The “Nature of Science”

What is Science? It is the never ending process to understand how the universe works through observable evidence as the basis of that understanding.

Observations vs. Inferences An observation is data that you gather with your one or more of your senses. i.e. the board is white, its smooth, and tastes funny, kinda like purple and green skittles mixed. An inference is what you make from all of the data gathered.

Is there a universal “scientific method”? No. Scientists don’t follow a rigid set of rules when pursuing new ideas. Scientists approach and solve problems with imagination, creativity, prior knowledge and perseverance. Why learn about it? Provides an organized method for publishing experiment results for peer review.

“DR PERC” will help you remember the steps of the scientific method Develop a problem Research information State a Prediction Conduct Experiment Record data Reach a Conclusion

What is a Hypothesis? A hypothesis has several definitions for our purpose we will call it a prediction of what we expect to see. Written as an “If...then…” statement Ex. IF you don’t study THEN you’ll get a bad grade on the test

What is Data? It is the information gathered during an experiment Two main types of data Quantitative: Numerical (the most powerful type of data) Ex. The plant grew 5 inches Qualitative: Descriptive Ex. The plant is bigger than a pencil.

Vocabulary: Control- Part of the experiment that is not being tested and used for comparison Variable- Any part of an experiment that can change Independent Variable- Part of the experiment that is manipulated Dependent Variable- Part of the experiment that is affected by the change in the independent variable

How do you conduct an experiment? List the materials you will need Write down your procedures EXACTLY Describe EVERY step of your experiment Write down everything you do Control your variables (you should only change one thing) Make observations and record all results (data)

How do you state your conclusion? Look at your data Decide what your data tells you about your hypothesis Was your hypothesis correct? Decide how you might change your hypothesis based on your result Think about what you might do to experiment further Communicate your results with others