1.1 Chapter Objectives
Learning Objectives
Our primary goal for this chapter is for you to gain an understanding of the basic elements of the scientific process—from asking questions that can be addressed by observation and experimentation to interpreting data to making evidence-based recommendations. By the end of your reading and our in-class discussion, you will be able to:
- Define the following terms:
- observation
- question
- hypothesis
- prediction
- experiment
- controlled variables
- independent variable
- dependent variable
- scientific theory
- experimental group
- control group
- conclusion
- Evaluate and write scientific questions, hypotheses, and predictions.
- Explain the distinction between hypothesis and theory.
- Evaluate a scenario to identify the independent, dependent, and control variables.
- For a controlled experiment, determine which is the experimental and which is the control group.
- Describe examples in which correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
- Describe trends or observations in a figure or table.
- Evaluate data in light of a stated hypothesis.
- Given a specific example, communicate conclusions supported by evidence.
Content on this page was originally published in The Evolution and Biology of Sex by Sehoya Cotner & Deena Wassenberg and has been expanded and updated by Katherine Furniss & Sarah Hammarlund in compliance with the original CC-BY-NC 4.0 license.
