Everything You Need to Ace Chemistry in One Big Fat Notebook by Jennifer Swanson

Background research involves reviewing the findings
of past scientists to create a HYPOTHESIS, a possible
explanation for an observation or problem. Scientists test
their hypotheses by making OBSERVATIONS and comparing
them to their PREDICTIONS, guesses of what might happen
based on previous observations. Observations can require
using the senses-the way something looks, smells, feels,
or sounds-to describe an event. Observations can be
QUANTITATIVE, made in the form of measurements.
They can also be QUALITATIVE,
describing color, odor, shape,
or some OTHER PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTIC. The findings
of a scientific inquiry are called
RESULTS.
A measurement
must have both
a number and a unit:
for example, 6 inches.
Scientific Inquiry
• answers multiple questions
• no fixed order of steps
Scientific Method
• answers one question
• a step-by-step process done
in the same order each time
• results must be
communicated
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