Physical Science 1.2: The Scientific Method
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- What are the four assumptions for inquiry?
- Regularity, Causality, Measurability, Predictability
- What is the definition of regularity?
- Regularity means events recur according to discoverable patterns. (It happens over and over again.)
- What is the definition of causality?
- Causality means events have discoverable causes. (There is a reason for it.)
- What is the definition of measurability?
- Measurability means that the world can be described by simple, mathematical relationships. (It can be measured and verified.)
- What is the definition of predictability?
- Predictability means that future events can be predicted on the basis of past events. (Its recurrence can be anticipated and predicted.)
- What is the definition of the scientific method?
- It is the formal procedure scientists use to gain knowledge about the physical universe.
- What is the definition of hypothesis?
-
It is a tentative explanation for a set of facts
which can be tested by further investigation. - What is the definition of inductive reasoning?
- It is the process of reasoning from specific examples to general cases.
- What is the definition of deductive reasoning?
- It is a method of proof in which each step is a known fact, as it is based on previously known facts.
- Inductive reasoning is empirical. What does empirical mean?
- It measn that it is based on experiences and observations in the real world.
- What two things define a scientific hypothesis?
- A scientific hypothesis must be testable. It also must be able to be proved wrong.
- What is the definition of a qualitative description?
- It is a description done solely in words.
- What is the definition of a quantitative description?
- It is a description given in numbers.
- What is the definition of precision?
- It is a measure of how consistently a result is determined by repeated evaluations.
- What is the definition of accuracy?
- It is how close a reading or measurement comes to the actual value of the quantity being measured.
- What are significant figures?
- They are measured digits that are known with certainty plus one estimated digit.
- What is the least count?
- It is the size of the smallest scale of division on an instrument.
- Where can I study the rules for significant figures?
- On my MindMap and in A Roundabout Way with Numbers.
- What is scientific notation?
- It is a method of expressing a number as the product of a power of 10 and a number between 1 and 10.
- What are units?
- They are a means of classifying measured values.
- What are naked numbers?
- They are numbers left without a unit to measure them.
- What is the definition of magnitude?
- It is a property of an object's size.
- What is the definition of dimension?
- It is the qualitative nature of a physical measure.
- What does SI stand for?
- It stands for Le Système International D'unités (Internation System of Units).
- What are conversion factors?
- They are ratios that express equal quantities in different untis.
- What is a graph?
- It is a picture of an equation.
- What is an independent variable?
- It is a factor or variable that changes naturally or is intentionally manipulated to observe an effect. It is plotted along the x-axis.
- What is a depedent variable?
- It is a factor or condition being tested.
- What are linear relationships?
- They are relationships in which a change in the independent variable causes a proportionally equal change in the dependent variable. These graphs are always straight lines.
- What are inverse relationships?
- They are relationships in which one variable gets larger as the other gets smaller.