LET’S INVESTIGATE: The Scientific Method SCIENCE LET’S INVESTIGATE: The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method? What’s it all about? Click the button to play a song about the scientific method.

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, write down data, and draw a conclusion. In other words, it’s a way to solve a problem.

Steps of the Scientific Method Ask a QUESTION or identify a problem. Gather information BACKGROUND RESEARCH Formulate HYPOTHESIS. Create an EXPERIMENT to test your hypothesis. Collect DATA or RESULTS by doing the experiment. Draw a CONCLUSION.

Does exercise make your heart beat faster? 1. Asking questions Do plants need water to grow? Does exercise make your heart beat faster? All investigations start with a question !

2. Background Research Gather information by… Using the internet, encyclopedias, dictionaries, social interactions, newspapers, etc.

What question could these children be investigating? What are they predicting will happen?

Example: If I give plants water, then they will grow. 3. Hypothesis I predict that... A HYPOTHESIS is the same thing as a prediction. It is an EDUCATED GUESS Of what you think is going to happen in your experiment. Example: If I give plants water, then they will grow.

You need to give a reason why your hypothesis is correct. Because... You need to give a reason why your hypothesis is correct. Example: …..because water is a key component to Photosynthesis. 2 parts to a Hypothesis Dependent Variable- Cannot control outcome Independent Variable- Can change or manipulate the factors

4. Designing an Experiment... The next step scientists take is to create and conduct an experiment to test their hypothesis.

Materials and Procedures…. Needed... In every experiment, we Must have 2 things… Materials and Procedures….

A key to experiments is observing what happens and writing it down. 5. Results/Analysis … A key to experiments is observing what happens and writing it down. Gathering information or data is very important. Write it down so it is readable and makes sense to other people who read it.

What are the results of my experiment? After the experiment, you need to write in detail what happened in your experiment. Example: What happened? Photos, graphs, charts, videos, etc…

States if your Hypothesis was proven true or false!! 6. Draw a Conclusion? Your hypothesis does not have to be correct!! You need to look back at your HYPOTHESIS and see if you were correct! States if your Hypothesis was proven true or false!!

Class Assignment…... You need to create an original Hypothesis Remember to use your notes if need be!! 