Subject Specific Vocabulary

What is considered an accurate measurement result in science?

• A result that is easy to obtain

• A result that is judged to be close to the true value

• A result that is different from the true value

• A result that is obtained quickly

What does calibration involve in the context of scientific measurements?

• Estimating the cost of a measuring instrument

• Marking a scale on a measuring instrument

• Repairing a broken measuring instrument

• Cleaning the measuring instrument

What is the purpose of calibrating a measuring instrument?

• To make it look more appealing

• To establish a relationship between the instrument's indications and standard values

• To increase the weight of the measuring instrument

• To decrease the size of the measuring instrument

What type of information is described as data in scientific investigations?

• Only qualitative information

• Only quantitative information

• Information that has been lost

• Information, either qualitative or quantitative, that has been collected

What is measurement error?

• The error when a measurement system fails to return to zero

• The difference between a measured value and the true value

• A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

• Data which has been shown to be valid

What is an example of random error?

• The needle on an ammeter failing to return to zero when no current flows

• A set of 11 readings equally spaced over a distance of 1 metre

• Readings spread about the true value due to results varying in an unpredictable way from one measurement to the next

• Only the independent variable affecting the dependent variable in a test

What is systematic error?

• A false reading when the true value of a measured quantity is zero

• Readings that differ from the true value by a consistent amount each time a measurement is made

• A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

• Data which has been shown to be valid

What is zero error?

• The difference between a measured value and the true value

• A consistent error that occurs every time a measurement is made

• An indication that a measuring system gives a false reading when the true value of a measured quantity is zero

• A valid set of data

What does evidence refer to in a scientific context?

• A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

• The quantity between readings

• Data which has been shown to be valid

• The difference between a measured value and the true value

What is a fair test?

• A test where the dependent variable affects the independent variable

• A test where the results are spread about the true value

• A test where only the independent variable has been allowed to affect the dependent variable

• A test where systematic errors are present