Scientific Method

Steps Observation Hypothesis Experimentation Collecting and Analyzing Data Conclusion Theory Communication

Observation See something and question it Create question or define problem based on what you see.

Hypothesis Educated guess Prediction about what will happen Based on gathered research and observations Prediction about what will happen Often an “IF” “Then” statement If you fertilize pea plants they will grow taller

Experimentation Design experiment to test hypothesis Must be controlled experiment Only 1 variable will change all other remain the same Control group- standard, normal group Experimental group- same as control except for 1 variable that has changed Independent variable- the variable that is changed Dependent variable- variable that is measured It reacts to the independent variable

Collecting Data Qualitative data Quantitative data Organize data Cannot be measured Color, odor, shape, etc. Quantitative data Measured data Organize data Graphs Charts Tables

Conclusions Hypotheses can only be disproven they cannot be proven by an experiment Inferences made based on data collected in experiment Can be used to build models of things

Theory Explains many related hypotheses Highly tested generally accepted principal Explains lots of data and observations

Communicating Publish papers Explain experiment and results to others Important for expanding scientific knowledge