CHAPTER 3 - THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS 3.1 Inquiry & The Scientific Method pp. 58-62

Create a list of 5 things you know for sure. Why are you certain of the facts stated on your list? What is the evidence to support the facts?

INQUIRY Learning by asking questions is called inquiry. The steps in learning by inquiry: Ask a question Collect evidence Propose an answer Compare with evidence Ask a better question

INQUIRY Is like solving a crime. Accurately describe who did what, when they did it, how they did it. The detective never actually saw the crime. They had to deduce what happened in the past from info. collected in the present.

SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE Detective searches for evidence & clues to help answer the questions. Detective comes up with a theory of what happened (a description of what must have happened in the crime down to the smallest details). The theory is only one possible explanation. Detective must have evidence to support his/her theory.

TESTS TO PROVE A THEORY Theory must be supported by enough evidence. There cannot be a single piece of contradictory evidence. The theory must be unique. If the theory passes all three of the above criteria, the detective believes that he/she has solved the problem.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE May include numbers, tables, graphs, words pictures, sound recordings, etc. Must be objective (should only describe what actually happened as exactly as possible). Must be repeatable (others who look the same way at the same thing will observe the same results.

HYPOTHESES Describe possible explanations for a mystery. Theories begin as hypotheses. Must be testable – must be possible to collect evidence to prove whether it is true or false. Must be repeatedly tested by different scientists in order to be validated.

THEORIES A human attempt to describe a natural law. A natural law is a theory that has been tested many times without any contradictions. theories are tested against new experiments. The current theory will correctly explain the new evidence OR The current theory will not explain the new evidence.

THEORIES Explain how or why something occurs. Are verified by known facts. As new evidence is gathered, a theory may be modified or discarded.

LAWS State scientific facts. Theories attempt to explain “why”.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD A process of learning that begins with a hypothesis and proceeds to prove or change the hypothesis by comparing it with scientific evidence.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Scientists observe nature and develop or revise hypotheses about how things work. The hypotheses are tested against evidence collected from observations and experiments.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD A hypothesis that correctly accounts for all of the evidence from the observations & experiments is a potentially correct theory. A theory is continually tested by collecting new & different evidence. If even one piece of evidence does not agree with a theory, scientists will return to step 1.