Definitions Flashcards
1
Q
accuracy
A
level to which a measurement,
calculation, or specification conforms to the
correct value or a standard
2
Q
activation energy
A
minimum level of energy
for a substance to be activated to react
chemically
3
Q
active ingredient
A
substance/s present in a
plant that is biologically active and it can be
extracted for medicinal purposes
4
Q
aim
A
purpose of the investigation
5
Q
average speed
A
total distance travelled over
time
6
Q
bias
A
when personal opinion affects how a
person weighs the validity of evidence
7
Q
binary star
A
a pair of stars in orbit around
each other
8
Q
bioprospecting
A
conducting tests to
determine whether an organism could be
used to manufacture a product
9
Q
biopsy
A
taking samples of tissue from a
patient and testing these samples in a
laboratory; this technique is commonly
used to test if cells are cancerous
10
Q
Boyle’s law
A
the product of the volume and
the pressures for a fixed mass of a gas at
constant temperature, is constant
11
Q
calibrated
A
to have correlated the readings
of an instrument against that of a known
standard to ensure the accuracy of the
instrument
12
Q
capture-recapture
A
a method to estimate
the population size by trapping them in
a small area, releasing them and then
extrapolating the total population
13
Q
carcinogen
A
a chemical known to cause
cancer
14
Q
catalysts
A
chemicals that increase the
reaction rate by lowering the activation
energy
15
Q
causation
A
where a change in one variable
affects the other variable; also referred to as
cause and effect
16
Q
Charles’ law
A
for a constant volume of gas
in a sealed container, the temperature of the
gas is directly proportional to its pressure
17
Q
chronic
A
an illness that continually reappears or is experienced for a long time
18
Q
circumference
A
the distance around a circle
19
Q
confidence interval
A
a value, with an
associated margin of error, that indicates
the range in which a random sample from
the population is likely to fall into for a given
measure or treatment
20
Q
confidence level
A
expressed as a percentage
likelihood that a repeated investigation on a
random sample will produce a comparable
result
21
Q
conflict of interest
A
a situation in which
two parties or groups have incompatible
objectives. If such parties have an unequal
balance of power, then one party may use
their power for personal benefit
22
Q
contradiction
A
a statement or depiction
that is inconsistent and does not adhere to
logic when compared to one or more other
statements or depictions
23
Q
control
A
experimental set-up where the
independent variable is not applied
24
Q
control group
A
the group in an investigation
that is used as a benchmark in comparison
to a second group that receives a prescribed
treatment
25
controlled variable
factor that is
kept constant during the experiment/
investigation
26
convenience sampling
a sample that is
used in an investigation primarily because it
is the most readily available sample that the
investigator can access
27
correlation
connection between two or
more things, or a measure of how things are
related
28
data
numerical or observational facts
| collected together as evidence for analysis
29
data collection
gathering of qualitative or
quantitative measurements for the purpose
of statistical analysis
30
data logger
electronic or digital device that
records data either with a sensor or digital
aid
31
denatured
an enzyme that has been altered
| by heat, acidity or some other effect
32
dependent variable
factor measured in the
| investigation
33
double-blind trials
an experimental
technique in which neither the participants
nor the researcher in contact with them are
aware of who is receiving the treatment and
who gets the control
34
ecological
relating to the interactions of
| species within an environment
35
efficacy
the ability of a product or process
| to produce a desired result
36
element
primary constituent of matter that
| can undergo chemical reactions
37
empirical data
information collected by
observations or measurements during an
investigation
38
enzymes
catalysts that assist biochemical
| reactions in organisms
39
error
measure of the estimated difference
between the observed or calculated value of
a quantity and its true value
40
estimation
a rough calculation of the value
| of something
41
ethical
whether what is being done
| conforms to good standards of behaviour
42
ethics
rules established by social systems
| that govern ‘right’ and ‘wrong’
43
evaluation
make a judgement based on
| evidence
44
extrapolation
extension from a range of
plotted data to infer new values from the
known ones
45
fertiliser
a substance added to soil to aid in
| plant growth
46
fieldwork
investigation conducted outside
| the laboratory
47
friction
a force of resistance when two
| surfaces rub against each other
48
gas
a fluid state of matter that fill all parts
of a given container because the particles
move freely
49
gastrointestinal tract
gastrointestinal tract
50
germline gene therapy
the process where
DNA is transferred to the cells that produce
reproductive cells
51
halo effect
a psychological phenomenon
where a person is perceived more favourably
because of an initial positive perception of
that person
52
hypothesis
educated guess tested through
experimentation to answer the inquiry
question; states the relationship between
the independent and dependent variables
53
ideology
a set of beliefs and ideas, both
conscious and unconscious, that an
individual or group of individuals, have in
relation to the way the world works. Also
referred to as a worldview
54
incentive
a structure or thing that
encourages and motivates someone to
behave in a given manner
55
incubation period
the period of time
between initial exposure to an infection and
the appearance of symptoms
56
independent variable
factor deliberately
changed during an investigation to obtain
data
57
innate bias
```
the tendency for an individual
to draw a flawed inference because of the
assumptions and experiences that have
influenced them and the mental ‘short
cuts’ the brain makes when making an
observation
```
58
inquiry question
driving force of the
| research; can be investigated scientifically
59
insecticide resistance
a microevolutionary process whereby insect
populations become increasingly resistant
to the effects of an insecticide
60
interpolation
estimating new data points
| within the range of data points
61
justification
support an argument
62
Large Hadron Collider
particle accelerator
that propels subatomic particles (hadrons)
at high speed
63
line of best fit
trendline that best fits the
plotted data, it goes through the centre of
the plotted data
64
log book
journal taken during the
investigation where all data, observations,
results, inquiries and conclusions are
registered
65
lymphocytes
a white blood cell with a
| single, round nucleus
66
mean
a central tendency within the range
of a data set, calculated by adding all the
values in a data set and dividing by the
number of values
67
median
the central value within the range
of a data set; a value that is generally
determined by having an equal number of
values from the data set on each side. (larger
data samples and group frequencies make
this calculation more complex)
68
medicinal plant
a plant with
pharmaceutical properties possessing an
active ingredient that can be extracted for
medicinal purposes
69
method
experimental steps to follow to
collect data and test the hypothesis of an
investigation
70
methodology
a way of going about an
| investigation
71
mode
the most common value recorded
| within the range of a data set
72
model
two- or three-dimensional
representation or description of a process,
system or idea
73
moral
a judgement about whether what is
| being done is good or bad
74
nuclear fission
a nuclear reaction where
| energy is released from splitting atoms
75
observer-expectancy effect
an effect in
which an individual making a judgement on
the presented data is inadvertently biased
by their own preconceptions of the subject
to be judged
76
open access
a journal that allows scientific
researchers to pay to have their paper
published a class of open-access journals
that solicit money, often from inexperienced
research scientists that want to get their
paper published, but do not enforce the
recognised cross-checking processes such
as peer review to ensure scientific rigour
77
peer review
process in which experts
review and critique the work and research of
others in the same field
78
peptic ulcer
a break in the tissue of the
digestive system, mainly in the stomach,
that causes pain, among other symptoms
79
pharmacological
the characteristics and
properties of a drug that make it medically
effective
80
pitch
a property of sound waves; highfrequency sounds have a high pitch, while a
lower-frequency sound has a low pitch
81
placebo
a medicine or procedure that has
| no therapeutic effect
82
post-publication peer review
a process
of peer review that is done after the
publication of the research paper that
utilises the flexibility of online media
83
primary data
data you have collected
| yourself
84
pseudoscience
a practice that portrays
itself as a science, often through complex
terminology and processes but does not
meet the criteria for contributing to the
greater knowledge and/ or burden of
evidence for science
85
publish or perish
a phenomenon in
academic disciplines where academics need
to regularly publish or risk losing research
funding or their job
86
quadrat
a process by which a small area is
examined to estimate the population of a
species within a larger area
87
qualitative data
descriptive data collected
as evidence during an investigation (e.g.
images, observational sentences)
88
quantitative data
numerical values
collected as evidence during an
investigation (e.g. calculations are usually
part of the analysis, not data collection
measurements)
89
radar
an acronym for RAdio Detection And
Ranging (or RAdio Direction And Ranging),
which is a system used to detect the
presence of objects over long distances
90
radiant heat
heat transfered by
| electromagnetic waves
91
reaction rate
speed at which a chemical
| reaction occurs
92
red/blue shift
when spectral lines move
towards the red or blue end of the visible
spectrum
93
reliability
extent to which an observation
and/or measurement can be repeated
under the same circumstances and produce
similar results
94
replicable
able to be repeated
95
reproducibility crisis
a phenomenon
where the number of research papers being
published cannot be reasonably crosschecked by reproducing the investigation
and/ or that insufficient replication is being
done before publication
96
reputable
to be seen as well respected and
| trusted
97
respiration
process by which organisms
| produce energy
98
retracted
the removal of a published paper/
book by the journal editors as a result of
misconduct, such as fraud
99
risk assessment
evaluation of the risks of
| an investigation
100
safety hazard
expected risk during an
| investigation
101
sample bias
is the tendency to under or
over represent a particular group within the
sample population
102
sample size
number of observations or
| replications in an experiment
103
scientific investigation
an organised
| approach to solving a scientific question
104
scientific theory
an explanation of an
| aspect of the world that can be tested
105
secondary data
data collected by other
| people and published
106
species
group of living organisms with
| similar characteristics that can interbreed
107
spectral pattern
when light is viewed
through a spectrograph, the parts of the
spectrum have distinct spectral lines that
represent the various chemical elements
108
summer solstice
longest day of the year;
| that is, when the most amount of sun is seen
109
stereotyping
the process of classifying
someone (or something) on the basis of
superficial characteristics and attributing
generalisations to all individuals that fit
within the bounds of that classification
110
summer solstice
longest day of the year;
| that is, when the most amount of sun is seen
111
survivor selection
a research phenomenon
where not all participants who begin a
longitudinal study complete it. For this
reason, incomplete data on participants is
removed to maintain the integrity of the
study
112
technology
practically applying knowledge
to create a device for practical purposes in
any area of research
113
terminology
the specialised terms and
words used within a particular field or
profession that have a technical definition
within this context
114
tissue culture
a group of living cells grown
| under laboratory conditions
115
treatment
variation of the independent
| variable
116
true
a depiction of a phenomena that
| conforms to or reflects reality
117
true value
measurement with no errors
118
uncertainty
interval (±) around the
| measured value compared to the true value
119
vaccine
```
a weakened form of an antigen
(or a synthetic substitute) that initiates
an immune response to stimulate the
production of antibodies and provide
immunity to the targeted disease
```
120
valid
extent to which a report or
investigation contains accurate data,
inferences and conclusions
121
variable
measurable factor that can be
changed or maintained in an experiment/
investigation
122
vector
an organism that transmits a disease
| from one organism to another
123
vested interest
a situation where a person
or group would benefit from influencing
circumstances to favour their position
124
voltage
force pushing electrons around the
| circuit
125
voluntary response samples
a sample
(most commonly of people) that is
investigated because they are willing to take
part in the investigation
