1. The Scientific Method

2. Initial Observation Notice a phenomenon in nature
If you already know the theory behind it, confirm it by doing an experiment (what you will do throughout high school)
If you do not know the theory behind it, prove one by doing an experiment (think of Copernicus, Newton, Galileo, etc)
Example: I get much hotter in the sun when I am wearing my black sweater versus my white one.

3. Question
Ask a question about your observation that can be answered by doing an experiment.
Ex: Which colored material will heat up the fastest when placed in the light, black or white?

4. Hypothesis
Answer to your question with as much detail as possible
Ex: The black material will heat up faster because it absorbs the light energy, whereas the white material reflects it.
Variables
Factors that you are controlling
Ex: colour of clothing and time of exposure to light

5. Materials
List the exact quantity and size of materials you will be using- be as specific as possible.
Ex:
A 10x10x0.25 cm piece of black cotton material
A 10x10x0.25 cm piece of white cotton material
2 thermometers
1 stopwatch
2 desk lamps

6. Procedure
Enumerate all the steps, as specifically as possible, that you will follow to complete your experiment.
One action per step.
You can even include a diagram of the setup, if desired.
Ex:
Place the 2 desk lamps on a table, 1 meter apart from one another.
Put the piece of white material below one of the desk lamps and the black material below the other.
Have one volunteer place the tip of the first thermometer on the center of the white material, without putting too much pressure that they touch the table.

7. Procedure- continued
4. Repeat step 3, but with the black material under the second desk lamp. 5. Measure the initial temperature of the 2 materials. 6. Turn on both desk lamps and start the stopwatch at the same time. 7. Measure the temperature of the 2 materials every minute until they are constant (about 10 – 20 minutes).

8. Results
Present your qualitative and/or quantitative observations (worksheet)
Qualitative (describe results using words) observations are either in point-form notes or in a table.
Quantitative (describe results using numbers) observations are always in a table
Remember to title your table

9. Results

10. Heating up White vs. Black Materials
Results- Ex:
Heating up White vs. Black Materials
Time (minutes)
Temperature of black material (°C)
Temperature of white material (°C) 21 1 22 2 24 3 26
20.5 4 29 20 5 31 6 33
21.5 7 34 8 35 9 36 10

11. Analysis Describe your results
If you have qualitative observations, describe in a paragraph your results and their tendencies.
If you have quantitative observations, you must make a graph AND describe what happens in the graph in at least 1 paragraph.

12. Graph- ex:

13. Conclusion Confirm or refute your hypothesis and why
Explain the scientific principle behind your experiment
List any errors that ,may have been committed during the experiment.
Describe improvements you could make to the list of materials and/or procedure.
End off with a new question

14. Conclusion- Example
My hypothesis is confirmed, as the black material did heat up faster than the white one. After 10 minutes, the black material had a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius, whereas the white material was still only at 21. This is due to the fact that light, which is white, is made up of all colors. White material, is white because it reflects all light and therefore does not absorb any energy and heat up. On the other hand, black material does not reflect any light, and “has no color”. It absorbs all of the lights energy and therefore heats up. One thing that was noticed after the experiment, is that the window nearest the white material was open and could have impacted its temperature. We could improve our procedure by doing more than one trial. Next, I would like to know if the type of material affects the speed at which it would heat up.