nature of science

Nature of Science

Vocabulary Words

Wha

t IS

Scie

nce?

Science is a “body of knowledge,” or a collection of facts. It is a process of discovery where we

use experiments and investigations to find & test new facts.

Scie

nce

ROCK

S!

Science explains the world we live in. Science helps us make sense of it all. Science makes the exploration of the

Earth and Space possible.

On N

ovem

ber 2

6, 2

011

Curio

sity

was l

aunc

hed

from

the

KSC.

Curio

sity

Mar

s Rov

er

Curio

sity

Fact

s

Curio

sity

Miss

ion

The “average” distance to Mars from Earth is 140,000,000 miles!

On A

ug. 5

th, C

urio

sity

Land

ed o

n Ma

rsHow many month did the trip take?

NASA

. . .

Let’s meet some genuine Rocket Scientists, as they

explain the latest mission to Mars . . . They called this part of the

mission the “7 Minutes of Terror!”

Voca

bula

ry Vocabulary is a very important part of science. We will use these new words all the time.

analyzeTo examine methodically by

separating into parts and studying how they compare and contrast

conclusionA statement that tells what an investigation

showed, based on observations and data.

controlIn an experiment, it is the setup to which you will compare all the others to.

dataMeasurements or

observations collected and recorded in an investigation or experiment.

evidence

Information collected during a scientific investigation.

experimentA scientific test or procedure that

is carried out under controlled conditions to answer a scientific question.

hypothesisA prediction based on prior knowledge

inferTo use observations and prior knowledge to determine what

is happening.

investigationA procedure carried out to carefully observe, study, or test something to learn about it.

observationInformation collected by using the senses.

opinionA belief or judgment. It doesn’t have to

be proved or backed up with evidence.

I Believe…

predictionA statement, based on information, about a future event.

procedure

A way of doing something in a particular order

trialsMultiple sets of measurements or observations

in a scientific investigation.

validA term used to describe whether the results are TRUE or can be PROVEN.

variableAny condition in an experiment that can be changed.