This is a glossary of all of the important words that are in the first Unit of CIPS. These will be important words to know and understand before the test.
Browse the glossary using this index
Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O
P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL
A |
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| The average for a set of data is calculated by adding up all of the trials and dividing by the number of trials. Average = (Trial 1 + Trial 2 + Trial 3) (Add up the number of trials) 3 (# of trials) |
B |
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| A tool for measuring the mass of an object |
| When doing an experiment, since you cannot ever measure the exact value, scientists will calculate the best value. The best value is the average of all of the trials. It is called the best value because it is the closes that a scientist can get to measuring the exact value. It is the most accurate |
| A buzzer is an electromagnet that works by alternating between current flowing through the wires creating an electromagnet and breaking the loop and loosing its magnetic ability and then starting the cycle again. |
C |
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| a characteristic property is a property that will help you to determine what kind of material an object is made of. |
| A charge is either positive or negative. Like charges repel and opposite charges attract. |
| A statement about what an experiment has proven. Based on the data you gather from an experiment you should be able to draw a conclusion about what the experiment tells you. It should be based on all of the data and only data. You should not base a conclusion on an opinion. A conclusion is usually in this form: I conclude that.... because.... After the because you state what evidence shows that your conclusion is correct. |
| These are variables that are kept the same in an experiment. All variables other than the manipulated and responding variable should be controlled in an experiment. If they aren't controlled, then the experiment is not a fair test. So if your experiment is to see how the height of a ramp affects how far a ball rolls, the variables that should be controlled are:
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D |
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| Defining characteristics are the traits or properties that make an interaction or an object what it is. Defining characteristics are the things that must happen or the properties that an object must have in order to be that object. For example, a defining characteristic of a table is that it have a flat surface on top. But it is not a defining characteristic that it have four legs because some tables don't have four legs. It has to have a flat surface on top, but it doesn't have to have a particular shape, color, height, etc. Interactions also have defining characteristics. These are the things that must happen when that interaction occurs. For example, when two magnets interact, they must either attract or repel. If one of those two things don't happen, then it is not a magnetic interaction. |
| A characteristic property of matter. Density is a measure of how tightly packed to particles of an object are. Strictly speaking it is the amount of mass in 1 cm3 of an object. |