Science ISA Part 1

Science, or more specifically, scientific inquiry, is a way of learning about the natural world by observing things, asking questions, proposing answers, and testing those answers.

pg.647
Scientific inquiry is a form of problem-solving that helps us come to a greater understanding of observable formula

The main goal of science is to understand the natural world, and the main product is knowledge in the form of facts, laws, and theories.

pg.647
The main goal of science is to understand the world and the product is knowledge.

Scientists gather many observations or set up experiments to provide evidence that may help them answer their questions.

Scientists use what they observe to describe the natural world. Observations are evidence gained using the five senses-touch, smell, taste, vision,

Scientists gather observations by using the five senses. They often use special tools and equipment to increase the capability of their senses. They gather observations to provide evidence that can help them answer their questions.

A law is a general statement, based on extensive empirical data, about what has happened; it does not explain why this happened.

pg. 649

• A law explains what happens. It does explain what why things happened

In science, a theory is an explanation of observations (or of a law).

pg.649

a theory is a product of a scientist's creativity and inventiveness.

pg.649

• A theory explains why something happens

a scientist first suggests a tentative answer or an untested explanation called a hypothesis. The most important characteristic of a hypothesis is its testability, or the ability to obtain evidence that will test the explanation.

• A hypothesis is an untested, testable proposed explanation for a phenomenon

• Theories rely on observations of the natural world, which can never encompass every possible scenario. They can always be disproved if contradictory evidence is found
• Laws cannot be proven because they are generalizations of observed regularities. It is impossible to test every situation in which it applies p.649-650

We can help ensure the validity of scientific investigations by ensuring reproducibility and following the scientific method and extensive testing.

Scientific investigations result from our curiosity about the natural world. Our observtions lead us to wonder … Before yo uconduct an observation you must have a clear idea of what you want you to know.

Scientific investigation begins with questions that arise from our observations & curiosity about the natural world.

Variables are any factors that could affect the outcome of aninvestigation.

Variables are factors that could affect the outcome of a situation

1. The variable that is changed is called the independent variable, or cause variable.
2. The variable that is affected by a change is called the dependent variable, or effect variable. This is the variable you measure to see how it was

affected by the independent variable.

1. All the other conditions that remain unchanged and did not affect the outcome of the investigation are called the controlled variables.

• The independent variable does not depend on another. It is manipulated by the researcher to test its effect on a dependent variable
• The dependent variable is affected by a change. This is the variable you measure to see how it is affectd by the independent variable
• A control variable is a factor or condition held constant in an experience to prevent it from influencing the relationship between the independent & dependent variables

Its important to change only one independent variable so we can ensure that our results are caused by the variable we changed and not by any other variables we identified

• The independent variables would be the amount/type of fertilizer we give the plant . And the dependent variable would be the growth rate of the plant.
• Three control variables
  • Soil

Same pot size and soil for all plants

• Plant watering

Equal amounts of water for all plants. Must be maintained consisently

• Sunlight

Sunlight exposure must be equal for all plants to prevent bias. Must be kept constant.

A prediction states what you expect to observe if the hypothesis is correct, while a hypothesis is a testable statement that proposes a possible explanation for an observation.

The independent variable is placed on the \(x\) axis

The dependent variable is placed on the \(y\) axis

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• The scale is depicted in descending order

• By circles a data point

• The line/curve of best fit indicates the average
• It is used to show trends
• Made by drawing a straight line that is the average of all points

• A line of best fit represents the data in a linear dataset while a curve is more suited for exponential relationships

Interpolation is when you use existing data to determine a value at a specifi time that was not provided. We can do this with a line of best fit that indicates the average. This lets us interpolate a value from the data we already have.

Extrapolation is when you use existing data to project a prediction for the future based on trends.

• Extrapolation is for prediting future data while interpolating occurs within the points you already measured

Notes that link to this note (AKA backlinks).

• Science ISA DEMO
• Science, Sep 25, P2