Laboratory equipment used to measure temperature in degrees Celeive (°C).

Stopwatch

Laboratory equipment used to measure time.

Graduated Cylinder

Laboratory equipment used to measure volume.

Electronic Scale / Balance

Laboratory equipment used to measure mass.

Gram

The SI unit used to quantify mass.

Liter

The SI unit used to quantify volume.

Meter

The SI unit used to quantify length.

TAILS

A graphing acronym representing Title (including IV and DV), Axis (labeled with units), Increments (consistent), Line (using a ruler), and Scale (using all graph paper).

KHD by JCM

A mnemonic reference used for metric system unit prefixes.

Line Graph

A type of graph used when tracking changes over time (in seconds).

Bar Graph

A type of graph used to plot data divided into categories.