What Inquiry Skills Do Scientists Use?

Simple Investigation vs. Inquiry: What’s the difference? Not organized Any time you seek the answer to a question Ask someone Measure something Look it up Once you have the answer, you are done An organized way to answer questions by gathering information Steps must be followed Observe Gather Data Interpret Data Draw Conclusions

Observe Use your senses to gather information about objects and events

Gather, record, and display data Record your observations and measurements in an organized way

Measure Compare the length, or another property to a standard unit

Use Numbers Collect, display, and interpret data as numbers

Compare Identify ways in which things or events are alike or different

Classify: group or organize objects How we classified when we were little How we classify in 5th grade

Interpret Data Use data to look for patterns, or to predict what will happen

Infer Use logical reasoning to come to a conclusion based on data

Predict: use observations to form an idea Fortune tellers just guess Scientists make educated guesses

Experiment Design a procedure to test a hypothesis under certain conditions

Dependant Variable A factor that may change because of the way you set up the experiment. In this example the dependant variable is plant growth.

Controlled Variables Factors that can affect the outcome of an experiment. In this example the controlled variables might include hours in the sun and amount of water given each week.

Develop a testable question Ask a question that can be answered using a simple investigation Are all questions able to be answered using a simple investigation? Does air have weight? Does weight affect a parachute’s performance? Does paper airplane design have an affect on performance? Is the moon really made of cheese? Does bigfoot exist? Why is the sky blue?

These steps will be gone over in more detail in lesson 4 Hypothesis-suggest an outcome that can be tested in an experiment Draw Conclusions-use logical reasoning to come to a conclusion based on data

Communicate Share results and information orally or in writing We do this by writing in our science notebooks!

Make a Model Make a mental or physical representation of a process or an object Sometimes it isn’t practical, or even safe, to study the real thing.

Time and Space Relationships Figure out the order in which things happen

Review What is the difference between a simple investigation and an experiment? What would happen if you tested a parachute’s size at the same time you tested the weight it carried? Why is it often more practical to build a model than to conduct an experiment using the real objects?