AICE Marine Key Vocab Pages 185-193

Accuracy: Ensuring that measurements are close to the true value

Hypothesis: An explanation of an observation that can be tested through experimentation

Variable: A condition in an experiment that can be controlled or changed

Theory: A well-substantiated(proven to be true or valid through evidence, facts, or logical reasoning)

Confounding variable: A variable that could affect the independent or dependent variable and therefore the results of the experiment.

Water bath(AICE context): A container of water heated to a given temperature which can be used to either vary or control the temperature.

Buffer: A solution which can maintain a relatively stable pH.

Reliable: Results that can be replicated by other people

Anomaly(anomalous): A result or observation that deviated from what is normal or expected; in experimental results, it normally refers to one repeated result that does not fit the pattern of the others.

Qualitative Data: Descriptive data about a variable (like color)

Quantitative data: Numerical data that gives the quantity, amount, or range of a variable (for example: number of eggs laid).

Prediction: A statement of the expected results in an experiment based on the hypothesis being tested.

Independent variable: The variable being manipulated in an experiment

Variable: A condition in an experiment that can be controlled or changed.

Dependent variable: The variable being measured in an experiment

Control experiment(control): Group within an investigation or study that receives exactly the same treatment….(basically, the stuff that stays the same except the independent variable, or IV.)

Control variables: Variables that are not being tested but must be kept the same in case they affect the experiment.

Precision(in measurements): The level of refinement in a measurement as shown by the number of significant figures given. (How exact a measurement is, based on the number of digits you record.)

Precision(in experiments): Refers to the closeness of the measurements to each other; precise measurements are close and there is little spread about the mean. (How close repeated measurements are to each other — little variation means high precision.)