SCIENTIFIC METHOD GLOSSARY

SCIENTIFIC METHOD GLOSSARY

Term	Definition
Conclusion	The solution or answer to a problem. The conclusion is what the scientist has learned about the problem through experimentation.
Controlled variable	A variable that must remain the same in all situations. Controlled variables are all of the things in an experiment that must remain the same.
Data	Pieces of information that a scientist will gather and look at. Data consists of information collected through research, experiments, and observations. Conclusions can be made based on data.
Data table	A T-shaped diagram that displays raw data from an experiment. It includes a manipulated and responding variable.
Experiment	A test or trial used to gain knowledge or to test a theory.
Graph	A diagram consisting of lines, bars, or circles to represent information. Science fair experiments usually require line graphs.
Hypothesis	A reasonable or educated guess. It is what a scientist thinks will happen in an experiment. Hypotheses are based on observations, research, and what is already known about the subject.
Log book	A notebook in which a scientist writes all of his or her notes about the experiment. All students who complete a science fair project must have a log book.
Manipulated variable	A variable that is deliberately or intentionally changed by the scientist in an experiment.
Metric measurement	A system of measurement that scientists use. Length is measured in meters, weight is measured in grams, volume is measured in liters, and temperature is measured in degrees Celsius.
Observation	The use of the five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or touching) to collect information.
Operational definition	The way a scientist measures variables. The operational definition explains specifically how each variable will be measured (hours, degrees, meters, liters, grams, decibels, etc.)
Ordered pairs	Number data that shows a relationship between the manipulated and responding variables. For example, if you gave a plant 10 ml of water each day, and the plant grew a total of 15 cm, then the ordered pair would be (10, 15).
Problem	Something that needs to be solved. Problems are usually questions that scientists ask about science topics.
Procedures	A methodical, logical way of doing something. Procedures include directions or plans, listed step by step.
Qualitative data	Sensory (sight, touch, smell, hearing, taste) information that is used to draw conclusions.
Quantitative data	Numerical (number) information that is used to draw conclusions.
Raw data	The initial quantitative information that a scientist gets while conducting an experiment. All raw data is written in a data table in the scientist's log book.
Responding variable	A variable that changes as a result of the manipulation of another variable. The responding variable is not changed intentionally, rather, it changes because of what the scientist changed intentionally.
Scientific Method	A logical way of solving problems. Scientists use this method to gather and test information. There are seven steps to the scientific method: Identify a problem Create a hypothesis Design an experiment Conduct the experiment Collect data Graph data Draw conclusions
Variable	Something that can change or "vary" in a situation.
X axis	The horizontal line at the bottom of a graph. The manipulated variable is always written on the x axis of a graph.
Y axis	The vertical line on the left side of a graph. The responding variable is always written on the y axis of a graph.

FLOAT A BOAT - EXPERIMENT

CAREFULLY read the float a boat experiment packet.

SUBMARINES

boyle's law

Submarines: History - How They Work - Introduction

buoyancy experiment

CARTESIAN DIVER EXPERIMENT

DISPLACEMENT

DISPLACEMENT

click on the highlighted link.  answers added to notebook paper.  

DENSITY TRIANGLE???

The density triangle is a trick that will tell which formula to use in order to find the density, mass, or volume when you have the other two.

What does it look like?

The density triangle is a triangle that is split into three sections. 

• Density, which is symbolized by the letter "D," is in the left bottom section
• Mass, which is symbolized by the letter "M," is on the top
• Volume, which is symbolized by the letter "V", is on the bottom right.

Write the letters D, M, and V in the triangle in the order that you reach each section as you go from left to right. The diagram below will show you how this is done.

How do we use it?

To use the DMV Triangle, after you have set it up, simply cover the item that you want to find and you have to formula!!! Below are a few demonstrations.

Start with the DMV Triangle:

To find the formula for "Density," cover up the "D" (as shown below).

This leaves the the "M" over the "V," giving you the formula "M/V." Therefore, the fomula is D = M/V
To find the formula for "Volume," cover up the "V" (as shown below).

This leaves the the "M" over the "D," giving you the formula "M/D." Therefore, the formula is V = M/D.
To find the formula for "Mass," cover up the "M" (as shown below).


This leaves the the "D" over the "V," giving you the formula "D x V."  Therefore, the formula is M = D x V.

Why would we want to use this?

By using this trick, you never have to remember any of the actual formulas. All you have to do is remember "DMV." Since the Department of Motor Vehicles. The trick is knowing where each letter goes, but, once you have that down, each of the formulas can be seen easily, without a chance of error.

SCIENCE NEWS - STUDENT PROJECT

SCIENCE NEWS

Since the start of the school year we have done a wide-range of SCIENCE NEWS to help us learn about the happenings in our world from the incredible people who research, develop, and change our lives with science.

You will research, design, & present a SCIENCE NEWS.

·       Topic:   must have current & detailed research on your science topic of your choice.

·       Format:  must enhance the presentation of facts (video, brochure, graphics, power point, Glogster, hands-on demonstration, audio, ETC…

·       Presentation:  must engage & inform your audience.  Facts delivered must be clear & informative

·       Time:  You will be allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to present your science news. 

          Vocabulary terms:  you must add all new terms with definitions in your presentation

·          You must have your topic approved by me before you begin

·             You must sign up for a date for your presentation

                           see hand out for further details

BUOYANCY

Carefully read the buoyancy worksheet, highlight important points; participate in the buoyancy activity; and watch the video.

BUOYANCY ACTIVITY
DENSITY & BUOYANCY

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

The spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people's ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able. Ancient people liked to designate an able person as 'Qianli Ma', a horse that covers a thousand li a day (one li equals 500 meters).

DENSITY & BUOYANCY TEST!!!

• Take the test from the link below.  
• You may use only notes in your note book
• You can take the test 2 times only!  
• Record both test scores on a sheet of papeR
• Titled - DENSITY & BUOYANCY TEST
• DUE:  Wednesday, 12/18
• Turn into drawer

Click on this link:  DENSITY & BUOYANCY TEST

AIR RESISTANCE, GRAVITY, & AIRPLANE FORCES - REVIEW

REVIEW:

REVIEW THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES & YOUR NOTES FOR QUIZ ON AIR RESISTANCE & FORCE ON AIRPLANE
QUIZ:  Tuesday, 12/17

TYPES OF FORCE #1

TYPES OF FORCE #2

TYPES OF FORCE #3

An airplane flying straight and level at a constant speed has four forces acting on it: lift, drag, weight and thrust. Weight and mass are not the same thing. 
Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight factors in the downward pull of gravity on an object.

In light aircraft, piston engines drive propellers. Propellers deflect air backward, and this air pushes back, creating thrust. The same principle applies to jet engines, which blast hot, expanding gases to the rear of the plane and, in turn, get pushed back by those same gases.

The forces acting on a plane work in opposing pairs. Weight opposes lift, drag opposes thrust. During steady, level flight, the pilot adjusts the engine power and various control surfaces to keep the opposing forces in balance.

Birds figured it out long before humans: You gotta have wings if you're going to fly. Wings create lift, the upward-acting force that gets your feet off the ground.

Wing sounds so simple, but airfoil soars with sophistication. Technically speaking, an airfoil is the shape of the wing -- a curved surface with a rounded leading edge and a sharp trailing edge.

Daniel Bernoulli and his famous principle get a lot of attention when it comes to lift. A lot of aviation enthusiasts would argue, however, that Bernoulli is only part of the lift story though.

Move over Bernoulli, Newton wants to fly this plane. According to authors Anderson and Eberhardt, Newton's third law of motion is perfectly capable of explaining how a wing works: Grossly simplified, it says that the wing pushes the air down, so the air pushes the wing up.

On an airfoil, the amount of curvature is determined by the camber line. Airfoils with positive camber -- the upper surface curves more than the lower surface -- generate better lift.

For an airfoil to work, the leading edge of the wing must be inclined upward. The more it's inclined, the greater the angle of attack. Put another way, the angle of attack is the angle between the chord, or midline, of an airfoil and the direction of the surrounding undisturbed flow of gas or liquid.

The angle of attack is related to the amount of lift. Lift will increase as the angle of attack is increased -- up to a point (called the critical angle of attack). For most aircraft, lift will be maximized if the angle of attack remains below 17 degrees.

While it's true that increasing the angle of attack increases lift, it's also true that you can have too much of a good thing. When the angle of attack becomes too steep, the wing can't generate lift, and the aircraft stalls.

Elevators are hinged flaps located on the tail of the plane. Raising the elevators deflects air downward, which pushes the tail down (and the nose up). Lowering the elevators pushes the tail up (and the nose down).


AIR RESISTANCE

GRAVITY


Every object in the Universe attracts every other object in the universe.  This invisible force for masses to move toward each other is called Gravity.

When you weight yourself, your weight may be around 30kg to maybe 50kg because of Gravity. 

Your weight is the result from the product of the force of gravity and the mass of you.

Why two masses separated in space have a gravitational attraction to one another remains unknown, despite much research and various theories.

Here are some important facts about gravity:

Using scientific language	Which translate to...
Gravity is the experience of two particles mutually attracting each other along the line joining them.	Imagine yourself deep in space and you are standing next to a brick.When you are running in a marathon, you are running in a particular direction, but gravity has no particular direction, but along the path joining you and that brick.
Spherically symmetric objects interact gravitationally as if their mass were located at their centers.	An example of a spherically symmetric object is the Earth.  Earth attracts as if it's mass were located at the centre of Earth.
It is gravity which causes the centripetal acceleration when a satellite moves in a circular orbit.	Gravity is what allows a satellite to move in a circular orbit around earth.
For a particular radius of circular orbit there is only one possible speed for a stable satellite orbit.	If a satellite wants to orbit 2,000km above Earth, there is only one speed at which it can stably orbit.

HOW MUCH WOULD WEIGHT ELSEWHERE?  (click on the link)