U1: Nature Of Science

Concepts, Skills, & Review

Making Observations. An observation is anything you can learn about the world using your senses. Making and recording observations is one of the most basic skills in science. Information gathered from observations is called evidence, or data. Data can be quantitative (numerical) or qualitative (not numerical).

1. Summarize the difference between quantitative & qualitative observations.

2. Using the picture above, label & list 3 quantitative observations & 3 qualitative observations. Examples: There are 2 houses (quant.) and the black road has a crack through it (qual.).

Observation vs. Inference. In science, observations are generally followed by attempted explanations, or inferences. It is important, however, to keep the 2 processes separate. That is because an accurate observation is factual evidence, while an inference is an assumption, which may not be correct.

Example: There is an empty tank in the classroom. (observation)

There used to be fish in the tank. (inference)

3. Identify the following as observations or inferences.a. That man is lost O Ib. The baby is crying O

Ic. The baby wants food O Id. The bugs prefer moisture to dryness O

Ie. The plant grew 3 inches in one day O

I

Interpreting Data. During a science investigation, you make observations and measurements called data. It is important to always record your data, so that you can then analyze the results. A data table is a neat, organized way to record scientific data. There are several important parts of a data table: title, variables, and units. Answer each question using the corresponding data table.

Daily High Temperatures

4. The title of this data table is ______________________________________5. The two variables are _________________ and _____________________6. The unit for time is __________ and for temperature is ______________7. The highest daily temperature was ______________, which occurred

on day ______________8. _____________________________________is the independent variable,

and __________________________________ is the dependent variable.

NOTE: The independent variable is the thing that goes on no matter what. The dependent variable changes according to the independent variable.

Time (days) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11

12

13

14

Temp © 27

28

31

30

34

38

42

18

20

24

21

29

33

28

The Scientific Method.

9. Briefly summarize the steps of the scientific method (see the tip sheet I gave you in class).

10. While walking outside one night, you notice that moths were staying close to a light. Think about this phenomenon and generate a hypothesis to explain why it occurred. If, then, because…

Temperature Below Earth's Surface

0

100

200

300

0 2 4 6 8 10

Depth (km)

Tem

pera

ture

(C

)

Graph Interpretation. Use the graph below to answer the following questions.

11. The deeper the location beneath Earth’s surface, the ____________ the temp.12. For every kilometer of depth, the temperature increases about __________ C.13. At a depth of 3 km, the temperature would be about ______________________.14. Predict what the temperature would be at a depth of 9 km ________________.

Vocabulary. Using what you know about prefixes and suffixes, create a word that would fit the following definitions. Note: They don’t have to be real words!

15. Before the study of tiny life.

16. Many thousands of length measurements.

Graph Types. A line graph is used to show how one variable (dependent variable, y-axis) changes in response to another variable (independent variable, x-axis). The dependent variable might also be called the “responding variable,” because we are observing how it responds to changes in the independent variable.

A bar graph is used to show data about separate but related items. For example, if you were asked to graph the number of absences for each academic class for one day, each academic class would be represented by one bar; the height of each bar shows the number of absences.

Continue to the next slide…

Given the explanations on the previous slide, decide which type of graph would be best for the two data tables below, a line or a bar. You DO NOT have to actually create a graph!

Diameters of the Planets

Planet Diameter (EU)

Mercury 0.40

Venus 0.95

Earth 1.00

Mars 0.50

Jupiter 11.20

Saturn 9.50

Uranus 4.00

Neptune 3.90

Pluto 0.20

Time vs. Temperature forUnknown Substance

Time (min) Temperature (C)

0 -20

5 0

10 0

15 52

20 100

25 100

30 100

35 100

40 100

45 100

50 100

55 100

60 100

65 100

70 100

75 110

80 120

17. 18.

Using A Microscope.

19. During Friday’s class, we discussed the three different types of microscopes and their magnifications. Match each item below with the microscope you would use to view it.

Light Microscope Pill Bug (Rollie-Pollie)Electron Microscope Skin CellsDissection Microscope Virus

20. If the eye piece of a microscope has a power of 10x, and the low power objective has a power of 5x, what would the total magnification of the microscope be?