The Scientific Method A Way to Solve a Problem

What is the Scientific Method? It is the steps someone takes to identify a question, develop a hypothesis, design and carry out steps or procedures to test the hypothesis, and document observations and findings to share with someone else. In other words, it’s a way to solve a problem!

Scientists have to take the time to think logically when they are investigating a question or problem. They break things down into many steps that make sense.

7 Steps to the Scientific Method Most people agree that there are 5 to 8 main steps of the scientific method In this class, we will use the following 7 steps:

7 Steps 1) Choose a problem/ question 2) Research your problem/ make observations about your problem 3) Form a hypothesis 4) Write your procedure 4) Experiment to test the hypothesis 5) Record results/data of experiment 6) Communicate the conclusion

1) Choose a problem or question. Choose something that can be answered with an experiment. It should be something that interests us, or deals with our everyday lives!

Does NWPMS prefer hot Cheetos or spicy Doritos?

OBSERVATION An observation is the act of gathering information based on the five senses.

I see a lot of dolphins eating hot Cheetos at lunch everyday. What is the sense I am using for my observation here?

2) Research your question Sometimes, if our question is complex, we may need to gather more information by conducting some research. We can conduct research by making observations. Examples: Observe the world around you. Ask other people for advice! Look in books or use the internet to find more information!

3) Develop your hypothesis A hypothesis is a possible answer to your question. Some people call a hypothesis an educated guess.

After making my observations by asking students what kind of snack they liked and seeing what they ate at lunch, my hypothesis is that NWPMS students prefer hot Cheetos to spicy Doritos.

4) Write your procedure List of all of the materials you will need. List each thing you will do. Number each step in order. Write down everything you will do.

My Procedure Materials 20 NWMPS 6 th graders 20 NWMPS 7 th graders 40 cups of hot Cheetos (each cup the same size) 40 cups of spicy Doritos (each cup the same size) 40 cups of water Procedure (1) I will choose 20 NWMPS 6 th graders and NWMPS 7 th graders at random (2) Each day for 5 days, I will test 4 6 th graders and lunch and 4 7 th graders until I test all 20. (3) Each scholar will be able to eat one cup of hot Cheetos & one cup of spicy Doritos (4) In between eating each cup, they will drink a cup of water (5) After they have eaten both cups, they will pick which one they enjoyed better.

5) Experiment to test the hypothesis! Get your materials, follow your procedures, and make observations. Write down your observations, this is called your data!

My Data: 14 6 th graders preferred hot Cheetos 6 6 th graders preferred spicy Doritos 9 7 th graders preferred hot Cheetos 11 7 th graders preferred spicy Doritos

6) Organize your data Write down as much data as you can about what you see during your experiment. Make tables, charts, or graphs using your data.

What do our NWPMS students prefer: Hot Cheetos or Spicy Doritos?

7) State your conclusion In the conclusion, scientists answer the question that the experiment asked. Look at your data and decide what it tells you about your hypothesis. Summarize your data. Communicate your results with others.

My Conclusion Based on my results, 23 NWPMS students preferred hot Cheetos, while 17 PCA scholars preferred spicy Doritos. Therefore, it is my conclusion that NWPMS students prefer hot Cheetos to spicy Doritos. My hypothesis was correct!

Once a scientist completes an experiment, they often repeat it to see if they get the same findings and results. This is really what we call verification, or checking things out to make sure everything was valid and will happen again and again.