Scientific method

philosophy bites Steps of the Scientific Method Please ensure you have JavaScript enabled in your browser. If you leave JavaScript disabled, you will only access a portion of the content we are providing. <a href="/science-fair-projects/javascript_help.php">Here's how.</a> What is the Scientific Method? The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions. Even though we show the scientific method as a series of steps, keep in mind that new information or thinking might cause a scientist to back up and repeat steps at any point during the process. Whether you are doing a science fair project, a classroom science activity, independent research, or any other hands-on science inquiry understanding the steps of the scientific method will help you focus your scientific question and work through your observations and data to answer the question as well as possible. Educator Tools for Teaching the Scientific Method

Biometry details - AC What to do before attending You will either be attending the entire course or selected modules/topics, depending on who you are. Before attending the modules, you need to download and print the handouts for the particular days. Because the number of people attending varies widely from day to day, it's difficult for us to bring copies without wasting large amounts of paper, or running very short. Assessment Some of you will sit an exam, as indicated in the table below. Older Background Material Note that newer material is available through the on-line learning systems at Melbourne and Deakin. It's assumed that you have an understanding of basic statistics. Lecture Handouts NB: Download these files just before the relevant session, to be sure you have the current version of the handout. Lecture handouts are ready for you to download, print, and bring along to the relevant days. Module 1 (16-17July) Module 2 (18th and 19th July) Module 3 (25th and 26th July) Tutorials/Worksheets Tutorial Material

Apology by Plato Commentary: Quite a few comments have been posted about Apology. Download: A 58k text-only version is available for download. ApologyBy Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett Socrates' Defense How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was - such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth. But many as their falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me; - I mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence. Variable From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Variable may refer to:

Saint, Peace Seeker, Hero by Turns HODAL, India — Barreling down a sizzling-hot road, in a cloud of diesel fumes and dust, Ludkan Baba is on a serious roll. He lies flat on the ground, turning himself over and over like a runaway log, limbs flailing as he bumps across potholes, splashes through mud puddles and falls deeper into a spiritual trance. Like any sadhu, or Hindu ascetic, he undertakes severe penance to liberate his soul from reincarnation's endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Stretched out in the middle of the road, rolling hour after hour, mile after mile through crowds and heavy traffic, he is making his trip to eternal bliss. But this is no ordinary holy roller. He has rolled thousands of miles in the last 19 years, turning round and round so many millions of times that just pondering the thought can make your head spin. Yet to the 55-year-old sadhu, the constant turning is refreshing. "I move during cyclones, during blazing summers and cold winters," he said. He believes God's hand propels him.

Dependent and independent variables Variables used in an experiment or modelling can be divided into three types: "dependent variable", "independent variable", or other. The "dependent variable" represents the output or effect, or is tested to see if it is the effect. The "independent variables" represent the inputs or causes, or are tested to see if they are the cause. Other variables may also be observed for various reasons. Use Calculus gives a relation between y and x. Statistics In a statistics experiment, the dependent variable is the event studied and expected to change whenever the independent variable is altered.[1] Data mining In data mining tools (for multivariate statistics and machine learning), the depending variable is assigned a role as target variable (or in some tools as label attribute), while a dependent variable may be assigned a role as regular variable.[2] Known values for the target variable are provided for the training data set and test data set, but should be predicted for other data. Modelling

Level of measurement In statistics and quantitative research methodology, various attempts have been made to classify variables (or types of data) and thereby develop a taxonomy of levels of measurement or scales of measure. Perhaps the best known are those developed by the psychologist Stanley Smith Stevens. He proposed four types: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Typology[edit] Nominal scale[edit] The nominal type, sometimes also called the qualitative type, differentiates between items or subjects based only on their names or (meta-)categories and other qualitative classifications they belong to; thus dichotomous data involves the construction of classifications as well as the classification of items. Central tendency[edit] Ordinal scale[edit] The ordinal type allows for rank order (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) by which data can be sorted, but still does not allow for relative degree of difference between them. Central tendency[edit] Interval scale[edit] Central tendency and statistical dispersion[edit] L.

Mechanism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mechanism may refer to: Control variable The term control variable has different meanings, depending on the area/place in which it is used. The control variable is something that is constant and unchanged in an experiment. Further, a control variable strongly influences values; it is held constant to test the relative impact of independent variables. Experimental examples[edit] In scientific experimentation, a control variable is the one element that must not be changed throughout an experiment because it also affects the other independent variables being tested, thus affecting the outcome of the experiment. For example, in the experimental verification of Boyle's law (P = T / V), where Pressure, Temperature, and Volume are all variables; to test the resultant changes to any of these variables requires at least one of the other variables to be kept constant. In control theory[edit] In control theory, controlled variables are the variables that are input into the control system. In computer programming[edit] Examples[edit]

Multivariable calculus (multiple variables) Typical operations[edit] Limits and continuity[edit] A study of limits and continuity in multivariable calculus yields many counter-intuitive results not demonstrated by single-variable functions. For example, there are scalar functions of two variables with points in their domain which give a particular limit when approached along any arbitrary line, yet give a different limit when approached along a parabola. For example, the function approaches zero along any line through the origin. , it has a limit of 0.5. Continuity in each argument is not sufficient for multivariate continuity: For instance, in the case of a real-valued function with two real-valued parameters, , continuity of in for fixed and continuity of does not imply continuity of . It is easy to check that all real-valued functions (with one real-valued argument) that are given by are continuous in (for any fixed ). are continuous as is symmetric with regards to and . itself is not continuous as can be seen by considering the sequence if

Experiment Even very young children perform rudimentary experiments in order to learn about the world. An experiment is an orderly procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Controlled experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. Controlled experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results. There also exist natural experimental studies. A child may carry out basic experiments to understand the nature of gravity, while teams of scientists may take years of systematic investigation to advance the understanding of a phenomenon. Overview[edit] In the scientific method, an experiment is an empirical method that arbitrates between competing models or hypotheses.[1][2] Experimentation is also used to test existing theories or new hypotheses in order to support them or disprove them.[3][4]

Hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research.[1] The adjective hypothetical, meaning "having the nature of a hypothesis", or "being assumed to exist as an immediate consequence of a hypothesis", can refer to any of these meanings of the term "hypothesis". Uses[edit] In Plato's Meno (86e–87b), Socrates dissects virtue with a method used by mathematicians,[2] that of "investigating from a hypothesis Scientific hypothesis[edit] Working hypothesis[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit]

Cognitive map Overview[edit] Cognitive maps serve the construction and accumulation of spatial knowledge, allowing the "mind's eye" to visualize images in order to reduce cognitive load, enhance recall and learning of information. This type of spatial thinking can also be used as a metaphor for non-spatial tasks, where people performing non-spatial tasks involving memory and imaging use spatial knowledge to aid in processing the task.[6] The neural correlates of a cognitive map have been speculated to be the place cell system in the hippocampus[7] and the recently discovered grid cells in the entorhinal cortex.[8] Neurological basis[edit] Cognitive mapping is believed to largely be a function of the hippocampus. Numerous studies by O'Keefe have implicated the involvement of place cells. Parallel map theory[edit] Generation[edit] The cognitive map is generated from a number of sources, both from the visual system and elsewhere. History[edit] The idea of a cognitive map was first developed by Edward C.