Transcript The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method
Scientific Method
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The Scientific Method
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An organized way of figuring something
out.
The way scientists learn and study the
world around them.
Ask a question and then try to come up
with the answer.
Usually has 5 or 6 steps.
Purpose or Question
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What do you want to know or learn?
Examples:
 Does the color of a light bulb affect the
growth of pea plants?
 Which surface in your house has the most
germs?
Research
Find out as much as you
can about your topic.
 Look for information in
books, the internet, talk to
experts, or ask your
teacher.
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Hypothesis
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A possible explanation for a set of
observations or answers to a scientific
question.
An educated guess.
Can be written as an If… then…
statement.
Ex. “If I add salt to fresh water, then the
water will take longer to freeze.”
Design an Experiment
Plan a way to test your
hypothesis.
 Write your plan as a step-bystep procedure that describes
the observations and/or
measurements you will make.
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Vocabulary…
Variable - any factor that can change in an
experiment.
Independent variable is the factor that you
(or I) change (the amount of salt added to
the water).
Dependent variable is what you measure
or observe to obtain your results… the
DATA! (how long the water takes to
freeze).
More Vocabulary…
Control – your control is treated
the same as all the rest of the
samples except that it is not
exposed to independent
variables (the salt). (water that
has not had any salt added to it
would be the control)
Collect/Analyze the Data
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Data is any observations or
measurements you collect.
Your data is easier to analyze if you
organize it into a table or graph.
Observations are any information
collected with the senses.
Types of data
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Quantitative – measureable or countable
ex. 4 meters long, 50 grams, 27° Celsius
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Qualitative – describable, not
measureable
ex. Green leaves, tastes sweet, smells like
rotten eggs
Inference
Conclusions or deductions based on
observations.
 The process of drawing a conclusion
from given evidence.
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Let’s practice…
Observations:
 I hear people screaming
 I smell cotton candy, popcorn, and
hamburgers
 I see a lot of people
Inference ???
Draw Conclusions
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A conclusion is a statement that sums up
what you learned from an experiment.
Review the data to see if your hypothesis
was correct.
If you were wrong that is ok, you still
learned something.
The Scientific Method
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Purpose or Question
Research
Hypothesis
Design Experiment
Collect/Analyze Data
Draw Conclusions