Scientific Investigations and Reporting

Module 1: Scientific Investigations

• Universe began 13.7 billion years ago
• Scientific investigation involves planning, conducting, processing, and evaluating a course of action to collect data and reach conclusions
• Planning involves identifying and analyzing problems, forming hypotheses and predictions, identifying variables, planning the design and procedure
• Types of investigations include surveys, experimental investigations, and descriptive investigations
• Conducting involves performing the experiment, observing, measuring, and recording data
• Processing involves using scientific knowledge to explain patterns, trends, and relationships in data, organizing data, calculating, and constructing graphs
• Evaluating involves evaluating the experiment's design and techniques, evaluating findings in relation to the question or hypothesis

Module 2: Writing a Scientific Report

• Scientific reports often use the IMRAD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion)
• Report titles should be concise and precise
• Abstracts should state objectives, describe methods, summarize key results, and state major conclusions and significance
• The introduction should describe the problem, summarize relevant research, provide background, and state the hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a prediction of the expected results based on the cause-and-effect relationship
• Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the true value
• Precision refers to how close repeated measurements are to each other

Module 2: Errors in Measurement

• Systematic errors are consistent problems with instruments, techniques, or operators

• Random errors are unpredictable variations due to factors like instrument quality or operator skill

• Validity is the extent to which a measurement accurately reflects the true value and reliability refers to the consistency of the measurement

Module 2: Ethics in Experiments

• Experiments should follow ethical guidelines to protect participants, animals, or investigators from harm
• Safety and ethical considerations, especially when involving human subjects or animals, must be carefully considered

Module 3: Energy

• Energy is the capacity to do work
• Types of energy include heat, light, motion, electrical, chemical, potential, kinetic, and gravitational energy
• The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another
• Carbohydrates consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and are formed easily in plants during photosynthesis
• Respiration in plants and animals breaks down carbohydrates and releases carbon dioxide as a by-product

Module 3: Energy (cont.)

• Kinetic energy is the energy of motion
• Potential energy is stored energy due to position or configuration
• Elastic potential energy is stored in elastic materials due to stretching or compressing

Module 4: Forces

• Forces can be described as pushes or pulls
• Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
• Friction is a contact force that acts in the opposite direction to motion
• Air resistance is friction between an object and the air around it

Module 4: Forces (cont.)

• Inertia is the resistance of an object to changes in its motion

Module 5: Data Analysis

• Mode is the most frequent number in a data set, unaffected by outliers
• Median is the middle value when data is ordered, unaffected by outliers
• Mean is the average of all values, affected by outliers
• Range is the difference between the highest and lowest values

Module 5: Data Analysis (cont.)

• Experimental errors can include random errors (less predictable) due to variation in skill or instrument quality and systematic errors (consistent, predictable issues) associated with the measuring instruments or techniques

Module 6: Microscopes

• Microscopes are used to magnify specimens, enabling observation of small objects
• Different types (e.g., simple, compound, stereo, electron) have varying capabilities for magnification and viewing specimens

Module 6: Microscopes (cont.)

• Objective lens magnification combined with the eyepiece lens magnification determines the total magnification of the microscope
• Proper preparation and staining of specimens improve visibility and preservation during microscopic examination

Module 7: Scientific Notation

• Scientific notation expresses large or small numbers in a concise way using scientific notation using 10 as a base with exponents

Module 7: Significant Figures

• Non-zero digits are always significant
• Zeros between significant digits are significant
• Trailing zeros in the decimal portion are significant

This quiz explores the fundamental concepts of scientific investigations, including the processes of planning, conducting, processing, and evaluating experiments. Additionally, it covers the structure of writing a scientific report using the IMRAD format. Test your knowledge on the components of scientific research and reporting.