Chapter 2 Key Terms

Question 1

Science

Answer 1

a process for producing knowledge methodically and logically

Question 2

Reproducibility

Answer 2

the capacity for a particular result to be observed or obtained more than once

Question 3

Replication

Answer 3

repeating studies or tests

Question 4

Significant Figure

Answer 4

a meaningful degree of precision

Question 5

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 5

logical reasoning from general to specific

Question 6

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 6

reasoning from many observations to produce a general rule

Question 7

Hypothesis

Answer 7

a testable explanation

Question 8

Scientific Theory

Answer 8

an explanation that has been supported by a large number of tests and a majority of experts have reached a general consensus that it’s a reliable description/explanation

Question 9

Science Literacy

Answer 9

an ability to understand basic scientific concepts, methods, and implications

Question 10

Statistics

Answer 10

numbers that let you evaluate and compare things

Question 11

Natural Experiment

Answer 11

a study of events that have already happened

Question 12

Manipulative Experiment

Answer 12

an experiment in which some conditions are deliberately altered while others are held constant to study cause and effect relationships

Question 13

Controlled Study

Answer 13

study in which comparisons are made between experimental and control populations that are (as far as possible) identical in every factor except the one variable being studied

Question 14

Blind Experiments

Answer 14

an experiment in which the researcher doesn’t know which group is treated until after the data has been analyzed

Question 15

Double-Blind Experiment

Answer 15

an experiment in which neither the subject nor the researcher knows who is in the treatment or control group

Question 16

Dependent Variable

Answer 16

the variable affected by the independent variables

Question 17

Independent Variable(s)

Answer 17

variables that we hope will explain differences in the dependent variable

Question 18

Model

Answer 18

a simple representation of something

Question 19

System

Answer 19

a network of interdependent components and processes, with materials and energy flowing from one component of the system to another

Question 20

Open Systems

Answer 20

systems that receive inputs from their surroundings and produce outputs that leave the system

Question 21

Closed Systems

Answer 21

systems that exchange no energy or matter with their surroundings (rare)

Question 22

Throughput

Answer 22

the energy and matter that flow into, through, and out of a system

Question 23

Positive Feedback

Answer 23

a self-perpetuating process

Question 24

Negative Feedback

Answer 24

a process that suppresses change

Question 25

Homeostasis

Answer 25

a tendency to remain more or less stable & unchanging

Question 26

Disturbances

Answer 26

events that can destabilize or change the system

Question 27

Resilience

Answer 27

ability to recover from disturbance

Question 28

State Shift

Answer 28

conditions of a system not returning to normal after a disturbance

Question 29

Emergent Properties

Answer 29

characteristics of the system that are greater than it's parts

Question 30

Scientific Consensus

Answer 30

general agreement among informed scholars

Question 31

Paradigm Shifts

Answer 31

great changes in explanatory framework

Question 32

Theory of Evolution

Answer 32

organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success. This process causes species to change and diverge over time

Question 33

Atomic Theory

Answer 33

the materials we see around us are composed of molecules, which are composed of atoms, which are composed of nuclei and electrons