Nature of science

science is investigating and understanding the natural world

Observation - gathering evidence and information about events and processes

Data - the information gathered from making observations

Hypothesis - scientific explanation for a set of observations. A question that has not yet been proven or unproven.

Qualitive data

Quantitive data

  • Numbers
  • obtained by counting and measuring
  • Descriptions and characteristics that cannot be counted

Must be states in a way that makes it testable

Just a possible answer to a question - must be thoroughly tested

Scientific Method

  1. Form a hypothesis
  1. Design a controlled experiment
  1. Observation / asking a question
  1. Record and analyse results
  1. Draw conclusions

Variable - factors in an experiment that can be changed

Independent Variable - what you change in the experiment

Dependent Variable - what changes because of what you changed in the experiment

Control - the part of the experiment kept the same

Experiments should be repeated over and over again to get the final result. When repeated, the results should be the same before coming to a valid conclusion.

Theory - a broad and comprehensive statement that is thought to be true

A theory may be formed after the hypothesis is tested many times and is supported by much evidence.