Scientific Method

Scientific Method: steps of a scientific investigation Varies with researcher, but common steps Collect Observations (5 senses) Ask Questions Form Hypotheses (If….Then….) Confirm Predictions (Testing and Experiments) Draw Conclusions (Analyze Data and Create a Report) A Way to Solve Scientific Problems

Observations - using the senses to collect data Use the Observations to develop a Question Collect Observations

Why is the bird behaving like so? Why does this certain flower’s petals grow to this length? What will happen if we take away sunlight from the plant? Ask Questions

Step 1: State the Purpose Also can be written: State the Purpose What are you curious about? What are you trying to solve? Does there need to be further research completed to pursue this problem? Example: To determine if the amount of sunlight has an effect on the growth of plants

Step 2: Generate Hypothesis What is a hypothesis? Do some research on the topic first! Then generate the hypothesis A testable statement of what may be occurring Example: Sunlight will have an effect on plant growth More specific (prediction): If a plant receives more sunlight, then it will grow taller

Step 3: Perform the Experiment What will you be testing? Lets go back to our plant example… We call the “things” we will be looking at variables.

Step 3 Continued… Variables Independent: What the experimenter controls I control, Independent Example: sunlight Dependent: What changes due to the independent variable Example: plant height What do you predict the line will look like on the graph  Control: -Does not receive any of the variable -Plant with NO sunlight.

Testing & Experiment- Data collected during the experiment. It is important to include your observations. Should be organized into tables and graphs Conclusions- Summarize the results. Analyze the data to determine if the hypothesis is supported. Confirm Predictions & Conclusions

The Experiment 0 hours sunlight/day 4 hours sunlight/day 8 hours sunlight/day CONTROL **All the plants have the same soil and water

Step 4: Analysis (Analyze Data and Get Results) 0 hours sunlight/day 4 hours sunlight/day 8 hours sunlight/day 10 cm15 cm 20 cm

Now what? Step 5: Conclusion Did your analysis (data + results) prove your hypothesis correct? If not, go back to the beginning and: change your hypothesis change your hypothesis do some more research

Here’s the catch! You will need to repeat your experiment again and again! Why would we do this? The more times you do an experiment and obtain results.. The more meaningful your results are!