Intro to Natural Science Mid Term Study Guide Exam Questions with Latest Update

Steps in the scientific method - ANSWER-1. Make an observation and describe it 2. Form a question 3. Make a prediction and create a hypothesis 4. Plan and conduct experiment to test hypothesis 5. Gather data and analyze results 6. Draw Conclusions What is scientific explanation - ANSWER-how or why something is the case. They are often identified with causes. What are two basic ways theories differ from hypotheses? - ANSWER-One difference is that a hypothesis can be anything from a vague hunch to a finely detailed, though speculative, account of how or why something has come to be the case where a theory may be a well-developed, well-confirmed body of explanatory material. Another difference is that a hypothesis will typically offer an explanation for a limited range of phenomena, single event, or fact, ahwere theories tend to be more general structures capable of explaining a much wider variety of phenomena. How does the claim that to sorts of events are correlated differ from the claim they are related to cause and effect? - ANSWER-A correlation is nothing more than a comparison between a pair of characteristics within a population. Correlation is seldom an all-or-nothing matter. A perfect correlation between two characteristics would require a one-to-one correspondence between changes in the two. The fact that two things are correlated does not indicate that the two are causally linked. What is the difference between a proximate and remote cause? - ANSWER-A proximate cause is an event which is closest to or immediately responsible for causing some observed result where a remote cause is when something happens later due to a proximate cause Cause and effect - ANSWER-Effects can be the result of a combination of causes, both cause and effect can be about groups rather than individuals, and effects may result from several distinct causes Causal mechanism - ANSWER-nothing more than a series of proximate causes that intervene between a remote cause and its effect. underlying processes - ANSWER-do not attempt to "fill in the gap" between cause and effect by positing intervening causes. They redescribe phenomena at a basic level.