What is Science? : the discovery of facts that can be used to solve the larger mysteries of nature. How do scientists do this?… Process called Scientific Method: : process or basic steps used to solve problems and to gain information. Who could use this process…? Scientists: : anyone trying to learn something new IE – scientists, you, us, parents, teachers, detectives… … everybody should use it!!! What are the steps a detective takes to solve a crime? … steps are very similar to the scientific method steps… How would you start to solve a problem…?…Discuss. STEPS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD: 1)State the Problem 2) Gather Data3) State Hypothesis 4) Test Hypothesis/ Experiment 5) Record & Analyze Data 6) State Conclusion

Problem:  Develop a question or problem that can be solved through experimentation.  This is the question that you are trying to answer or problem that you are trying to solve. Research:  Make observations and research your topic of interest.  Gather information about your question. books/magazines internet research reports experts your past experiences

Hypothesis:  Predict a possible answer to the problem or question.  an educated guess  a prediction based on data Experiment:  Testing the hypothesis  This is broken into 2 parts; materials and procedure.  Materials is a list of equipment that you will need for the experiment.  Procedure is a list of instructions (directions) that you need to follow for the experiment.

Analysis:  Results of the experiment  Includes the data (information) collected from experiment.  Presented in a table, chart, graph, pictures or written work.  This is what happened in the experiment. Conclusion: States whether your hypothesis was correct or incorrect. It is OK if your hypothesis was not correct. Make recommendations (suggestion) for further study and possible improvments to the procedure.

Independent Variable: also called manipulated variable. it is what you are changing in the experiment. You can only have ONE independent variable in an experiment Dependent Variable: also called the responding variable this is what is being measured in an experiment. Control: Also called the constant all the factors in an experiment that are kept the same

Use your Scientific Method skills to analyze the different Experiments. Ms. Banjavcic will divide you into groups. Once you get to your group, an Experiment will be handed to your group. One person in your group needs to read through the experiment. One person needs to record the answers to the questions (make sure everyone's name is on the paper). All people need to come up with ideas. Once you are done, wait to rotate to another Experiment (there are three total). You must keep all of your answers on one sheet and make sure that they are labeled correctly for each experiment. Each group member needs to do something different each time. IE: if you read the first situation to your group, you cannot read again.

Can you follow the scientific method? How many drops of water can fit on a penny? What is your hypothesis? What are the materials that you are using? What are the independent/dependent variables and the control? What steps will you use to complete the experiment? How will you organize your data? (Hint: create a table then fill it in) What were the results? What are the possible problems that could occur during this experiment?