1. How do you solve problems and answer questions?
Scientific Method
How do you solve problems and answer questions?

2. Observations
Observe something in the world around you that makes you think/wonder/imagine.
Everytime I take a shower, the mirror fogs up
Some frogs jump really far while others don’t
I thought rainbows only appear after a rain shower
Tomorrow is the first day of school….OMG!
Huh? My flashlight didn’t turn on
My plants are dying

3. Ask a question Ask a question. How does something work?
Why does it do that?
What happens if I do this?
Why does my mirror fog up when I take a shower?
What am I going to wear to school?
What do plants need to be healthy?
How are rainbows made?

4. Research Do some research.
You may need to do a little research before you come up with a possible answer to your question.
Maybe you don’t know enough to come up with an answer
Maybe somebody has done something similar or has information you can build on.
What do flashlights need to work?
What are rainbows?
What is the weather like today?
What clothes are clean?

5. Hypothesis Hypothesis: an educated guess If……………Then………………..
Cause, effect
Must be able to be tested with an experiment
Opinions cannot be tested
Beliefs cannot be tested
If I change the batteries, then the flashlight will turn on.
If I water my plants daily, then they will grow better.

6. Design an Experiment Design an experiment:
Gather materials: what supplies/equipment do you need.
Write the procedures: What are the steps in your experiment, can others repeat your steps, are they clear?
Determine the variables in your experiment
A variable is anything that can affect the results or outcome of your experiment.

7. Independent Variable:
The independent variable is also called the manipulated variable.
The variable (thing) that you choose to change. The ONE thing you want to test the effect of.
The cause of your results.
Changing the batteries in your flashlight
The amount of water you give the plant
The outfit you choose to wear

8. Dependent variable
The dependent variable is also called the responding variable.
The result that depends on the independent variable. This changes when you make a change to what you are testing.
The effect…..the results
the flashlight turned on because I changed the batteries.
This is what I am wearing to school because I like how I look
The growth of the plant depended on how much water I gave it

9. Constants
Constants:
All other variables must be kept the same between the test groups so that the results occur because of the independent variable.
Soil type, type of pot, type of plant, amount of sunlight, temperature, type of water, etc.
Same bulb, same flashlight
Same day, same destination, same mirror.

10. Controlled experiment
Controlled experiments are experiments in which only one variable is changed or tested at a time.
Two set-ups.
Control group: the group or setup that has nothing added/changed. This is used to compare results.
The plant that received no water or no fertilizer.
The flashlight before the batteries were changed
Test group: also called experimental group. The group that has been changed. The independent variable is applied to each setup.
Plant 1 gets water daily, plant 2 gets water every other day, plant 3 gets water once a week.
The flashlight that has new batteries.

11. Gather data/Analyze data
Data= information
Gather: Take measurements, record observations, write data into data tables.
Analyze: look at the data carefully, compare results to control and to other test groups.
Use graphs / charts
Measure the height of the plants after 4 weeks…compare heights
Look in the mirror….do you like what you see?
Turn on the flashlight….did it come on?

12. Conclusion
Did the data support your hypothesis? How did it support it?
The flashlight turned on, my hypothesis was supported
Did the data not support your hypothesis? Try a new hypothesis.
I don’t like this outfit, my hypothesis isn’t supported. I will change the bulb and try again.
A summary of your experiment including the question, the hypothesis, the setup, the data collected, and the analysis of that data

13. Repeated trials: The more an experiment can be repeated with the same results, the more accurate the data. The more valid the results.
Test groups: The larger the test group, the more reliable the data.