1. Steps of the Scientific Method

2. -Complete both sides of pink half sheet to the best of your ability
8/22 Scientific Method
-Complete both sides of pink half sheet to the best of your ability
- Take out green sheet from yesterday

3. The Scientific Method involves a series of steps that are used to investigate a natural occurrence.

4. Observation/Research Formulate a Hypothesis Experiment
Scientific Method
Problem/Question
Observation/Research
Formulate a Hypothesis
Experiment
Collect and Analyze Results
Conclusion

5. Steps of the Scientific Method
Problem/Question: Develop a question or problem that can be solved through experimentation.
Big Bang Theory

6. State the Problem/Questions
The problem identifies what you want to find out.
Develop a clear statement defining the problem
Make sure your problem is narrowed/specific enough
State the problem in the form of a question:

7. How does __________ affect _______?
What is the effect of _______ on ________?
Ex. Does drinking milk everyday make a person stronger?

8. What is a Variable?
A variable is something that can change, either naturally or on purpose. ***
In an experiment, it is a factor that is different from one group to another.

9. Independent vs. Dependent variables
Independent variable (x)
The factor that the scientist has changed in order to test the hypothesis (on purpose). It is the cause, comes first.
Dependent Variable (y)
What may be affected as a result of what the scientist changed. It is the effect of what happened in the experiment. Usually measured during the experiment.

10. What is the independent and dependent variable in our question?
What is the effect of drinking milk on a person’s strength?
How about this one:
Does playing video games during weeknights lower a student’s grades?
Mythbusters

11. Steps of the Scientific Method
2.Research: Make observations and research your topic of interest.

12. Research What observations will help you answer the question?
Write down all information you already know, prior knowledge
Do research in books or journals/internet on the topic you are investigating
Ask experts on the subject you are researching

13. If you find an answer to your problem/question you do not need to move on.
Ex. Nutrients in milk, what affects muscle strength growth or strength.

14. Do you remember the next step?

15. Steps of the Scientific Method
3. Formulate a Hypothesis: Predict a possible answer to the problem or question.
Example: If soil temperatures rise, then plant growth will increase.
What could be the question being asked in the above ex?

16. What is a hypothesis?
An explanation that is based on prior scientific research or observations and that can be tested, predicts the answer to our question.
Commonly known as an “Educated Guess”
“If… then… because” Statement
What could be a good hypothesis for our milk question?

17. More than one way to state the hypothesis:
Ex: If someone drinks milk everyday, then they will be able to lift more weight after a period of 4 weeks as the protein in milk will make their muscles stronger. or
Drinking milk everyday for 4 weeks would enable a person to lift more weight as their muscles would get stronger from the protein in the milk.

18. Steps of the Scientific Method
4. Experiment/Procedures: Develop and follow a procedure in step-by-step format.
Include a detailed materials list.
The outcome must be measurable.

19. How do you test a hypothesis?
Develop a test to support or not support your hypothesis. (This is your experiment).
Must be run multiple times
Must have only 1 independent variable (the factor being tested
Must include 2 setups
Experimental setup
Control setup

20. Use a Controlled Experiment: An experiment that tests only one factor at a time by using a comparison of a control group and an experimental group. Ex. Only changing whether someone drinks milk or not, all other factors should be same.
Control Group: The group that the scientist changes nothing in. The Control group is used for comparison. Ex. A person, who is the same weight and size, similar diet, but does not drink milk everyday.

21. Experimental Group: The group in which the scientist has changed something. It is the variable in the experiment where you want to see how changing the independent variable affects something- The person who drinks a glass of milk of everyday.

22. What are constants/controlled variables?
They are what the scientist intentionally keeps the same in both the control group and the experimental group.
Discuss with your partner:
What are some things that should be controlled in our milk and muscle experiment?

23. The subjects’ weight, height, sex, age, diet, daily routine, amount of exercise, area they live in, original amount of weight each can lift.
They might be giants

24. Steps of the Scientific Method
5. Collect and Analyze Data/Results: Modify the procedure if needed.
Confirm the results by retesting.
Include data tables, graphs, and photographs.

25. How can you gather data? Make Observations.
Any use of the senses to gather information.
Qualitative Observations: Anything that you see, smell, touch, taste, or hear- describing words
Ex. Blue, bitter, fizzing sound.
Quantitative Observations: Any observation that can be measured.
Must include a number.
Ex. 5 centimeters long

26. Brainstorm:
What type of data can we collect in our example experiment?
How often would you collect it- daily, weekly, monthly?
What would the data table look like?

27. While graphing data, independent variable goes on X axis, and dependent on Y axis
What is the independent variable in the above data and what is the dependent variable?

28. While graphing data, independent variable goes on X axis, and dependent on Y axis
What is the independent variable and what is the dependent variable in the above graph?

29. Some common types of graphs used in Scientific investigations:
Pie Chart: Data in percentages
Bar Graph: Comparing between different objects or categories, could be multiple bars for a category if comparing more than one factor.
Line Graph: Data with trend over time, could be multiple lines if also comparing data.

30. Which type of graph is each?B. C. D.

31. Think:
What type of graph would best suit the data you would collect in the milk and strength experiment?

32. Steps of the Scientific Method
6. Conclusion: Include a statement that accepts or rejects the hypothesis.
Make recommendations for further study and possible improvements to the procedure.

33. How can you draw conclusions?
Answer the following questions in paragraph form (Always explain in detail using scientific vocabulary.):
Do your results/data support your hypothesis? Why or why not?
What are ways you can improve your data?
What would you do differently if you were to repeat the experiment?

34. Let’s put our knowledge of the Scientific Method to a realistic example that includes some of the terms you’ll be needing to use and understand.

35. Mythbusters: Elephants and mice

36. The Plant Experiment
Chad is attempting to determine how different colors of light affect plant growth. Chad places one spider plant in a cabinet under a blue light and one spider plant in a cabinet under a red light. Chad knows he needs to compare his plants to a plant grown under white light so he places a third spider plant on the window sill where the sun shines. All plants are the same age and are given equal amounts of light time, plant food and water. At the end of a two week period, Chad will measure the height of each plant.
1. Can you identify the EXPERIMENTAL GROUP(S) and the CONTROL GROUP?
2. Can you identify the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE, DEPENDENT VARIABLE, and CONTROL VARIABLES?
3. Is this a well conducted experiment? Support your thoughts with evidence from the scenario. How could you improve this experiment?

37. She explains that yeast releases a gas as it feeds on sugar.
Problem/Question
John watches his grandmother bake bread. He ask his grandmother what makes the bread rise.
She explains that yeast releases a gas as it feeds on sugar.

38. Problem/Question
John wonders if the amount of sugar used in the recipe will affect the size of the bread loaf?

39. Caution! Be careful how you use effect and affect.
Effect is usually a noun and affect, a verb.
“ The effect of sugar amounts on the rising of bread.”
“How does sugar affect the rising of bread?”

40. Observation/Research
John researches the areas of baking and fermentation and tries to come up with a way to test his question.
He keeps all of his information on this topic in a journal.

41. John talks with his teacher and she gives him a Experimental Design Diagram to help him set up his investigation.

43. Formulate a Hypothesis
After talking with his teacher and conducting further research, he comes up with a hypothesis.
“If more sugar is added, then the bread will rise higher.”

44. Note: These variables will be defined in the next few slides.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is an educated guess about the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Note: These variables will be defined in the next few slides.

45. Do you know the difference between the independent and dependent variables?

46. Independent Variable
The independent, or manipulated variable, is a factor that’s intentionally varied by the experimenter.
John is going to use 25g., 50g., 100g., 250g., 500g. of sugar in his experiment.

47. In this case, it would be the size of the loaf of bread.
Dependent Variable
The dependent, or responding variable, is the factor that may change as a result of changes made in the independent variable.
In this case, it would be the size of the loaf of bread.

48. She discusses with John how to determine the control group.
Experiment
His teacher helps him come up with a procedure and list of needed materials.
She discusses with John how to determine the control group.

49. Control Group
In a scientific experiment, the control is the group that serves as the standard of comparison.
The control group may be a “no treatment" or an “experimenter selected” group.

50. All experiments should have a control group.
The control group is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the variable being tested.
All experiments should have a control group.

51. Control Group
Because his grandmother always used 50g. of sugar in her recipe, John is going to use that amount in his control group.

52. Constants/Controlled variables
John’s teacher reminds him to keep all other factors the same so that any observed changes in the bread can be attributed to the variation in the amount of sugar.

53. Constants aka control variables
The constants in an experiment are all the factors that the experimenter attempts to keep the same.

54. Can you think of some constants for this experiment?

55. Constants They might include:
Other ingredients to the bread recipe, oven used, rise time, brand of ingredients, cooking time, type of pan used, air temperature and humidity where the bread was rising, oven temperature, age of the yeast…

56. Experiment
John writes out his procedure for his experiment along with a materials list in his journal. He has both of these checked by his teacher where she checks for any safety concerns.

57. John is going to test each sugar variable 3 times.
Trials
Trials refer to replicate groups that are exposed to the same conditions in an experiment.
John is going to test each sugar variable 3 times.

58. Collect and Analyze Results
John comes up with a table he can use to record his data.
John gets all his materials together and carries out his experiment.

59. Size of Baked Bread (LxWxH) cm3
Size of Bread Loaf (cm3)
Trials
Amt. of Sugar (g.) 1 2 3
Average
Size (cm3) 25
768
744
761
758 50
1296
1188
1260
100
1080
1116
250
672
576
588
612
500
432
504
360
Control group

60. Collect and Analyze Results
John examines his data and notices that his control worked the best in this experiment, but not significantly better than 100g. of sugar.

61. Conclusion
John rejects his hypothesis, but decides to re-test using sugar amounts between 50g. and 100g to find the most optimal amount of sugar.

62. Once again, John gathers his materials and carries out his experiment.
Here are the results.

63. Can you tell which group did the best?

64. Size of Baked Bread (LxWxH) cm3
Size of Bread Loaf (cm3)
Trials
Amt. of Sugar (g.) 1 2 3
Average
Size (cm3) 50
1296
1440
1344 60
1404
1380 70
1638
1560
1612 80
1332 90
1080
1200
972
1084
Control group

65. Conclusion John finds that 70g. of sugar produces the largest loaf.
His hypothesis is supported.

66. Communicate the Results
John tells his grandmother about his findings and prepares to present his project in Science class.

67. Practice the Scientific Method!
At your table, discuss:
What are some testable questions you could ask about the ping pong ball and the rubber bouncy ball?
Decide, as a group, which question you would like to test for your investigation.
You will follow the scientific method, and do a lab report with all 6 steps in detail.

68. First steps...
Question: A possible format for your question:
How does the type of material a ball is made of, affect its ____________?
Research: What do you know/observe that can help you develop a prediction for what may happen?
Hypothesis: If the ping pong ball and the bouncy ball are _____________ (what will you test), then the ______ ball will ____________________ because _____________.

69. Next
Experiment: Write in numbered steps what you will do to test your hypothesis.

70. Possible data table: Ball type (x) Trial 1 ______ Trial 2 ______
Average (y) _______

71. Lastly, Conclusion: In paragraph form answer:
What did you find? Was your hypothesis supported? Why or why not? Mention if you made any errors. How do your results compare to other groups who did the same test? What would you do differently or what is a different test you would do with similar materials or variables?