SCIENTIFIC METHOD SOLVING A PROBLEM – WITH SCIENCE!! MR. ROCKENSIES

What is the scientific method? An organized set of investigation procedures that include: 1. State the problem 2. Research & Gather Info. 3. Form Hypothesis 4. Test Hypothesis (Experiment) 5. Record & Analyze Data 6. Draw Conclusion

3. Form a Hypothesis an educated guess possible answer to your question that is based on your research This may or may not be correct Start with “I think…, I predict…, or If…then…” develop a question you want to answer 2. Research find out what is already known about your subject, & make your own observations 1. State the Problem

an organized process used to test your hypothesis 4. Experiment

Use your 5 senses in order to make observations Use various tools in order to improve or extend your power of observation Inferences (logical explanations) about data can be made 5. Record and Analyze Data use data tables to keep track of measurements & graphs to identify trends in the data Cyclic Events (repeat over & over) can be used to make predictions about the future

a judgment based on the results of an experiment explains what the data means Does data support hypothesis? If answer is NOIf answer is YES 6. Conclusion Form a new hypothesis & conduct a different experiment Repeat the experiment several times

Why repeat the experiment several times? a)It is only considered to be valid if you get the same results each & every time you repeat the experiment b)Publish your exp. so that other scientists can check your results & progress can be made in science

What is the difference between a theory and a law?

a former hypothesis that has been supported by many experiments can still be changed or discarded  Scientific Law a statement about what happens in nature that can’t be explained seems to happen in the same way all the time ex: the law of gravity, Newton’s Laws of Motion  Theory

CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS 1.Set up two or more groups for comparison (Control group & Experimental group(s)) 2. Groups are set up to be alike in all ways except one 3. The one difference between the two groups at the start of the experiment is called the “independent variable” 4. Experimental Group(s) is (are) exposed to the independent variable, the Control Group is not 5.Significant differences in results are probably caused by the independent variable

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INDEPENDENT & DEPENDENT VARIABLE? What is the difference between an Independent variable and a Dependent variable?

The one part of the experiment that you change The one thing being tested Should cause a response to occur. Always on the X-axis of a graph 2.Dependent Variable a.k.a. the responding variable, or the factor being affected or changed in response to the independent variable Always on the Y-axis of a graph 1.Independent Variable

X-axis Y-axis Dependent Variable Independent Variable Time (Days) Growth (cm)

What is the control group? It doesn’t contain the independent variable Used for comparison

What is the experimental group? It contains the independent variable (the one factor in the experiment that is tested)

WHICH EXPERIMENT SHOWS THE CONTROL SET-UP & WHICH SHOWS THE EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP?

Why should we only have one independent variable in an experiment? If there were more than one independent variable, you wouldn’t know which variable caused the experimental result.