Nature of Science Mastery

When you describe something using numbers or measurements. It’s all about the quantity or amount of something.

• qualitative observation

• hypothesis

• quantitative observation

• theory

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

When you describe something using your senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, or hearing) without using numbers or measurements. It’s all about the qualities of something, like color, texture, or sound.

• qualitative observation

• hypothesis

• quantitative observation

• theory

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-3

An educated guess about what you think will happen in an experiment or about how something works. It's a prediction based on what you already know containing cause and effect; often appears in the form If…Then.

• qualitative observation

• hypothesis

• quantitative observation

• theory

A well-tested explanation for how or why something happens in nature, based on a lot of evidence. It has been repeatedly tested and supported by many scientists.

• qualitative observation

• hypothesis

• quantitative observation

• theory

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

Where you only change one variable at a time to see its effect, while keeping everything else the same. This allows you to figure out exactly what caused the results.

• controlled experiment

• control variables (constants)

• control group

• experimental group

Also called the manipulated variable. It is the one factor you change on purpose in an experiment to see how it affects the outcome. It's what you're testing.

• experimental group

• control variables (constants)

• dependent variable

• independent variable

Also called the responding variable. It is what you measure or observe in an experiment to see how it changes in response to the independent variable. It’s the result or effect you're looking at.

• experimental group

• control variables (constants)

• dependent variable

• independent variable

Are factors that you keep the same throughout an experiment. You don’t change it, because you want to make sure that any changes in the experiment are only caused by the independent variable.

• experimental group

• control variables (constants)

• dependent variable

• independent variable

Is the group in an experiment that does not get the special treatment; it does not have the independent variable applied to it. It’s used as a comparison to see if the independent variable had an effect on what is being measured; the dependent variable.

• controlled experiment

• control variables (constants)

• control group

• experimental group

The group that gets the special treatment or the change you are testing. It’s the group where you apply the independent variable to see how it affects the outcome.

• controlled experiment

• control variables (constants)

• control group

• experimental group