TWENTY FIRST CENTURY SCIENCE

IDEAS ABOUT SCIENCE: GLOSSARY

HereisateachersglossaryofIdeasaboutSciencetermscompiledbythe
C21team.ThisglossaryclarifiesthewaythesetermsareusedintheOCR
GCSESciencespecificationandOUPresources.
NotethatIdeasaboutScienceisthetermusedinthiscourse;theyfully
covertheQCArequirementsforteachingHowScienceWorks.
Studentsshouldlearntheseideasfromexperiencingexamplesindifferent
contexts.Thislistisnotintendedforstudents.
AccuracyHowcloseameasurementofsomethingistoitstruevalue.
ArgumentStatementsofferedinsupportofyourconclusionoropinion.
Benefits and costsWhenyoudoanything,itmaymakesomethings
better.Thesearethebenefits.Butitmayalsomakesomethingsworse.
Thesearethecosts.
Best estimateWhenyoumeasuresomething,youcannotbesureyou
havefounditstruevalue.Thereisalwayssomeuncertaintyin
measurements.Allyoucandoissaywhatyouthinkthetruevalueismost
likelytobeyourbestestimate.
CorrelationApatterninthedataabouttwothingsthatsuggeststheyare
linked.Forinstance,whenicecreamsalesrise,thelevelofhayfeveralso
increases.
CauseWhentwothingsarecorrelatedandthereisareasontoexplainhow
oneleadstotheother(amechanism).
ConclusionTheansweryoucangivetoaquestionbasedondata(or
evidence)andargument.
ControlAsamplethathasnotbeengiventhetreatmentyouaretesting,or
hasnotbeenexposedtothefactoryouareinvestigating.Youcancompare
thecontrolwithasamplethathasbeengiventhetreatment.
DataPiecesofinformationaboutaprocessorobject.Gooddataareboth
validandreliable.
EthicsRulesabouthowtobehave,basedonwhatisrightandwhatis
wrong.
EvidenceDatausedtosupportanargument,conclusion,orexplanation.
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ExperimentApracticalprocedure,carriedouttocollectdatatotesta
hypothesis.

ExplanationAseriesoflinkedstatements,orstory,thataccountsfor
somethinghappening.Anexplanationcanonlybecalledscientificifitis
acceptedbyagroupofotherscientists.
Factor Anythingthatcanaffectsomethingelse.Forinstance,the
temperatureoftheairaffectshowmuchyousweat.
HypothesisAsuggestedexplanationforhowsomethinghappens.A
hypothesisisusuallybasedonobservations.
MeanAnaveragefromasetofdata.(Themeanisworkedoutbyaddingup
asetofmeasurements,thendividingbythenumberofmeasurements.)
MechanismAdescriptionofhowafactorcausesanoutcome(acause
leadstoaneffect).
Observation Somethingyoucansayabouttheworld,basedon
informationfromyoursenses.
OutcomeSomethingthathappensbecauseofotherthingshappening.A
changeinoneoftheseotherthings(factors)canleadtoachangeinwhat
happens.Forexample:Thetemperatureoftheairincreases.Oneoutcomeof
thisisthatyourbodymakesmoresweat.
OutlierAmeasurementthatdoesnotfitthepatternofotherdatacollected.
Peer reviewScientistspublishtheirdataandexplanationsasarticlesin
journals.Beforetheyarepublished,otherscientistsreadthearticles.They
evaluatethewaythescientisthasdonetheirwork,thequalityoftheirdata,
andhowgoodtheirexplanationis.Thisispeerreview.Ifotherscientists
thinktheworkisgood,thenitismorelikelytobepublished.
PredictionWhatyouthinkwillhappeninaparticularsituation.
Predictionsarebasedoncurrentexplanationsforhowsomethingworks.For
example:Ifthemassonthespringisdoubled,theextensionofthespring
willdouble.
RangeThelowesttothehighestofasetofmeasurements.Forexample,in
24hourstherangeofJohnsheartratewas50125beatsperminute.

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Real differenceAdifferencewhichistoobigtobeputdowntochance.
Youcanbefairlysurethatthedifferencebetweentwomeanvaluesisrealif
theirrangesdonotoverlap.
RegulationsRulesmadebyanauthority,suchastheGovernment.For
example,allmotorvehiclesoverthreeyearsoldmusthaveaMOTtest.
ReliabilityWhenrepeatedmeasurementsofthesamethingarecloseto
eachother,thedataisreliable.Youcanhavemoreconfidenceinconclusions
andexplanationsiftheyarebasedonreliabledata.

ReplicationRepeatingsomething.Forexample,takingtwoorthree
measurementsofthesamevalueinanexperiment.
RiskThechanceofsomethinghappening,andtheconsequencesifitdoes.
PerceivedriskWhatapersonthinkstheriskis.
ActualriskAriskbasedoncollecteddataaboutoutcomesinsimilar
circumstances
PrecautionaryprincipleChoosingnottodosomethingwhenyoudont
knowhowbigtheriskis,buttheconsequences(ifitdoeshappen)are
serious.Thisissometimesdescribedasbeingbettersafethansorry.For
example:Youwanttogoswimminginariver.Youcannotseebelowthe
surface,soyoudecidenottojumpin.Therecouldbesharprockscloseto
thesurface.Yougetinslowlyandcarefully.
ALARAAsLowAsReasonablyAchievable.Whenweidentifya
risk,wecansometimesmakechangestomakethingssafer.Butnothing
canbecompletelysafe.Forexample:Youareexposedtoradiationwhen
youhaveanXray.Theamountofradiationusedisthesmallestamount
neededtomaketheXraypicture.
SampleAgrouptakenfromofapopulation.
Sample sizeHowmanythereareinasample.
Scientific communityAgroupofscientistswhoworkinthesamefield.
Theymayshareideas,anddiscusseachotherswork.
Technical feasibilitySomethingthatitispossibletodo.Thisdoesnot
meanitshouldbedone.
ValidityAmeasurementisvalidifitmeasuresthethingitissupposedtobe
measuring.

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VariableAquantitythatmaychange,e.g.thetemperatureoftheair.
InputvariableThequantitythatchanges,e.g.temperatureofwater.
OutcomevariableThequantitythatisaffectedbytheinputvariable.For
example,howquicklyateaspoonofsugardissolvesinthewater.

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