scientific method

The Scientific Method

What is the scientific method?  Let's go expolre!

What are the steps to the Scientific Method?

• 6 steps

• Ask a question

• Research

• Hypothesis

• Experiment

• Analysis

• Conclusion

Step 1 : Ask a question

In this first step we need to ask a question.  What are we are trying to solve or figure out?  This will be what our experiment is based on.  Think about the lab we are doing this week.

Open Ended

What is the question we are trying to answer in this week's lab?

Step 2: Research

• This is the singlemost important part of the scientific mathod

• Here you do some research

• Gather background information on what you are testing

• Investigate the different things you are using in your experiment to answer your question

• Use reputable sources - Use websites that contain factual information not just the first site that comes up in your search.  

• Write down the data you collect during your search

Open Ended

What are somethings we could research for our experiment?

Step 3: Form a hypothessis

• A good hypothesis will lead a scientist to predictions that can then be tested through observations or experimentation.

• The ability to test a hypothesis is key - if you can't test it, you can't determine if it's valid or not!

• This is your "if, then" statement

https://study.com/academy/lesson/formulating-a-viable-scientific-hypothesis.html

Poll

Which do you think is a good hypothesis for our experiment?

• If you freeze water and milk, then the milk will melt faster when placed on a plate.

• If you freeze stuff, then it will melt.

• If you freeze red bull and water, then the redbull will melt slower because of the sugar.

• If you freeze different liquids, then the liquids containing chemicals will melt faster than those that contain no chemicals.

Step 4: Experiment

Here's the fun part.  Let's experiment.  This the part of the scientific method where we test our hypothesis.  Here we develop a procedure, that can be duplicated or done by another person.  You must list all materials and steps exactly so that another peron can perform your experiment with the same/similar results.

Open Ended

Why do you think you need to write everything down exactly (meaning materials and procedure)?

Step 5: Analyze your results

• What did you see?

• What happened during your experiment?

• Did it support your hypothesis?

• Document everything you observed during you experiment

• This is the data section of your lab report

Poll

Which would be the best analysis of our data or the best way to present the data from your experiment?

• Writing the milk melted faster.

• Insert a table with melting times for each liquid tested

• Provide a graph comparing the melting times of the different liquids

Step 6: Conclusion

This is where we report the results to our experiment.  Here we discuss if our hypothesis was correct or incorrect.  It is OK to be wrong in our hyspothesis.  Not matter if it is right or wrong, this is where we present the data and why it did or did not work.  Here we add what we learned from research to what the taken taken was and present it.

Poll

Which would be a better conclusion?

• The milk melted faster

• The red bull melted faster then the water.

• When looking at the data and comparing it to the hypothesis, the hypothesis was not supported by the results of the experiment. This could be due to several factors....