Questions tagged [science]
The use of English in science.
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Quotation mark use (one word) in software engineering paper
I'm currently researching the origins of a well known software engineering model - the waterfall model. The paper most cited for the model didn't invent the model, but rather said that it doesnt work ...
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Is Einstein's geodesic a metaphor or an idiom? [closed]
Is Einstein's geodesic a metaphor or an idiom?
I am applying semantic theory to physical theory to bridge the two realities and have found the discussion on metaphor and odium illuminates this purpose....
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does this sentence have too many commas?
I am currently writing my first paper in the field of computer science and having written the following sentence I wondered if there would be any missing commas
"Then after a method has been ...
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Opposite of invariant
I look for the opposite of "invariant" in the context of scientific language.
If you look at this example sentence:
[...] Although it is translationally and rotationally invariant,
it is ...
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Computational complexity: how to express what the function depends on?
In computer science, algorithms are often characterized by their computational complexity — for example, a primitive sorting algorithm’s complexity may be O(n2) where n is the size of the input list. ...
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Use of "paper" / "study" / ... in scientific publications
In my research paper I used the phrase "this paper" to refer to the one I am writing and sometimes I write "the [other] paper" to refer to some other paper. The editor replaced &...
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an atom vs the atom [duplicate]
In Britannica's Atom term, some general sentences about an atom use "an atom", and others "the atom", why?
Sentences with "an atom":
The behaviour of an atom is strongly ...
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manifests or manifests itself
The sentence (from University Physics book, the image of full text is attached):
The work done by nonconservative forces manifests itself as changes in the
internal energy of objects.
Can we delete ...
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Let us suppose vs Suppose [closed]
When should we use "Let us suppose", and when "Suppose" in science academic articles?
Example 1:
Suppose the electric field lines in a region of space are straight lines.
or
...
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The pronunciation of sciurine (pertaining to squirrels)
I am intrigued by the pronunciation for the adjective for squirrel, "sciurine".
In Wiktionary, the pronunciation in IPA is '/ˈsaɪjʊɹaɪn/' ('/ˈsʌɪjᵿrʌɪn/' in the OED online), which strikes me ...
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Synonym for un-scientific book by researcher
I am looking for a synonym for a kind of book/genre, that contains interesting information, but is not aimed at the scientific community, being polemical / political and not stringent enough to be ...
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abbreviations for "standard deviation" when used as an informal unit
I am looking for some advice for abbreviating "standard deviation" when it is used in an informal sense as a mathematical unit, especially with regard to financial usage. This often crops up ...
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Term to describe how much something has changed from its original configuration
Is there a term that describes how far removed or how many change steps are between two given states or configurations?
Complexity is a term to describe that something is intricate or complicated, but ...
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Word for a physicist studying mechanics?
For many fields there is a word for a person studying it. In math there is analyst for analysis, algebraist for algebra, and geometer for geometry.
Is there an equivalent word for a physicist studying ...
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What does this sentence actually mean?
I have encountered this sentence in an editing assignment
Many patients continue to have pain and limited function and require some other forms of treatment.
I was wondering if this is equivalent to ...
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2
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"-Based" vs. " Based"
I am in the process of finalizing an academic research paper and I am struggling to identify the correct hyphenation for the title:
Option 1: Adaptive Chirplet Transform-Based Machine Learning for ...
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2
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Is it redundant to say "global pandemic"? [duplicate]
It seems that the word pandemic is generally understood to refer to a large or global geographic area. Is it therefore redundant to say "global pandemic" in a sentence such as, "The ...
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Is there any single word in English to represent domain of "logic and science" together?
Is there any single word in English to represent domain of "logic and science" together?
Background
Some of my friends are going to start an online movement whose main purpose would be ...
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Is there a word in logic, or science, that means getting the right conclusion from the wrong set of presumptions?
Is there a word in logic, or science, that means getting the right conclusion from the wrong set of presumptions? Or alternatively, something is correct, but the explanation of why is incorrect. Is ...
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Is "get stuck" a proper term in academic writing?
I am writing to inquire the usage of "get stuck" in academic writing. Here is my draft:
this design could get stuck in a bad local minima and therefore is not desired.
I use Google Scholar to ...
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Is there a word to describe a plausible but incorrect explanation? [duplicate]
I'm thinking of something where somebody (with no malicious intention) offers a very plausible and scientific-sounding explanation (not a theory but something presented as a series of facts) such that ...
user197453
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Phrases for qualitative comparison
Suppose we have find a relation between two quantities X and Y. When we say "The more Y, the more X" is it implied that the relation between Y and X is linear?
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Why does the term Petri Dishes appear so regularly in political discourse nowadays?
On three occasions on Twitter and other social media platforms, the term "Petri Dishes" appears in a non-scientific context. Is this just a recent fad? It appears to be in the lexicon of many of our ...
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Word for falsely declaring something an anomaly, when it is actually typical?
Is there a term for incorrectly distinguishing something to be not part of a common category of items, saying a sub-group is too unique to be considered to be part of the larger category, even though ...
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A better word/phrase to describe "a more..." in a scientific paper
I am writing a scientific paper on how a cancer staging system may be improved. However, I am a non-native English speaker, and I am concerned that my current title reflects that too much.
Please, ...
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Word for meaning across the solar system
Is there a single term in english that means "to cross or to traverse a solar system"?
For crossing the Atlantic we have transatlantic, to cross the continent we have transcontinental and even to ...
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Does "corroborate" in a scientific context imply confirmation rather "either confirmation or rejection" of findings from previous studies?
I am a non-native English speaker writing a scientific paper.
I have question concerning the word corroborate. In my native language, one might say that a research project aim to corroborate ...
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Should I use a hyphen in "patient tailored" vs "patient-tailored"?
Being a non-native English speaker, I was wondering which is most correct?
(1) Patient-tailored staging of xx carcinoma, or
(2) Patient tailored staging of xx carcinoma?
It is for a scientific ...
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Mathematical Jargon when choosing for determinacy
What is the usual expression a mathematician uses when he has to make a choice in order limit an over-determined structure, in order to continue his argument?
For instance, when a structure is over-...
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Are the words bathymetry and bathymetric interchangable?
In my mind these both work...
1) I performed a bathymetry survey. I gave the client the bathymetry data.
2) I performed a bathymetric survey. I gave the client the bathymetric data.
A web search ...
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How to describe factors leading to a negative event?
Being a non-native English speaker, I am looking for an appropriate verb/phrase to describe the negative event as consequence of two health factors.
My best shot is "precipitate"; however, I am ...
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Can a model or hypothesis "assume?"
The model assumes such and such.
The hypothesis assumes such and such.
In scientific writing, I commonly see similar phrases indicating the construction or use of a model with an assumption. It is so ...
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What does "has been described in other work" mean in this sentence? [closed]
I'm currently reading a book about chemistry. Here is a sentence that I faced and didn't understand:
This procedure has been described in other work from our laboratory
I don't get what it ...
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Did the meaning of "significant" change in the 20th century?
In Do We Really Need the S-word? in 'American Scientist', the author Megan D. Higgs writes
Did the people who introduced the word’s use in statistics intend for it to be interpreted according to ...
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How to avoid overusing 'the' in objective writing
I'm writing an experimental process description and I feel like i'm overusing 'the'.
The plastic tube leading out the bottom of the Vayyar equipment (again the tube on the left) is fed through ...
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Word for an object involved in a collision?
I want a word that is used to mean an object involved in a collision, for example, say two tennis balls collide - ball 1 and ball 2 - what would be a word that could describe either ball, only in the ...
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Should I use the formula or the name of the chemical in a sentence?
In a scientific paper, when quoting a chemical, is it more appropriate to write its formula or its name?
For example:
Ion exchange removed nitrate ions from solution.
Or:
Ion exchange removed ...
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When should antibody/antigen be pluralised?
I am doing my thesis corrections, and my examiner (an engineer) has different ideas about whether the word should be pluralised than those I am used to, as I am a non-biochemist, I wanted advice on ...
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"This/That is, " used at the beginning of a sentence to clarify a concept from the previous sentence
According to an English native speaker who works with me, the "This is" bit in the following sentence should be replaced by "That is":
In fact, the feature space need not be unique. This is, for a ...
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What is the meaning of the following sentence: [closed]
But why would a strong, inheritable trait that cuts fitness by half not be selected against?
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An alternative for genetive case with of in scientific writing
I am writing a scientific paper and have a following dillema between two sentences:
Therefore, it is reasonable to analyze the effect of the mutual
coupling in the proposed application.
vs.
...
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Electricity withdrawal
We commonly say "electricity consumption" for both :
the electric energy actually consumed by appliances
the electric energy drawn from the grid by a house, measured by a meter (what appears on your ...
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How to abbreviate "section" and "sections" in scientific writing
What are the correct abbreviation of words "section" and "sections" in a scientific writing?
Sec. and Secs.
or
Sect. and Sects.
?
user247864
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Scientific way to describe "over linear growth"
I am aware that typically we use "linear" growth or "exponential" growth to describe certain trending, which seems very standard and scientific.
But on the other hand, what is a proper and scientific ...
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Single word to replace "allowed to be missing"
I want to express my knowledge about the presence of absence of something. My knowledge is divided into three different cases:
I know that the thing doesn't exist.
I don't know whether the thing ...
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"The number of steps is infinite" or "The number of steps is infinity"? [closed]
In a mathematical paper about random-walks. Which is more correct: "The number of steps in the random-walk is infinite" or "The number of steps in the random-walk is infinity"?
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Temperatures, plural, range
I'd like to describe measured temperature readings from a list, say 184, 185, 181, 187, as "Oil sump temperatures measured in the 180s°F during the start of the test." but I'm not sure if this is ...
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When was "off-world" / "offworld" coined?
"Offworld" meaning "not on the main, current planet" is a term in some sci-fi works, and several works have been named using it, like "Offworld Trading Company" (a video game).
The word definitely ...
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Translating a scientific paper from American to British
Over the last few years I have translated into English a fair amount of scientific papers for a Mexican scientist. Throughout this time, I noticed that by far the most common style requirement was ...
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What is the correct usage of the tilde symbol with negative numbers? [closed]
The tilde symbol (~) is used in academic texts in place of about or approximately.
Generally, it is placed immediately before the number (eg. AUD ~2.4 million), which works for positive numbers, ...
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