Scientific Method

I. Question What is your good science question? GOOD SCIENCE QUESTIONS ARE: Testable Measureable Observable Repeatable

II. Background Information Write out any information you need to share with the reader so that they can understand what your experiment is about!

III. Hypothesis Tell me what your suggested solution to the problem is… “If ….(independent variable) Then… dependent variable…

Variables Independent Variable: part of the experiment that the scientist changes, ONLY ONE PER EXPERIMENT Dependent Variable: the part of the experiment that changes because of the independent variable, part that is measured Control Group: done without the independent variable, something to compare to (not all will have)

More on Independent Variables Variable that the scientist changes Variable that changes automatically Variable on the X-axis of a graph Only 1 independent variable allowed in a good experiment, all other variables must be constant

More on Dependent Variables The variable that is measured The variable that changes because of the independent variable The variable on the Y-axis of a graph

More on Control Group The group in the experiment that does not get the “treatment” by the scientist The control group gives the scientist a comparison to the experimental group

Constants Constants are parts of an experiment that remain the same from one trial to another. These ensure that only the Independent Variable is changed.

IV. Procedure This is the step by step description of exactly how to carry out the experiment …. And so on Multiple Trials (how many times do you need to repeat the experiment) Start with 3 on average When your data is consistent you’ve done enough trials

V. Data/Results Organized chart and/or graph of the information you gathered This is the raw data and results no explanations or conclusions.

Data Analysis This is where you make a word description of the data. Explain what is going on with the graphs. ‘ If questions are asked in the lab, you answer them in this section.

VI. Conclusion Tell if your hypothesis was right or wrong. DISCUSS THE DATA that leads you to say what you are saying. Use numbers in your data to explain what you say. This should be at least 3 to 4 sentences minimum!!

VII. Strengths, Weaknesses, Reason for Errors One good thing about your lab (strength) One thing that you would’ve liked to do better but couldn’t but it wasn’t your fault (weakness) One thing you did wrong (error) For all these… explain how each effected the experiment

Laws and Theories Scientific Law: a descriptive statement or equation that reliably predicts events under certain conditions, helps us make predictions Universal law of gravity Scientific Theories: explains many different laws supported by a large amount of evidence and investigations ** Always being questioned and examined Theory of evolution

Flow Chart

Example Mr. Cramer wants to know which way to the cafeteria is faster going through the halls or across the courtyard. He theorizes that the hallway is faster. Mr. Cramer walks his class each way multiple times while timing how long it takes for the class to get there. He finds that the hallway is about 30 seconds faster than the courtyard. What is the independent variable? Dependent variable? What are some constants? What is the control group?