Scientific Problem Solving Chapter 1 Nature of Science SC.N1.1, SC.N.1.2 Big Idea 1: The Practice of Science Define a problem from the 8 th grade curriculum using appropriate reference materials to support scientific understanding, plan and carry out scientific investigations of various types: systematic observations, or experiments, identify variables. Design and conduct a study using repeated trials and replication.

Description and Explanation Description- a spoken or written summary of observations. Explanations- an interpretation of observations The difference between the two is when you describe something, you report your observations and when you explain something, you interpret your observations.

International System of Units International System of Units (SI) and the internationally adopted system of measurement Why is it important to have the International System of Units? For Science, you will use SI SI based on multiples of 10, and can be converted to others by multiplying by power of 10. To convert, you will either multiply or factor by 10.

Measurement and Accuracy Precision- description on how close or similar repeated measurements are to each other Accuracy- description on how close a measurement is to an accepted value No measuring tool provides a perfect measurement Scientific Notation-a method of writing or displaying very small or very large numbers in a short form Percent error- expression of an error as a percentage of the accepted value

Scientific Tools Science Journal- record observations, write questions and hypothesis, collect data, and analyze the results of an inquiry or experiment Balances- measures mass of an object, usually in kg, g, or mg, two most common ones are electronic or triple beam balance Glassware- used to measure the volume of liquids, usually measured in L or mL Thermometers- measure temperatures- accepted is in K but usually we will use C

Calculators- You can use these in labs and in Science Computers- can collect, compile, and analyze data more quickly, use it to prepare research papers