| A | B |
|---|
| data | information in the form of measurements |
| scalar | a value without a direction |
| vector | a value with a direction |
| hypothesis | a proposed explanation before experimentation has taken place, low level of certainty |
| dependent variable | variable value determined by the independent variable |
| independent variable | variable value set by the experimenter |
| causation | If "A" happens, then "B" will happen. |
| correlation | Two variables that change together, either in the same or opposite ways. One may or may not cause the other. |
| theory | A useful explanation of past events and predictor of future events. Fairly high level of certainty. |
| natural law | Statement of highest level of certainty, having no exceptions. |
| kinematics | branch of physics describing motion without concern of causes |
| dynamics | branch of physics explaining motion and its causes |
| statics | branch of physics dealing with structures and materials |
| Thales | ancient Greek who proposed an origin of the Earth without invoking supernatural beings |
| Aristotle | ancient Greek who proposed a fifth element for the heavens and laid the basis for much of scientific thought for the next 2000 years |
| Claudius Ptolemy | Roman astronomer with a model of the solar system that was accepted for 1500 years |
| Johann Gutenberg | German whose invention of movable type touched off a new information age |
| Peter Abelard | founder of the University of Paris |
| Erasmus of Rotterdam | Christian humanist and proponent of the "universal man" or Renaissance man |
| Nicolaus Copernicus | Polish cleric who proposed a Heliocentric Solar System model |
| Galileo Galilei | Italian who relied on experimentation and is considered the Father of Kinematics |
| impetus | discredited ancient concept that explained motion in terms of a quantity of this being given to an object by a "mover" |
| inertia | an object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion, unless acted on by an outside force |
| natural position | discredited ancient concept that explained by objects came to rest where they did, floated, etc. |
| Johannes Kepler | formulated the three laws of planetary motion |
| Isaac Newton | Englishman who formulated the three laws of motion (the "Father of Dynamics"), the law of universal gravitation, explain the nature of light, invented the reflecting telescope, and invented calculus |
| Michelson-Morley Experiment | instead of confirming the lumeniferous aether, this experiment set the stage for "special relativity" |
| Albert Einstein | Won Nobel Prize for explanation of photoelectric effect, but is better know for theory of relativity |
| Edwin Hubble | discovers that the Milky Way is just one galaxy of billions in the universe |
