The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method

The "How To" manual for doing Science. ​

​The "Scientific Method" is a process or set of steps taken to produce reliable results to answer a specific question in a scientific investigation.

What is the Scientific Method?

​Ask a question - The question you ask should also be measurable and answerable through experimentation.
Perform research - Conduct preliminary background research to prepare yourself for the experiment.
Establish a hypothesis - Make a prediction that you can measure through experimentation and research.
Test your hypothesis - Your experiment is a way to quantifiably test your predictions and should be able to be repeated by another scientist.

​Steps of the Scientific Method

​Make an observation - Collect and record data and observations during the experiment. After completing the experiment, repeat it to ensure accurate results.
Analyze results/draw a conclusion - Take your findings and analyze them to determine if they support your hypothesis.
Present the findings - Usually done in a lab report, display all information about experiment. This is done to other scientists can review and replicate your scientific investigation.

​Steps of the Scientific Method

• Identify ​Variables

• Form a Hypothesis

• Recording Data

• Graphing Data

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The following factors are important to following scientific method

​The best experiments begin with correctly identifying variables. There are 3 types of variables.
~ Independent or Manipulated variable: The variable that is changed
~ Dependent or Responding variable: The variable that is measured
~ Controls or constants: All of the other variables that are kept the same

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Identify variables

​A strong hypothesis is a testable prediction based on a well-researched question. A great "hypothesis hack" is to clearly identify your variables and add them to your hypothesis. The independent variable follows the "if" and the dependent variable would follow the "then".

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Form a hypothesis

There are different types of data an experimenter can collect. For a scientific investigation, quantitative data is most likely to yield a reliable result. By the way, the exact data you need is in your hypothesis.

Record data

There are different graphs you can use to represent your data; like pie charts, bar graphs and line graphs . You also need to know where data goes on your graph. The independent variable is placed on the x-axis, while the dependent variable is placed on the y-axis.

Graph your data

​The Scientific Method is a dynamic, open-ended process to investigate questions. The basic process involves making an observation, forming a hypothesis, making a prediction, conducting an experiment and finally analyzing the results.

Summary...

Multiple Choice

A series of steps used by scientists to solve a problem or answer a question. 

• scientific method

• recipe

• data collection

• metric system

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT a step in the scientific method?

• Make observation

• Form a theory

• Collect data

• Form a hypothesis

Multiple Choice

This variable in an experiment is the one being changed by the scientist. 

• dependent variable

• independent variable

• data

• control group

Multiple Choice

A testable explanation to a problem that has not yet been tested. 

• data

• theory

• hypothesis

• fact

Multiple Choice

Why do scientists use graphs?

• They are pretty.

• It makes an extra step.

• They show trends.

• They like to use them.

Multiple Choice

On what axis should the independent variable always be?

• X

• Y