THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Science is the human effort to understand the natural world and

how it works, with observable physical evidence as the basis of

that understanding.

Vanessa Jason Biology Roots

WHAT IS SCIENCE?

1. STUDIES THE NATURAL WORLD.

2. DISCOVERS NATURE'S "RULES" ABOUT HOW THINGS

WORK.

3. DISCOVERS KNOWLEDGE.

Science excludes the

supernatural- events or

things that cannot be

explained by nature.

What do you mean we’re not science?

Haven’t you seen our movies???

SCIENCE IS…

• Practical

• Based on observation

• An intellectual pursuit

• Systematic

Sounds difficult, right? It isn’t!

Science isn't mysterious or

unattainable. The scientific

method is really no different than

science itself.

THE POWER OF OBSERVATION

SCIENCE BEGINS WITH OBSERVATION.

HOW OBSERVANT ARE YOU?

ON A TRAFFIC LIGHT, IS THE GREEN LIGHT FOUND ON THE TOP,

MIDDLE OR BOTTOM?

WHICH HAND DOES LADY LIBERTY (THE STATUE OF

LIBERTY) CARRY THE TORCH IN?

Bottom!

Her right!

WHY IS HAVING A METHODICAL APPROACH TO SCIENCE USEFUL?

WHY BOTHER WITH THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD?

Using a consistent, methodical approach to solving a

problem leads to the most accurate results with the

least mistakes!

The scientific method is something all of us use all of

the time -- being curious, asking questions, seeking

answers – these are basic parts of the scientific

method.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IS ALL AROUND US

• FIXING A FLASHLIGHT

• FIXING YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

• TRYING A NEW RECIPE FOR THE FIRST TIME

How are we

going to solve

this one, Bones?

Using the scientific

method, as we always

do, each and every

episode.

INFERENCE, HYPOTHESIS, PREDICTION

AN INFERENCE IS A LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR SOMETHING BASED

ON PRIOR EXPERIENCES OR KNOWLEDGE.

EXAMPLE- GRAY SKIES MEAN RAIN; SORE THROATS LEAD TO THE

FLU

A HYPOTHESIS IS A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION- IT MUST BE TESTABLE!

EXAMPLE) EXERCISING WILL HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT.

PREDICTION- A PREDICTION IS BASED ON YOUR HYPOTHESIS.

SET UP YOUR PREDICTION AS AN “IF, THEN” STATEMENT.

EXAMPLE) IF I RUN 2 MILES 5X A WEEK FOR

6 WEEKS, THEN I WILL LOSE WEIGHT.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IS A SERIES OF STEPS IN

WHICH A QUESTION AND/OR PROBLEM IS

INVESTIGATED BY OBSERVING AND EXPERIMENTING.

Step 1 State the problem or pose the question.

Step 2 Collect data/gather information.

Step 3 Form a hypothesis (an explanation or

possible answer).

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

IN ORDER TO GET ACCURATE RESULTS FROM YOUR EXPERIMENT, IT

MUST INCLUDE TWO VARIABLES AND A CONTROL GROUP:

INDEPENDENT (MANIPULATED) VARIABLE: WHAT IS CHANGED

DURING THE EXPERIMENT.

DEPENDENT (RESPONDING) VARIABLE: WHAT YOU MEASURE

DURING THE EXPERIMENT.

CONTROL GROUP- A GROUP THAT IS NOT EXPERIMENTED ON;

Step 4Test your hypothesis.

Experiment!

INDEPENDENT VS. DEPENDENT VARIABLES

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (OR MANIPULATED VARIABLE)- IS

WHAT IS CHANGED.

THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE (OR RESPONDING VARIABLE) IS

WHAT YOU ARE MEASURING-

THE CONTROL GROUP IS WHAT YOU LEFT ALONE.

Example- A new mosquito repellent is tested before it hits the

market. One arm is sprayed, the other arm is NOT sprayed.

After 6 hours, mosquito bites are counted.

In this case it is adding the mosquito repellent to

your skin.

the number of mosquito bites.

The control group in this example is the arm that is NOT

sprayed.

A question might look like this:

How does __________________ effect _________________

(independent variable) (responding or dependent)

Independent vs. Dependent Variables

mosquito repellent # of mosquito bites

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP

THERE ARE TWO GROUPS IN AN EXPERIMENT: THE CONTROL GROUP

AND THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP.

THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP SHOWS THE EFFECT OF THE VARIABLE THAT

WAS TESTED.

EXPERIMENTS SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO COMPARE THE RESULTS OF THE

EXPERIMENTAL AND THE CONTROL GROUP.

IN THE MOSQUITO REPELLENT EXAMPLE,

WHICH ARM SERVES AS THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP?

THE ARM WITH THE REPELLENT- IT IS GOING TO SHOW THE EFFECT OF

THE VARIABLE (THE REPELLENT).

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Step 5 Analyze your data.

During this step, you’ll want to organize your data by

using charts and/or graphs.

TYPES OF DATA

DATA CAN BE QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE.

QUANTITATIVE= NUMBERS (QUANTITY)

QUALITATIVE= DESCRIPTIONS (QUALITY) (EX- COLORS, HEALTH,

APPEARANCE, TEXTURE, BEHAVIOR, ETC.)

EXAMPLE) GUMMY BEAR LAB

HOW MUCH GUMMY BEARS WEIGH BEFORE AND AFTER

EXPERIMENT= QUANTITATIVE DATA

OVERALL APPEARANCE OF GUMMY BEARS BEFORE VS. AFTER

EXPERIMENT= QUALITATIVE DATA.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

WHEN DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, INCLUDE IF YOUR

HYPOTHESIS WAS ACCEPTED OR REJECTED.

-IF HYPOTHESIS IS REJECTED (UNSUPPORTED), THEN IT NEEDS

TO BE MODIFIED.

-IF THE HYPOTHESIS IS ACCEPTED (SUPPORTED), THE

EXPERIMENT IS TYPICALLY REPEATED.

Step 6 Draw conclusions. This is the written

portion of your experiment in which you

share results and make connections.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN ACTION

QUESTION: WHICH BRAND OF GUM LASTS THE LONGEST?

TRIDENT®, ORBIT®, OR ECLIPSE®?

WHICH STEPS MUST BE TAKEN BEFORE DESIGNING THE

EXPERIMENT?

-COLLECT DATA

-FORM A HYPOTHESIS

HOW WOULD YOU DESIGN THE EXPERIMENT?

WHICH STEPS FOLLOW THE EXPERIMENT?

-ANALYZE THE DATA

-DRAW CONCLUSIONS

DESIGN AN EXPERIMENT!

QUESTION: DOES FERTILIZER INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TOMATOES ON A SINGLE

TOMATO PLANT?

TIP: USE A HIGHER NUMBER OF PLANTS… WHY?

HIGHER NUMBERS GIVE MORE ACCURATE RESULTS!

Possible scenario:

25 tomato plants DO NOT

receive fertilizer.

Possible scenario:

25 tomato plants receive

fertilizer.

Should fertilizer be the same

amount?

DESIGN AN EXPERIMENT

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS SHOULD

BE THE ADDITION OF THE FERTILIZER TO THE EXPERIMENTAL

GROUP. EVERYTHING ELSE SHOULD REMAIN THE SAME.

EXAMPLES-

SAME AMOUNT OF WATER

SAME SIZE POTS

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

MODELING

SOMETIMES, CONCEPTS IN SCIENCE ARE ABSTRACT AND CAN BE

BETTER UNDERSTOOD USING MODELS. GENERALLY MODELS ARE

USED FOR VERY BIG THINGS (LIKE THE EARTH) OR VERY SMALL

THINGS (LIKE A MOLECULE).

Can you think of any other

models useful in science?

SCIENTIFIC THEORY

THEORIES ARE FORMED IF AN EXPERIMENT IS REPEATED

MANY TIMES AND OBTAINS THE SAME RESULTS.

A THEORY IS AN EXPLANATION FOR AN OCCURRENCE; IT

CAN BE CHANGED AS NEW DATA EMERGES.

EXAMPLES: THEORY OF EVOLUTION

BIG BANG THEORYScientific theories take a long time

to develop! In order for a theory to

have merit, it must be repeated

many times by many different

scientists. Have you heard of my

theory of relativity?

SCIENTIFIC LAW

A SCIENTIFIC LAW IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN TRUE

AND CORRECT NUMEROUS TIMES, AND CAN EXPLAIN WHY

SOMETHING HAPPENS.

EXAMPLES: LAW OF GRAVITY

LAW OF COSMIC EXPANSION

Typically, laws involve math

and can be proven with

numbers. Actually… I have three

laws.

THE DARK AGES

SCHOLARS SUCH AS ARISTOTLE, SOCRATES, ARCHIMEDES, PLUTO

AND HIPPOCRATES ARE JUST SOME EXAMPLES OF GREEK

PHILOSOPHERS THAT HAVE PAVED THE WAY FOR MODERN

SCIENCE.

DURING THE “DARK AGES” (CIRCA 500 TO 1100 AD), THE

KNOWLEDGE OF THESE ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS WAS DISMISSED

AS BARBARIC. THIS COINCIDED WITH THE RISE OF THE CATHOLIC

CHURCH- RELIGIOUS DOGMA GOVERNED MUCH OF WHAT

PEOPLE THOUGHT OR BELIEVED. PEOPLE WERE OFTEN PERSECUTED

IF THEY WENT OUTSIDE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT.

THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD

THE RENAISSANCE (IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE DARK AGES IN

THE 12TH CENTURY), A PERIOD OF REAWAKENING CAME.

RENAISSANCE MEANS “REBIRTH”.

THE WORKS OF ANCIENT SCHOLARS WERE REDISCOVERED,

UNIVERSITIES WERE FORMED, AND MANY EMERGING SCIENTISTS

USED THE ANCIENT GREEKS PHILOSOPHIES TO BUILD UPON THEIR

OWN (GALILEO, FRANCIS BACON).

Francis Bacon also disproved some

ancient thought as he made his own

scientific journey.

I was one of the earliest

philosophers to design a

scientific method.

THE AGE OF DISCOVERY

FOLLOWING THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD CAME THE AGE OF

DISCOVERY. WITHIN THIS TIME PERIOD, MANY WERE ABLE TO USE

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR PREDECESSORS TO ADVANCE IN

SCIENCE LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

MANY OF THESE SCIENTISTS ARE STILL FOUND IN TEXTBOOKS

TODAY, AS THEIR THEORIES AND LAWS ARE WIDELY ACCEPTED OR

KNOWN.

Robert Hooke- Cell Theory

Sir Isaac Newton

Louis Pasteur

Johannes Kepler- Calculated mathematical laws of orbit

Robert Boyle- Gas Laws

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