scientific inquiry Flashcards
(29 cards)
what is the scientific method ?
the systematic collection and classification of data, and the making and testing of hypotheses based on a the data.
what is the process of a scientific method?
- recognition of a problem
- collection of information related to the problem
- making a hypothesis
- testing the hypothesis or a prediction made from it
- collection of data from the experiment - new questions to be answered.
6.if hypothesis is supported, make a conclusion
7 if hypothesis is disproved - make another hypothesis
what is a theory?
a hypothesis becomes a theory when there is overwhelming evidence in support of it.
give egs. of variables that are controlled?
sex of rats, type and quantity of the food, the length and time for which the rats were observed and the temp under which the rats were kept.
what is a fair test ?
an experiment that involves experimental and control groups
what is the independent variable ?
factor that is being investigated - it is deliberately changed to determine its effect.
it is deliberately different between the control and experimental groups in an experiment
may also be called the experimental or manipulated variable.
what is the dependent variable ?
the factor that changes in response to the changes made to the independent variable
also called the responding variable
what are the controlled variables?
factors that are kept the same for both the control and experimental groups in an experiment
what makes reliability
repetition and replication
what are experimental errors ?
errors that are involved in the experiment . one of the reasons why experimental results cannot prove a hypothesis.
what are the 3 types of error?
human
random
systematic
what is a human error?
simply a mistake- not part of experimental error. eg. incorrectly reading the scales wrong.
what is a random error?
an error in the experiment due to the limits to the precision of the measurements. unpredictable errors.
they occur because no measurement can be made with absolute precision. eg. when using stopwatch, you will stop the watch a little too early or too late. to reduce this error, take several measurements and avg them.
what is systematic error?
an error that occurs in an experiment due to the way that the experiment was designed. - reduced by changing the procedure of experiment. important that the design is examined to eliminate as much error as possible eg. method not specifying where to place scales on.
what are ethics?
moral principles or values
what is ethical behaviour ?
behaviour that conforms to the set of moral principles or values.
what are the ethical principles?
- voluntary participation - people shot not be pressured to taking part in the research
- informed consent - the participants should be fully informed about the objetives of the research, the method to be followed, any possible risks and benefits
- risk of harm - possibility of harm should be minimised and the relationship between the risks and the benefits should be carefully assessed.
- confidentiality - identities of participants will nt be revealed except to people directly involved in the study.
- anonymity - stronger guarantee of privacy. the participants remain anonymous even the researchers because of the nature of some research anonymity may not be possible.
what is an ethical dilemma?
may arise when the affects of the trail on the experimental group of subjects is so advantageous that it seems unfair to withhold it form the control group. eg. if a new medical treatment for a disease was tested on an experimental group which shoed remarkable improvement compared to the control gourd . why should the control group be denied access to the treatment. testing of the producer has been so successful that the trial abandoned and the producer made available to the control and experimental subjects.
what is a placebo
an inactive substance that look like real medication used in medical experiments. experimental group takes the drug being tested, while the control group takes the placebo. can be tablet, dummy treatment, injection skin patch, nasal spray special diet, physics therapy or nock surgery. the subject must believe that receiving the same treatment as everyone else.
what is a placebo effect ?
a change or improvement patients who are given a placebo or dummy treatment.
what is a blind experiment ?
placebos in which the subjects d not know whether they are receiving the placebo or the treatment.
what is a double blind experiment ?
neither the researcher nor the subjects know if they are receiving the treatments or the placebo. reduced the risk of bias
what are the types of graphs ?
line
bar
column
histogram
what is a line graph
used in continuous data
