| A | B |
| scientific method | orderly method of problem solving |
| qualitative observation | observations using words only |
| quantitative observation | observations using numbers/measurements |
| inference | explanation or conclusion based on an observation |
| hypothesis | idea or proposed solution to solve a problem; educated guess |
| experiment | way to test a hypothesis |
| variable | factors affecting the outcome; of an experiment |
| independent variable | one variable that is being changed by the experimenter |
| dependent variable | the variable that is measurement in an experiment |
| constant | variable that the same in an experiment |
| control | the experimental setup used for comparison; does not receive the independent variable being tested |
| data | information and observations |