Flashcards on Scientific Reasoning: Correlation and Causation
Scientific Reasoning: Understanding Correlation and Causation
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Scientific Conclusions and Causation
9 cards
Card 1
Question: What must your conclusion be limited to when drawing conclusions from data?
Answer: You can only conclude what the data shows and no more — the conclusion must match the data and not go beyond it.
Card 2
Question: Given this table of reaction rates: Catalyst A 13.5, Catalyst B 19.5, No catalyst 5.5 — what conclusion can you draw?
Answer: Catalyst B makes this reaction go faster than catalyst A (19.5 vs 13.5 cm²/s).
Card 3
Question: How should you use your results when writing a conclusion?
Answer: Use specific data to justify the conclusion (e.g., the reaction rate was 6.0 cm²/s faster with catalyst B than with catalyst A).
Card 4
Question: How should a conclusion relate to the original hypothesis?
Answer: Refer back to the hypothesis and state whether the data supports it (e.g., if the hypothesis was that B is faster than A, the data supports it).
Card 5
Question: Why does correlation not necessarily mean causation?
Answer: Because a correlation can arise by chance, be caused by a third variable linking the two, or be a true cause — you must rule out other variables befor
Card 6
Question: What is one reason a correlation might appear even though there's no causal link?
Answer: Chance — the correlation could be a fluke and not reproducible by other studies.
Card 7
Question: Give an example of two variables linked by a third variable rather than a causal relationship.
Answer: Water temperature and shark attacks are correlated because a third variable (number of people swimming) increases when water is warmer, raising the ch
Card 8
Question: When can you conclude that one variable causes a change in another?
Answer: Only when you've controlled all other variables that could affect the result and shown they do not explain the relationship.
Card 9
Question: Provide an example from the text where correlation was established as causation after controlling other variables.
Answer: Smoking and lung cancer: chemicals in tobacco smoke were concluded to cause lung cancer after other variables (like age and other exposures) were cont