Scientific Method Mrs. Rowan: 5th grade

What is the Scientific Method? Every single one of us is a scientist in our own way Some of the most important science work starts when people question why things are happening the way they do Today we are going to learn about the steps in the Scientific Method and brainstorm some ideas on how to create our own experiement.

Step 1: Ask A Question TAKE NOTES!!! Observation: watching things going on around you, noticing trends and developing questions. Scientific observations don’t have to be about typical “science stuff”, they can be about people, clothes, food or whatever interests you! What are some things that you have observed that you have questions about????????

Develop a Question Take Notes Not every question is a good question that can be tested. We are going to focus on “testable” questions, or questions that we can do experiments on. They CAN NOT be opinion questions, for example pizza tastes better than vegetables! You must be able to measure the results in some way for it to be considered a testable question. How do students learn best? Does Bacteria Grow on your toothbrush? Does talking to your plant really help them grow?

Small Group Activity 1: Questions Worksheet Procedure: You will be put in groups of 5 (1 group will have 3). You will receive worksheet and will circle the questions which are testable using scientific experimentation as a group. Roles: Blue Stick-Reporter: you will report to class Red Stick-Materials: you will gather materials & return materials Yellow Stick-Note Taker: you read questions and will circle agreed upon answers Orange Stick-Group Leader: you will be responsible to lead discussion and make sure everyone has an equal turn 5. Green Stick-Time Keeper: you are responsible to keep everyone in the group on task & complete work on time

Small Group Activity 2: Write a testable question Stay in the same small groups I will be making sure you are all executing your assigned role & grading participation!!!!! Write a testable question for each ideas for experiments. Roles: Blue Stick-Reporter: you will report to class Red Stick-Materials: you will gather materials & return materials Yellow Stick-Note Taker: you read questions and write any agreed upon answers Orange Stick-Group Leader: you will be responsible to lead discussion and make sure everyone has an equal turn. Green Stick-Time Keeper: you are responsible to make sure everyone in on task/work is completed on time

Step 2: Conduct Research We conduct research to narrow our question into a Hypothesis Sources of Research are: the internet, library, expert or professional, and any other academic resource

Step 3: Hypothesis Take Notes A hypothesis is a special kind of prediction that predicts how changing one part of an experiment will affect results. It is NOT a guess It is an informed and well thought out prediction that requires background information You can think of it as a cause-effect statement.

Hypothesis: A hypothesis is best written in the “If ___________, then ____________” Here is an example of a hypothesis: 1. If the temperature of sea water increases, then the amount of salt that dissolves in the water increases. ***Not all questions lend themselves to the “If______, then ______.” format. However, almost all of the experiments we will do in this class will work in this format.

How to Transition a Question into a Hypothesis: Question: What type of pizza if preferred by fifth graders? Hypothesis: If fifth graders are questioned about pizza preference then they will prefer cheese. Question: How does the amount of daylight affect how may eggs a chicken produces? Hypothesis: If the amount of daylight increases, then the chickens will produce more eggs.

Change these Questions into a Hypothesis: Question: How does room temperature affect student performance? Hypothesis: Question: How does the color of a surface affect its temperature?

Hypothesis Writing Practice: Individual worksheet:

Coin Flip Experiment (Groups of 2) Question: If I flip a coin 50 times, how many times will it land “heads up”? Hypothesis: If I flip a coin 50 times, then___________________. Procedure: 1. Predict how many “heads up” flips you will get. 2. Create a table to record results. 3. Designate one person to flip the coin, and the other to record results. 4. Flip the same coin 50 times and record (with tally marks) the number of “heads up” and “tails up” results.

Step 4: Experiment Take Notes The procedure is the writing of the materials used and steps followed when conducting an investigation. The material list must be complete The steps must be in order and understandable so the activity can be repeated. Other scientists should be able to look at your procedure and easily follow your steps in order to get the same results. PROCEDURES ARE BEST WRITTEN AS A NUMBERED SEQUENCE!!

Step 4: Experiment To practice writing a procedure, think about our “Coin Flip” Experiment. In your science notebooks, write the procedure for the activity. ****Make sure it is in a numbered sequence!!!

Variables Take Notes Variables are conditions that could affect the outcome of an experiment. For example, think about the different things that may have affected the coin flip activity. The height of the flip, the weight of the coin, the size of the coin or how fast you performed each flip. Can you think of any others????

Variables Develop at least 3 variable for each of the following: What variables can affect the number of fish in a lake? What variables can affect the attendance at a baseball game? What variables can affect how well a student does on a Math test? What variables can affect the taste of a soda? What variables can affect the amount of fruit an apple tree produces?

Identifying Variables Take Notes It is important to identify the variable in any experiment. You want as few variables as possible when conducting an experiment. You will always have 3 types of variables: Independent Dependent Control (also called constant)

Independent Variables vs. Dependent Variables Take Notes The independent variable is what you change on purpose in an experiment. The dependent variable is what you measure in an experiment. The control is the condition or conditions that remain the same in an investigation. For Example: What variables could affect the sprouting of a bean seed??

Small Group Activity: Identifying Variables Experiment 1: Two groups of students were tested to compare their speed working on math problems. Each group was given the same problems. One group used calculators and the other group did not. What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable? What is the control/constant?

Variables continued…. Experiment 2: Students of different ages were given the same puzzle to assemble. The assembly time was measured. What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable? What is the constant/control variable?

Step 5: Analyze Data Tables & Graphs to Display Data: Take Notes Tables and graphs are a way for people to see the data you have collected during an experiment. Data can be analyzed quickly and accurately by using tables and graphs. Independent variables go on the y-axis (vertical) Dependent variables go on the x-axis (horizontal)

Tables: Each table should have a title The first column in the table lists the items to be compared (independent variable) The first row of the table lists the specific characteristics being compared (dependent variable). Data is recorded within the grid of the table.

Table Example: Title: Coin Flips Coin Side Heads Tails

Graphs There are 2 main types of graphs used to display data: 1. Line Graphs 2. Bar Graphs. Graphs help your data to be seen quickly and easily.

Graph Example:

Step 6: Report Results/Conclusion: 1. State the facts 2. Say why…. 3. Discuss any questions you still have, what you might have done differently, any sources of error, and what future testing you might do to make your results more meaningful. The conclusion is at least a paragraph or more and should explain the results of the lab and what you learned by doing it.