Living Environment Translated English 2014 | Page 3

Unit 1: Experimental DesignA. Vocabulary:
1. Observation- any information that can be gathered using the senses:
sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste (only at the direction of the
teacher!!!)
2. Hypothesis - an “educated guess”; a prediction based on previous
knowledge and on your basic knowledge of science
3. Data collection- information gathered and organized during the
experiment in an effective manner
4. Data Table- an organized method of recording collected data
5. Graph- a visual method of presenting collected data ( line, bar,
circular types)
6. Evidence-based decision making- reaching conclusions about a topic
based on the data collected during experiments.
7. Constants- parts of the experiment that are the same in both the
control and the experimental groups
8. Variables- Part of the experiment that change.
 Independent variable- the variable that the scientist is
manipulating.
 Dependent variable- the data that the scientist is collecting
based on the manipulation of the independent variable
9. Theory- an explanation of things or events based on scientific
knowledge that is the result of many observations and experiments.
10.Law- a statement about how things work in nature that seems to be
true all the time.
11.SI Unit of measurement- International Units ; also called the Metric
System of Measurement
a. Basic Units of Measurement
1. Meter- measure of length ( distance)
2. Liter- measure of volume
3. Gram- measure of mass ( weight)
4. Second- measure of time