1. Scientific Method What is the Scientific Method?
The Scientific Method: 6 steps to experimentation.
The Scientific Method: procedures involving observation and identification of a problem, formulation and testing of a hypothesis, data collection through experimentation and analysis and communication of results. (Was the hypothesis accepted or rejected?)
What is the Scientific Method?

2. Step 1 (red) Identify problem & Ask Question
Purpose: What interests you or what do you want to find out?
Question: Put your topic into a question that will be answered by research. This is also called “writing a problem”.

3. Step 1 (continued) State the problem as an open ended question.
You should NOT be able to answer with a “yes” or “no”.
This is the first step to designing an experiment.
How do you write the Problem?

4. Step 2 Research (orange)
What do you already know about the topic? Do you need to find more info?
Can be based on research, the results of a previous experiment, or observations of the world around you.
Qualitative – Using your senses to make an appropriate description of an object. Qualitative observations are general in nature.
Quantitative – Observations involving the measurement of quantity or an amount. Specific in nature.
Research
Observations

5. Step 3
Form a Hypotheses
Answer your problem or question, by writing a hypothesis. Make an educated guess.
A hypothesis is an idea than can and must be tested.
A hypothesis does NOT have to be right.

6. Step 3 continued Form a hypothesis Must be written in if… then… format
Where “if” is the IV or cause and “then” is the effect (response)
If I study more, then I will earn better grades.

7. Step 4 Experiment An actual experiment that you will conduct.
Contain step-by-step procedures using verbs.
Gather info and test hypothesis.

8. Step 4 continued What materials do you need? Develop a procedure
Written in short, easy to follow steps.
Have steps that begin with verbs.
Be clear and detailed enough so someone can reproduce your study. (like a recipe!)
Develop a procedure

9. Step 4 continued Variables
Independent Variable – the manipulated (changed) variable in an experiment that determined the effect on something else. (cause)
Dependent Variable – Measured or observed variable(s) in experiments in which changes are always in response to the independent variable. (effect)
Control Variable – the variable(s) that remains the same (constant) in an experiment.
Variables

10. Step 5 Analysis This is the data that you have collected.
Displayed in a graph, table, picture, or combo of many.

11. Step 6 Conclusion Written in paragraph form.
Answer the original question.
Was hypothesis accepted or rejected? Why or why not? Explain.
Don’t worry about negative or unexpected results.
Evaluate your data and communicate results.
What would you do differently?
Conclusion

12. Your assignment
You will write a descriptive process analysis paragraph about a question or problem you solved (unknowingly) using the Scientific Method.
You must identify each step of the Scientific Method somehow. You can color code by underlining the sentences that go with each step. You can indicate in the margins where each step begins. Be creative.

13. State problem or Ask a question
Which cupcake will I like the best?
Red Velvet
Vanilla
Carrot
Must be open ended, Which, How, Why! Not Do or Does. Must be testable, can’t be answered Yes or No.

14. Research Background knowledge What do you already know?
I love cake and I love chocolate. Vanilla tends to be bland to me. I am pretty picky when it comes to Carrot Cake.
However, the Red Velvet and Carrot have Cream Cheese frosting and the Vanilla has Buttercream frosting. I love Cream Cheese frosting.

15. Hypothesis A Hypothesis does not need to be correct!
Use prior knowledge to make an educated guess.
If I try these cupcakes, then the Red Velvet will be the best one.

16. Experiment Try the cupcakes (test your hypothesis)
Remember this is just a descriptive piece of writing about you using the scientific method to form a conclusion about something. There aren’t necessarily procedures and variables that need to be discussed.

17. Analysis/Results Conclusion
Data: Carrot was the best, then Red Velvet and last was Vanilla.
Conclusion
Was hypothesis correct? Why or why not? Did anything weird happen during the experiment?