MAP Growth Science key terms

A testable prediction about what will happen in an experiment, based on prior knowledge or observation. It must be worded so that evidence could support or contradict it.

Any factor in an experiment that can change or be changed. Good experiments identify which factors are deliberately altered and which are held steady.

The factor the experimenter deliberately changes or manipulates between trials. It is the presumed cause being tested.

The factor that is measured or observed as the outcome of an experiment. Its value is expected to respond to changes in the independent variable.

A factor kept the same across all trials so it cannot explain differences in results. Holding these constant makes comparisons fair.

The overall plan for a test, including what will be changed, what will be measured, what stays constant, and how many trials will be run.

The comparison group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment being tested. Results from it show what would happen without the change.

Repeating a trial or an entire experiment multiple times. Repeated results that agree increase confidence that an outcome is real rather than chance.

The degree to which repeated measurements or trials give consistent results under the same conditions. Reliable data are stable, though not necessarily correct.

The degree to which an experiment or measurement actually tests what it claims to test. A valid design rules out alternative explanations for the results.

A judgment about what the results mean, stated in terms of whether the hypothesis was supported and what evidence justifies that claim.

Observations, measurements, or data that support or contradict a claim. Scientific explanations must be grounded in evidence rather than opinion.

An organized grid that records measurements or observations from trials, usually with variables as columns and trials as rows so patterns are easy to compare.

A visual display of data, such as a bar, line, or scatter plot, chosen to reveal patterns, trends, or comparisons between variables.

A general direction in which data change, such as increasing, decreasing, or staying flat across trials or along a scale.

A number with a unit obtained with a tool, such as a ruler, balance, or thermometer, used to describe a property quantitatively.

How close repeated measurements are to one another, often reflecting the fineness of the tool's scale. Precise measurements can still be inaccurate.

How close a measured value is to the true or accepted value. Accuracy is limited by both tool quality and technique.

The decimal-based measurement system used in science, including meters for length, grams for mass, liters for volume, and degrees Celsius for temperature.

The amount of matter in an object, measured in grams or kilograms and unchanged by location. It differs from weight, which depends on gravity.

The amount of space an object or substance occupies, often measured in liters or cubic centimeters. It can be found by displacement for irregular solids.

The mass of a substance per unit volume, often expressed in grams per cubic centimeter. Objects less dense than a fluid float in it.

The capacity to do work or cause change, existing in forms such as motion, heat, light, sound, and stored chemical or gravitational energy.

The energy an object has because of its motion. It increases with both the object's mass and its speed.

Stored energy that depends on an object's position or condition, such as height above the ground or a stretched spring.

Movement of energy from one object or system to another, as when a moving ball strikes a pin or a hot pan warms a counter.

Transfer of heat through direct contact, as energy passes from faster-moving particles to slower ones in a solid or between touching objects.

Transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid, where warmer, less dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks, creating currents.

A push or pull on an object, measured in newtons, that can change the object's motion, direction, or shape.

The single combined effect of all forces acting on an object. It determines whether motion changes and in which direction.

A force that opposes motion when surfaces rub against each other, converting some motion energy into heat.

A force of attraction between objects with mass. On Earth it pulls objects toward the planet's center and gives them weight.

A change in an object's position over time relative to a reference point. It is described by speed, direction, and acceleration.

The distance an object travels per unit of time, such as meters per second, without regard to direction.

A community of living organisms interacting with one another and with the nonliving parts of their environment, such as soil, water, and air.

An organism, usually a plant or alga, that makes its own food using sunlight through photosynthesis and forms the base of a food web.

An organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms to obtain energy and matter.

An organism such as a fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead organisms and waste, releasing nutrients back into the ecosystem.

A diagram of overlapping food chains that shows how energy and matter pass among organisms in an ecosystem.

The process by which green plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and release oxygen.