Chapter 1 Section 2

A. Scientific Method a. An organized plan for gathering, organizing, and communicating information b. The goal of any scientific method is to solve a problem or to better understand an observed event.

B. Five steps of the Scientific Method a. Making observations i. Information that you obtain through your senses. ii. Scientific investigations often begin with observations. b. Forming a Hypothesis i. A proposed answer to a question. ii. For a hypothesis to be useful it must be testable.

c. Testing a Hypothesis i. Creating experiments to test hypotheses. ii. Manipulated Variable – A variable that causes a change in another. iii. Responding Variable – The variable that changes in response to the manipulated variable. iv. Controlled Experiment – An experiment in which only one variable, the manipulated variable, is deliberately changed at a time. While the responding variable is observed for changes, all other variables are kept constant, or controlled.

d. Drawing Conclusions i. Does your scientific evidence support your hypothesis? ii. If not, revise or form a new hypothesis. e. Scientific Theory i. A well tested explanation for a set of observations or experimental results.

C. Scientific Law a. A statement that summarizes a pattern found in nature. b. A scientific law describes an observed pattern in nature without attempting to explain it. The explanation of such a pattern is provided by a Scientific Theory.

D. Scientific Models a. A representation of an object or an event. b. They make it easier to understand things that might be too difficult to observe directly. Ex. To see how the Earth rotates on its axis we look at a globe. Ex. Comets are like giant snowballs, primarily made of ice.