1. 8th Grade Science Content Strand 1
Inquiry
8th Grade Science Content Strand 1

2. 1.g.&h. Skepticism
Causes one to doubt or change your mind based on new evidence and leads to new investigations
Ex. The scientist did a new experiment because he was skeptical about the fertilizer data. He thought that maybe the type of plant affected the results so he changed the type of plants and did several new trials using the fertilizer.

3. 1.d. Inferences and Observations
Inference- Make a conclusion based on evidence in the experiment
Evidence must come for the data/investigation
Observation- information gathered directly thought senses.

4. 1.b. Qualitative Data that is not measured or counted. Color
Presence of bubbles
Formation of a solid

5. 1.b. Quantitative Information using numbers: Mass (5g) Length (2m)
Temperature (22OC)
32 students in class

6. 1.e. Justify/defend Conclusions
Underline the conclusion you are justifying & Look for evidence in the data
Supports – look for positive answer choices
Does not support – look for the negative answer

7. Validity and Reliability
Validity- whether an experiment is accurate
Experiment follows design of scientific method
Reliability- whether an experiment is repeatable
Same results every time.

8. Validity and Reliability

9. Control Group
The part of an experiment that does not receive the independent variable
Ex. The last plant did not receive fertilizer when testing which fertilizer works the best

10. Constant
Things that remain the same in an experiment in order to make data more reliable and valid
Ex. Same type of soil, plant, amount of sunlight, & environment

11. Heat absorption each minute
Independent Variable
The part of an experiment that changes because it is controlled by the experimenter and is used to affect the dependent variable
Typically found on the outer parts of a data table
Color
Heat absorption each minute
red
black
blue
green

12. Heat absorption each minute
Dependent Variable
The part of an experiment that changes because it is affected by the independent variable
The amount or type of change is measured
Typically found inner parts of a data table
Color
Heat absorption each minute
red
70C
80C
90C
100C
black
130C
160C
blue
8.50C
9.40C
10.10C
green
110C

13. logical
Makes the most sense

14. Revise To change in order to improve or make better
Think about parts of the scientific investigation

15. Test taking Tips

16. Read all answer choices before selecting a final answer
Eliminate answer choices
Watch for distracters
Circle/underline key words (vocabulary)
Read the question before & after reading the answer choices
Determine the main objective of the question
Identify which content/objective the question is related to