KEY WORDS

  • science

    • BOTH a way of thinking and a body of facts

    • a distinctive way of gaining knowledge about the natural world that starts with a question and then tries to answer the question using logic and evidence

  • biology

    • a branch of science that deals with the study of living things

  • genetics

    • a branch of biology that deals with the study of heredity

  • fact

    • observations about the world around us

    • can usually be proven or disproven

  • observation

    • description of something using the five senses

  • opinion

    • a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge

    • cannot usually be proven or disproven

  • inference

    • logical interpretation based on observations and prior knowledge

  • hypothesis

    • "educated guess"

    • possible explanation based on existing knowledge

    • a proposed explanation for a phenomenon made as a starting point for further investigation

  • theory

    • a well-substantiated explanation acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly tested and confirmed through observation and experimentation

  • law

    • a statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes some phenomenon of nature