An Observation is the act of noting or perceiving objects or events using the senses. You solve scientific puzzles through observations. H ow do you solve Scientific Puzzles?

Identifying the problem can be as simple as asking yourself “Why” something happens. You could be asking yourself “Why” something is not working.

Using your senses to get information (data) about your surroundings. Sight; tough; taste, smell; sound. smell; sound.

You can improve your ability to make observations by using tools.

A Hypothesis is an educated guess about what you know or what you have observed.

An experiment with variables is a common way to test a hypothesis.

A variable is a quantity that can have more than a single value. A dependent variable changes value as other variables change. An independent variable is changed to determine how it will affect the dependent variable.

A variable that does not change when other variables change is a. A is the standard to which test results can be compared.

Three plants were placed in a greenhouse kept at a temperature of 32 0 C and allowed to get 9 hours of sunlight a day. Each plant was given 8 ounces of water per day. Plant A was given 100 grams of fertilizer per day, Plant B was given 200 grams of fertilizer per day and Plant C was given no fertilizer. What is the dependent variable, independent variable, constant, and control in this experiment.

A Water = 8 oz Fertilizer = 100 g C Water = 8 oz Fertilizer = 0 g B Water = 8 oz Fertilizer = 200 g = 9 hours = 32 0 C

Includes recording observations and organizing the gathered data into easy to read tables, charts and graphs.

Data that is collected by counting is known as Quantitative Data For example number of raccoons in a forest A ny information that can be captured that is not numerical in nature is known as Qualitative Data An Example of Qualitative Data would be your school classification: Fr, So, Jr, Sr Fr, So, Jr, Sr

For a hypothesis to be considered valid, the experiment must result in the exact same data every time.

If the experiment does not support your hypothesis, you must reconsider your hypothesis.

A scientist must record exactly what happens during an experiment. A bias occurs when what a scientist “feelings” change how the results are viewed.

represent ideas, events, or objects that might be too large or too small to work with efficiently. Models can either be physical or computer generated representations of the object.

A is an explanation based on many observations and investigations; a is a statement about something that always seems to be true.

A standard is an exact quantity that people agree to use for comparison. Measurements must have a:

The SI system is based on multiples of 10 and uses prefixes to indicate a specific multiple. The International System of units (SI system) is an improved version of the metric system used and understood by scientists worldwide

When you move up the stairs, - move your decimal 1 place to the left kilo- hecto- deca- UNITS deci- centi- milli- 1, When you move down the stairs, - move your decimal 1 place to the right

is measured using a unit appropriate for the distance between two points. The size of the unit being measured determines which unit you will measure in. in measuring large distances 21 kilometers is easier to deal with than 21,000 meters

- the amount of space an object occupies. If you want to know the volume of a solid rectangle, such as a brick, you multiply the length (l) times the width (w) times the height (h) (V = l x w x h)

How do you measure the volume of a liquid since liquids have no sides to measure? In measuring a liquids volume, you are measuring the capacity of the container that holds the liquid. The smaller the unit of measure... The more accurate the measurement

Mass is a measure of the quantity of matter in an object. You might think of mass as how much something weighs.

Time is the interval between two events; (example: how long it takes for an object to move from one point to another)

is a measurement of how or how something is, and is measured using a thermometer. For most scientific work, temperature is measured using the Celsius (C) scale.

Water boils at C Average human body temperature is 37 0 C Average room temperature is between 20 0 C and 25 0 C

A is a visual display of information or data that is used to detect patterns.

The is the factor that as it changes, affects the change of another variable. The is the factor that changes as the independent variable changes.

A shows a relationship where the dependent variable changes due to a change in the independent variable. The x-axis should always be used for the independent variable, The y-axis should always be used for the dependent variable,

compare information collected by counting. Each bar represents a quantity counted at a particular time. Bar graphs are useful in comparisons of oil or crop productions, populations or costs

The height of each bar corresponds to a particular number. As with a line graph, the independent variable is plotted on the x-axis and the dependant variable on the y-axis.

(sometimes called pie graphs) show how a whole is broken into parts The circular pie represents the total The slices represent the parts and are usually represented as percentages of the total