math in science

Yes, that’s right. I know we’re in science. You still need to do math.

MATH AND GRAPHS IN SCIENCE

Estimation

An approximation of a number based on reasonable assumptions.

Everyone take a guess! Winner gets 2

tickets!!!!

Estimation! (The art of guessing!)

How many marbles???

Accuracy

How close a measurement is to the true or actual value.

AccuracyAll aimed for bulls eye: all in

Reproducible

How close a group of measurements are to each other.

ReproducibilityThis is also reproducible. What if the darts were in a corner?

What is this??

Neither!!!

Accurate? Reproducible?

Sig-Figs:

This measurement includes all digits that have been measured exactly plus one digit whose value has been estimated.

How many sig-figs ???

Significant Figures! My phone is 4.75 inches long!

3!!!!!

Precision

This tells you how exact your measurement is.

4.7563 inches long

Precision, precision, precision.

Which is more precise?

My phone is 4.75 inches longOR

My phone is 4.7563 inches long

Yep, more math… almost done!!

(it’s worth it, trust me)

Graphs: A visual representation of

your data (easiest way to know what your data is “saying”)

Origin Where the two axes meet

(where the graph starts)

Origin

Horizontal Axis (x-axis) Think “Horizon” as in-

what you see when you watch the sunset!

This axis should be labeled with the manipulated variable.

Vertical Axis (y-axis) Think “the other one”

This axis should be labeled with the responding variable.

Coordinates A pair of numbers used to

determine the position of a point on a graph

This is used in locations on a map as well (maps are just like graphs!!)

Data Points The point where the

coordinates intersect (points of data that are plotted on a graph)

What is it?? A smooth line that reflects

the general pattern of a graph

Why is it useful?? This allows you to see the

general trend of the data.

Linear Graph: The linear graph is a

result of the data points falling in a straight line naturally on the graph. This data is very

predictable

Non-Linear Graph: Any graph who’s data

points don’t naturally land on a straight line. This is most typical of

graphs

Slope:

The steepness of the graph line The slope of the line tells

you how much “y” changes for every change in “x”

To calculate the slope, use the following equation:

Slope = Rise/Run

Saw Tooth= BAD!!!!!In science, we never have a broken graph

(saw tooth). This is how people make graphs look

misleading! Most people will use a saw tooth because it

makes their graph look more interesting. This is why you should NOT do that! If it’s a boring graph, it’s boring for a reason and should reflect your boring data!!

DON’T BE MISLEADING!!!

Let’s Analyze Some Graphs!

• What Do you notice about these graphs?

• What’s good about them?

• What’s bad about them?

• What are they telling you?