Science Process Skills The behavior of scientists when they study and investigate.

GPS S8CS1. Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.

Qualitative Observation Observation using the five senses to gather information about an object or event. Example: Describing a pencil as yellow. Taste Touch Hearing Sight Smell

Quantitative Observation Observation using measurement Usually precise and specific using both standard and nonstandard measures or estimates to describe the dimensions of an object or event. Example: Using a meter stick to measure the length of a table in centimeters.

Classification A systematic arrangement into groups grouping or ordering objects or events into categories based on properties or criteria. Example: Placing all rocks having certain grain size or hardness into one group.

Communication The act of transmitting and/or receiving information using words or graphic symbols to describe an action, object or event. Example: Describing the change in height of a plant over time in writing or through a graph.

Hypothesis A special kind of prediction that forecasts how one variable will affect a second variable (educated guess) Written in (If, then format) Example: If the temperature of sea water increases, then the amount of salt that dissolved in that water increases.

Prediction Forecasting of future events stating the outcome of a future event based on a pattern of evidence. Example: Predicting the height of a plant in two weeks time based on a graph of its growth during the previous four weeks.

Inference An explanation of an observation What are your assumptions? I assume this is an insect because it has six legs, and when I’ve seen insects before they have six legs. What have you seen before that reminds you of this? How can you find out?

Variables Factors, conditions, and or relationships that can change or be changed in an event or system. Controlling Constant

“Science is built up with facts as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.” -Jules Henri Poincare