CHAPTER 1 VOCABULARYScience and Experimentation Terms

KWL CHARTS

The first column is what you know about a word.

• Maybe it is a definition. • Maybe it is something you’ve heard

someone say before.• Try to avoid “IDK” and “Nothing”

unless you really have too. A total guess that is wrong is better than nothing.

The second column is what you want to know about a word.

• Ask questions here.• Good examples:

• “How is Myth Busters science?”• “How is a hypothesis different from a

theory?”• “How is this word different in science

than in normal use?”• Bad Examples of answers here:

• “The definition”• “IDK”

KWL CHARTS

KWL CHARTS

The last column is what you learned about the word.

• Maybe it is a definition. • Something cool you didn’t know

before.

DIRECTIONS

Fill out the first column of your KWL chart BY YOURSELF.There should be no talking while you do this part.

If you finish early, you can start to fill out the second column while you wait for the class to catch up.

DIRECTIONSOn a separate piece of paper, take notes on the words.

These will help you to finish column 2 and column 3.

WORDSDETAILS ON MEANINGS

SCIENCE

• Systematic enterprise

• Builds and organizes knowledge

• Uses testable explanations and predictions

• Rational

• Reliable

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

• A way to investigate and propose explanations for observations

Model

• A physical, conceptual, or mathematical representation of a real phenomenon.

• Used to explain and predict the behavior of real objects or systems.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further

Scientific Theory

A theory is not the same as a hypothesis, as a theory is a 'proven' hypothesis, that, in other words, has never been disproved through experiment, and has a basis in fact.

Scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous, and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge

Scientific Law

Express a fundamental principal of science

Confirmed and broadly agreed upon

Differ from theories in that laws don’t explain a phenomenon.

Many are mathematical formulas

Observing

Noticing and perceiving with our senses

PredictingIn science, a prediction is a rigorous, often quantitative, statement, forecasting what will happen under specific conditions

Inferring

Deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements.

Communicating

The ability to communicate effectively through speaking as well as writing

Controlled ExperimentAn experiment with a control group and an experimental group.

After your experiment, you compare the two to see what effect your experiment had.

Manipulated Variable

A variable that the scientist changes.

Something you can control.

Result of the experiment

Responding Variable

Reproducibility

Reproducibility is the ability of an entire experiment or study to be done over with the same results, either by the researcher or by someone else working independently.

Accuracy

How close a measurement is to the correct answer.

Precision

Repeated measurements give the same result

Estimate

Finding an approximate answer