Warm -up• Suppose you want to test which

brand of floor cleaner is the best.1. What materials would you need?

2. What procedure would you follow?

3. How would you determine which cleaner produced the best results?

1-2 Scientific Method

• Describe the steps of the scientific method.• Apply the steps of the scientific method to

real world scenarios.

Scientific Method

• A series of steps that scientists use answer questions and solve problems

• A logical, organized way to solve problems.

Steps of Scientific Method

• State the problem – Ask questions• Gather information• Form a Hypothesis • Perform experiment and collect data • Analyze/Interpret data • Draw a conclusion

Scientific Method

• SIX• GREAT• FARMERS• PLANT• ALL• DAY

Six: State the Problem

• The scientist identifies the question or subject that he/she wishes to study– Clear, specific & defined

Great: Gather Information

• The scientist researches the subject that he/she is studying. – Places to do research:

library, internet, encyclopedia, television, etc.

Farmers: Form Hypothesis

• Prediction about the outcome of an experiment

• Proposed answer to the question

• Usually has the words “If... Then” – IF I eat too much, THEN I

will get sick

Plant: Perform Experiment

• Scientists develop a way to test their hypothesis

• Manipulated Variable: part of the experiment that can be changed or controlled

• Responding Variable: What is measured in the experiment

• Controlled Variable: part of the experiment that remain unchanged

All: Analyze Data

• Scientists compile data into charts and graphs

• This helps make sense of the information taken from the experiment

Day: Draw Conclusions

• Scientist decides whether the original hypothesis was correct.– If the answer is “YES” then

you are done– If the answer is “NO” then a

new hypothesis is made and you repeat the experiment

Law vs. Theory

Law – a rule of nature

Answers the question “what?”

Examples: Law of Attraction and Repulsion, Law of Universal Gravitation

Theory – An explanation based on repeated experimentation and observation.

Answers the question “why”

Examples: Theory of Evolution, Atomic Theory

Law vs. Theory

• Theories do not become laws!!! What doesn’t replace why!

• A theory represents everything currently known about a topic.

• Everything known supports the theory. If anything is discovered that disproves the theory, the theory is dismissed or adapted to suit the new information.

• A theory is “worth” much more than a “fact”!

Conclusion

• What is the purpose of the scientific method?

• How does a scientific law differ from a scientific theory?