Parts of Experiment Set

observations

scientific data taken from the 5 senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling)

inferences

conclusions drawn from observations and prior knowledge

hypothesis

a testable prediction about the outcome of an experiment that follows a “ if…then…because” format

independent variable

the variable that IS CHANGED in an experiment to observe its effect on the dependent variable.

dependent variable

the variable you can NOT control in an experimentand that is measured to assess the effect of the independent variable.

control

the test group that has nothing done to it or is kept constant for comparisonin an experiment, used to validate results.

variable

a factor that can change in an experiment