Unit I: Understanding Science What is Science? Science: understanding the world by observation and problem solving—“doing”

Activity! (Can you figure it out?) Activity! (Can you figure it out?) You need to make the piece of metal on the inside of this move (a lot!)—how do you do it without : –Touching the container or the metal piece in it –Blowing on the metal or the container –Make air move around the container –Moving the table that the container is on **However, you can use any one or a combination of these “tools”

How do scientists solve problems? The Scientific Method (Critical Thinking) 1. Determine the Problem by using your 5 senses (sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell)—Observation

2. Make a Hypothesis An educated guess or testable prediction

3. Design an experiment to test the hypothesis The Scientific Method (cont)

4. Perform the experiment (record data) The Scientific Method (cont)

5. Analyze and interpret your results The Scientific Method (cont)

6. Draw Conclusions The Scientific Method (cont)

7. Repeat the experiment many times The Scientific Method (cont)

Parts of an Experiment: Manipulated (independent) Variable: Manipulated (independent) Variable: –a change done by the person doing the experiment (can only make 1 change) Responding (dependent) Variable: Responding (dependent) Variable: –the change that happens because of what you did Constant: Constant: –does not change in an experiment Control: Control: –a standard for comparison (not experimented on)

Practice…. Sponge Bob notices that his pal Gary is suffering from slimotosis, which occurs when the shell develops a nasty slime and gives off a horrible odor. His friend Patrick tells him that rubbing seaweed on the shell is the perfect cure. Sponge Bob decides to test this cure by rubbing ½ of Gary’s shell with seaweed for 1 week. After a week of treatment, the slime is gone on the part that Sponge Bob treated and Gary’s shell smells better. What is the manipulated variable? What is the responding variable? What is the control? What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be?

After the data is collected, what’s next? Make a Model (idea, system or structure that represents something) Make a Model (idea, system or structure that represents something) Make a Classification System (breaking up into groups) Make a Classification System (breaking up into groups) Develop a Theory (explanation based on many observations) Develop a Theory (explanation based on many observations) Create Graphs (a picture of your data) Create Graphs (a picture of your data)