Scientific Method
• The scientific method is an organized plan for gathering, organizing, and communicating information.
• The goal of any scientific method is to solve a problem or to better understand an observed event.
Observation
• 1. Observation – is information you obtain with your senses.
• What do you see?
• What do you hear?
• What do you smell?
• What do you feel?
• What do you taste?
observation
What you see
• The most direct way to gain knowledge about something in nature is to observe it.
• Your ability to observe can be extended by using tools such as microscopes, telescopes, thermometers, and rulers.
What you smell
• Many times scientists can identify the presence of a chemical, bacteria, or plant by its scent.
Can you identify the smell in the containers?
Good Smells
Touch and Feel
Texture –rough or smooth
Taste• Determining concentration through taste
What do you hear?
• Scientist record sounds of animals to determine how species communicate with each other.
• Sounds
Making a Question
• After evaluating your observations, ask a question. What do you want to find out? State the problem as a question. Make the question as specific as possible.
• Step_One__Ask_a_Question
Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a proposed answer to the question you formulated.
• A hypothesis is an educated guess at the possible answer to the question.
• What do you think is the cause of the problem you are studying? State a logical answer to your question. This answer, which is your hypothesis, should give one possible explanation for the cause.Step_Two__Form_a_Hypothesis
Hypothesize
Planned Experiment
• Scientist perform experiments to test their hypothesis.• An experiment must be accurate and précised in order
to be reproducible. • Accuracy – the closeness of a measurement to the true
value of what is measured.• Precision – is a gauge of how exact a measurement is.
In other words, to you get the same results each time or are the measurement values very close each time you measure.
Plan Your Experiment
• The goal of an experiment is to test your hypothesis. What is the variable? What will be the control? Write a clear step-by-step procedure so that another person can repeat the same process
Components of an Experiment
• Variable – in an experiment any factor that can change is called a variable.
• Manipulated Variable – the variable that causes a change in another.
• Responding Variable – the variable that changes in response to the manipulated variable.
• Control Experiment – has two test groups- the control group and the experimental group. The control group is the standard by which any change can be measured.
Vocabulary
• Constant – The factors that are kept the same.
• Variable – The factor that is changed by the person doing the experiment
• Investigative tools
Researching an Experiment
• List the materials necessary to conduct the experiment
• Design the steps and procedures for the experiment.
• Design how data will be collected.
Analyze Data
• Evaluate – Do you see any trends or patterns in the data? Do the data support your hypothesis or prediction? Do you need more information?
Step_Four__Analyze_the_Results_of_the_Experiment
Drawing a Conclusion
• State your conclusion based on your data. Your data should either support your conclusion or lead you to another hypothesis. Have any new questions or problems come up?
• .
Step_Five__Draw_a_Conclusion
Chart
Presentation of Data
• Information obtain from observation can be presented in a variety of forms to make it easier for the viewer to obtain facts quickly.
• Graphs and charts present are some ways to organize and present data.
Review
• The_Five_Steps_of_the_Scientific_Method