Scientific Inquiry & SkillsScientists develop explanations using

observations as evidence.

Scientific inquiry involves the following:• Questioning• Observing and inferring• Experimenting• Collecting and organizing data• Finding evidence and drawing

conclusions• Repeating the experiment several

times• Peer review

• Observations are things or events that are made using any of the senses or tools, such as thermometers, graduated cylinders, balances, or rulers. As the technology of the tools used by scientists improve, so does the range and accuracy of their observations.

• Conclusions or deductions based on observations are inferences. Example: you may infer that a slug that remains motionless for several hours is dead.

• A good experiment keeps assumptions to a minimum. An assumption is the belief that something is true. Ideas people have that may or may not have any basis in fact are opinions. Opinions are often biased, or influenced by an assumption that may or may not be correct. Opinions should be left out of data collection and analysis.

Inquiry Skills and Understandings• Scientific literacy involves

applying critical thinking skills to everyday life, particularly to claims related to health, technology, and advertising.

Example: An advertiser claims that its company has developed a product that allows hair to grow when placed on the scalp. You want to know if the information being presented to you can be believed.

1. Inquiry involves asking questions, and locating, interpreting, and processing information from a variety of sources.

You should begin your research by thinking about the following questions:

• How many people were tested?• What is in the product?• How long do you have to use it to get results?• Does it have any side effects?

Once you have accumulated some information, you may ask more questions:

• What caused the baldness or hair loss?• Was the cream tested scientifically with careful

experimental techniques and design?

2. Inquiry involves making judgments about the reliability of the source and relevance of

information:Scientific explanation are accepted when they are consistent with

experimental and observational evidence.

When evaluating evidence and making decisions, keep the following in mind:

• All scientific explanations are tentative. They can be changed or updated as new evidence emerges.

• Each new bit of evidence can create more questions than it answers.

• Good scientific explanations can be used to make accurate predictions about natural phenomena.

• Scientific inquiry involves the testing of proposed explanations using conventional techniques and procedures.

3. Answers can be found through a research plan and hypothesis testing.

• A research plan involves finding background information, developing a hypothesis, and devising an experimental process for testing a hypothesis.

• Scientists sometimes use the “Scientific Method” to help solve problems. (SIFERS)

1. State the problem2. Investigate & research3. Form a hypothesis4. Experiment5. Record results & Analysis6. State the Conclusion

• A good hypothesis predicts the relationship between cause and effect in a way that can be tested. Experiments cannot prove a hypothesis; they can only either support the hypothesis or fail to support it.

• Typically hypotheses are written as “if-then” statements.

Example: If this hormone is applied to plant leaves, then the plant will grow faster. Most hypotheses would make sense if the words “I think that” were added to the beginning of the statement.

Designing an Experiment

• An experiment is a series of trials or tests that are done to support or refute (disprove) a hypothesis.

• Let’s say that you suspect that applying the chemical IAA ( a growth hormone) to plant leaves will increase the growth rate of the plant. Your hypothesis might read as follows:If IAA is applied to the leaves of plants, then the plants will grow more rapidly, than those that do not have IAA applied to their leaves.

• What is it that you will measure? In the above experiment, you will measure the effect of IAA on plants. What you will measure is called the dependent variable, since it depends on what you do to the plants. You will need to measure how large the plants are at the beginning as well as at regular intervals until the conclusion of the experiment.Variable – factor being tested

• Factors that might influence the dependent variable are Independent variables. This is the variable the investigation manipulates. If you are investigating the effect of IAA’s being applied to the leaves, you must decide on the concentration of IAA and how often it will be applied.

“Effect”

Only

one

“Cause

”

“I” change

Depends on the experiment

• How will you control the independent variables that might affect your interpretation of the results?

• A control is an established reference point used as a standard of comparison. In this case, you should start with plants that are of the same kind and are about the same age and size. All of the plants should be healthy, grown in the same kind of soil, and provided with same amount of water and light. A controlled experiment is one in which the possible variables have been carefully considered and regulated so the results are due only to the independent variable you are testing.

• When designing an experiment, large sample sizes with repeated trials provide much more accurate information, and there is less probability of error due to chance.

Collecting and Organizing DataIn science, data generally refers to the results of trials, or tests, completed during experiments. Data can be organized into diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, equations, and matrices. When constructing a data table, keep the following in mind:

• Title the table in a way that relates the independent variable to the dependent variable.

• Column headings include the dependent & independent variables.• Column headings need to indicate units of measurement.• The independent variable is typically recorded in increasing order.• The dependent variable is recorded to correspond with the independent

variable.

The next step is to construct a graph that allows you to see trends or patterns in your mathematical data. There are four basic types of graphs:

• Pie or circle graph• Bar graph• Histogram• Line graph

• Rule 1: The dependent variable is plotted on the vertical, or y-axis. Remember that the dependent variable is what you find out as a result of doing the experiment. It is what you measure during the experiment.

• Rule 2: The independent variable is plotted on the horizontal, or x-axis. This is the factor you varied to find its effect on the test organisms or situation.

• Rule 3: The spacing between the numbers on both axes must be in equal increments.

Drawing Valid Conclusions• After carefully considering how well the predicted result

and the actual result of the experiment correspond, a decision about the outcome, a conclusion, can be made. A scientist needs to determine whether the hypothesis has been supported. Once a significant pattern or relationship has been discovered as a result of data analysis, a scientist next tries to explain why these results were obtained.

• A model can often be used to explain the results of an experiment. A good experiment is one that can be repeated with the same results. Scientists report their findings in scientific journals or during presentations at professional meetings.

A peer review, in which several scientists examine the details of an experiment, is an important part of the scientific process. Scientific claims should be questioned if:

• The data are based on samples that are very small, biased, or inadequately controlled.

• The conclusions are based on the faulty, incomplete, or misleading use of numbers.