Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry Scientific Practices

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is Scientific Inquiry? What is an Experiment?

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is Scientific Inquiry? Ask meaningful questions. Questions are precise Questions can be answered through observation, research & testing

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is Scientific Inquiry? Ask meaningful questions. Questions are precise Questions can be answered through observation, research & testing Poor Question: Do roses dislike the shade? This question is not precise and is difficult to test: Do you mean cut roses or rose bushes? How do you measure “dislike” ?

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is Scientific Inquiry? Ask meaningful questions. Questions are precise Questions can be answered through observation, research & testing Poor Question: Do roses dislike the shade? This question is not precise and is difficult to test: Do you mean cut roses or rose bushes? How do you measure “dislike” ? Better Question: Does shade slow growth in rose bushes? This question is easier to test: You can measure “growth” !

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is Scientific Inquiry? Ask meaningful questions. Use Scientific Method to find answers to those questions.

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is Scientific Inquiry? Ask meaningful questions. Use Scientific Method to find answers to those questions. Make an Observation State a Hypothesis (prediction) Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data Draw Conclusions The Scientific Method is a series of steps that guides investigations.

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation State a Hypothesis (prediction) Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data Draw Conclusions Data do NOT support the Hypothesis Data support the Hypothesis

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! State a Hypothesis (prediction) Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data Draw Conclusions

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! State a Hypothesis (prediction) My computer is not plugged in. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data Draw Conclusions

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! State a Hypothesis (prediction) My computer is not plugged in. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Check if the computer is plugged in. Analyze Data Draw Conclusions

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! State a Hypothesis (prediction) My computer is not plugged in. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Check if the computer is plugged in. Analyze Data The computer is plugged in. Draw Conclusions

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! State a Hypothesis (prediction) My computer is not plugged in. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Check if the computer is plugged in. Analyze Data The computer is plugged in. Draw Conclusions Data do NOT support the Hypothesis My computer is plugged in. So, this is not why it isn’t turning on.

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! My computer is not plugged in. State a Hypothesis (prediction) The outlet is not working. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data Draw Conclusions Data do NOT support the Hypothesis

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! My computer is not plugged in. State a Hypothesis (prediction) The outlet is not working. Check if a working lamp will turn on when plugged into the outlet. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data Draw Conclusions

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! My computer is not plugged in. State a Hypothesis (prediction) The outlet is not working. Check if a working lamp will turn on when plugged into the outlet. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data The lamp does not does not turn on. Draw Conclusions

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry The Scientific Method Make an Observation My computer will not turn on! My computer is not plugged in. State a Hypothesis (prediction) The outlet is not working. Check if a working lamp will turn on when plugged into the outlet. Plan & Conduct an Experiment Analyze Data The lamp does not does not turn on. Draw Conclusions My computer will not turn on because the outlet isn’t working.

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is an Experiment? An Experiment tests the hypothesis (prediction). Only ONE variable (thing) is changed in an experiment. This is so you can find out which variable causes the outcome of the experiment.

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is an Experiment? Example: You want to do an experiment on Plant Growth.

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is an Experiment? Example: You want to do an experiment on Plant Growth. What are some Variables that can affect Plant Growth?

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is an Experiment? Example: You want to do an experiment on Plant Growth. What are some Variables that can affect Plant Growth? sunlight water fertilizer

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is an Experiment? Example: You want to do an experiment on Plant Growth. What are some Variables that can affect Plant Growth? sunlight water fertilizer Pick one variable that you want to test

Lesson 1: Scientific Inquiry What is an Experiment? Example: You want to do an experiment on Plant Growth. What are some Variables that can affect Plant Growth? sunlight water fertilizer Pick one variable that you want to test

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment This ONE variable that you will change is called the Independent Variable. (It is the variable that you manipulate.) sunlight water fertilizer

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment What do you want to observe when you change that ONE independent variable (water)? What is an Experiment? sunlight water fertilizer ?

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment What do you want to observe when you change that ONE variable (water)? sunlight water fertilizer plant growth

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment What do you want to observe when you change that ONE variable (water)? The variable that is observed and changes in response to the Independent Variable is called the Dependent Variable. (The variable that is measured.) sunlight water fertilizer plant growth

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment How are you going to know if water (the independent variable) causes a change in plant growth (the dependent variable)? You need to be able to COMPARE the group that is given water to another group… one that is not given water. This is the Control Group.

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment If the Experimental Group (given water) shows an increase plant growth compared to the Control Group (not given water), then you can conclude that water caused the increase in plant growth.

Lesson 1: What is an Experiment? Example: Plant Growth Experiment You can conclude that water caused the increase in plant growth because the only variable that you changed was the water. All other variables (sun, fertilizer) were controlled/ were the same for the two groups. (The only difference between the experimental group and the control group is that the experimental group was given water and the control group was not.)