The Scientific Method

Do Not Copy This Slide!!! 1. pose questions about the natural world, 2. conduct systematic observations, 3. examine books and other sources of information to see what is already known, 4. review what is known in light of empirical evidence, 5. plan investigations, 6. use tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data (this includes the use of measurement in metric and other systems, and also the generation and interpretation of graphical representations of data, including data tables and graphs), 7. pose answers, explanations, or descriptions of events, 8. generate explanations that explicate or describe natural phenomena (inferences), 9. use appropriate evidence and reasoning to justify these explanations to others, 10. communicate results of scientific investigations, and 11. evaluate the merits of the explanations produced by others.

Scientific method - The pattern in which most experiments are followed: posing questions, developing a hypothesis, designing an experiment, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions

experiment - a way to test an idea in a careful, orderly manner

hypothesis - a possible explanation for a set of observations or an answer to a scientific question If ______________________, then _______________________. It’s what you think will happen…

variable - any factor that can change during an experiment Examples: Growth Adding or taking something away Temperature Sunlight

independent variable - (manipulated variable) - the thing that a scientist changes. This is what you change Something you add or take away… If you add salt to water, then an egg will float in the water.

dependent variable - (responding variable) - the variable that is expected to change in response to the manipulated variable. This is what you measure or observe. If you add salt to water, then an egg will float in the water.

Controls/Constants – things that you keep the same in an experiment

control group – any group that does NOT receive the independent variable

Controlled experiment – an experiment with only one independent variable

Read the information below and then answer the questions. SpongeBob and Patrick love to go jellyfishing. They wondered if a new brand of jellyfish bait would help them catch more jellyfish. To test their idea, they bought a big container of bait for their next 3 trips to their top-secret fishing spot. SpongeBob fished without any bait, while Patrick used the new bait. Both of them kept track of how many jellyfish they caught in 30 minutes, which is shown in the chart. SpongeBob Patrick 25 24 18 28 26 19 Which person was the control? 2. What is the independent variable? 3. What is the dependent variable? 4. Based on the data, how would you rate the new bait?

Read the information below and then answer the questions. SpongeBob and Patrick love to go jellyfishing. They wondered if a new brand of jellyfish bait would help them catch more jellyfish. To test their idea, they bought a big container of bait for their next 3 trips to their top-secret fishing spot. SpongeBob fished without any bait, while Patrick used the new bait. Both of them kept track of how many jellyfish they caught in 30 minutes, which is shown in the chart. SpongeBob Patrick 25 24 18 28 26 19 Which person was the control? SpongeBob 2. What is the independent variable? Jellyfish Bait 3. What is the dependent variable? Number of jellyfish caught 4. Based on the data, how would you rate the new bait? The bait appears to have helped a small amount, but shouldn’t be rated as a great deal. Overall Patrick caught 2 more jellyfish than SpongeBob.

observation - using one or more of your five senses to gather information

Inference - a logical interpretation based on observation or prior knowledge

Lab Report – an organized way of recording everything about an experiment Title Problem Statement Hypothesis Materials Procedures Results Discussion Conclusion

What’s in Conclusion Anyway? Write conclusions that cover the following seven points: state what was investigated Describe whether or not the hypothesis was supported by the results Include sample results Compare the results with other investigations Provide possible explanations about the results Recommend additional studies Discuss possible applications.