SCIENTIFIC METHOD

STATE THE PROBLEM

A specific statement that is testable.

You will write this in a question format.

Example: How does the amount of sunlight affect the height of new plants?

BACKGROUND RESEARCH What do we know? What do we want to know? What is already done? Books, magazines, newspapers,

internet

STATE THE HYPOTHESIS

An explanation for a scientific problem that can be tested further by investigation.

If-Then statements used Ex: If a plant receives a limited

amount of light, then it will not grow much.

PERFORM AN EXPERIMENT

Detailed, step-by-step set of instructions

Should be written so it can be recreated by anyone who follows the steps.

Assume the reader knows nothing

ANALYZE DATA Clear, meaningful graphs or charts

should be used to display what you observed.

Graphs/Charts are a must to represent data

STATE THE CONCLUSION

Statement that addresses whether your hypothesis was correct or incorrect with data to support the findings of the study.

SHARE RESULTS

Provides others the opportunity to check your results

VARIABLES

1. Control variable (also called a constant): What will you keep the same throughout the investigation?

What was kept constant in the study of Turgor Pressure?

VARIABLES 2. Independent Variable: What did

you change in order to test your hypothesis? Ask yourself, “What did I change?”

What was changed in the Turgor Pressure experiment?

VARIABLES

3. Dependent Variable: What did your independent variable affect? Ask yourself, “What did I observe after I changed the independent variable?”

What was the dependent variable in the Turgor Pressure study?

VARIABLES

Control:

Independent:

Dependent:

A. The effected variable due to the changes you have made

B. The things that you keep the same for the duration of the experiment

C. The one thing you change for your experiment

VARIABLES

Control:

Independent:

Dependent:

A. The effected variable due to the changes you have made

B. The things that you keep the same for the duration of the experiment

C. The one thing you change for your experiment