Topic 2: Scientific method Flashcards

Created by

y.ttrium

Cards (22)

what is the theory that binds our survey of biodiversity
Evolution
what do scientists refer to unifying explanations of the natural world as
theories
what is a scientific theory
a broad, natural explanation for a wide range of phenomena that is strongly supported by many different lines of evidence
What does inquiry mean?
a search for information and explanations of natural phenomena
biologists describe natural structures and processes based on what
observation and the analysis of data
what are the two categories of data
qualitative and quantitative
What is qualitative data?
descriptive data
What is quantitative data?
numerical data
what is the difference between a mechanistic question and an evolutionary question? 
mechanistic: what pigments make the spider pink?evolutionary: why is the spider pink
from what can we make generalizations 
from observations we can make generalization
what is inductive reasoning
observation to generalization
inductive reasoning draws conclusions through what
the logical process of induction
observations and inductive reasoning can lead us to what? (2)
ask questions
propose hypotheses
what is a scientific hypothesis
a tentative answer to a knowledge-based, well-framed question
what does a hypothesis lead to
predictions that are testable and falsifiable
What is deductive reasoning used for?
used to make specific predictions that can be used to test hypotheses
what does deductive reasoning use?
uses general premises to make specific predictions
general to specific
what kind of reasoning is used to test a hypothesis
deductive reasoning to make specific predictions that are testable and falsifiable
can we prove a hypothesis to be true?
no
what us a controlled experiment
an experiment that compares an experimental group with a control group
What is correlation?
relationship between two variables
What is causation?
the relationship between cause and effect