What do you think the scientific method is? 5 Minutes!! Do Now / Catalyst: What do you think the scientific method is?

A blueprint for experiment success. Scientific Method A blueprint for experiment success.

What is the scientific method? It is a simple method scientists use to conduct an investigation.

7 Steps of Scientific Method 1) Choose a problem/ question 2) Make observations about your problem/ Research your problem 3) Form a hypothesis 4) Write your procedure 5) Experiment to test the hypothesis 6) Record results/data of experiment 7) Communicate the conclusion

I. Question/Problem Ask a question about something observed. Why? How? What? Question to be solved. Must be about something measurable.

II. Observation An observation is the act of gathering information based on the five senses.

III. Hypothesis Educated guess about how things work. Prediction Use If, then statements If ____ [I do this], then _____ [this will happen] Focus on one variable only.

IV. Experiment Tests your hypothesis. Is it accepted (right) or rejected (wrong) ? Change only one variable at a time. Use a control or control group (A group that has nothing done to it. Standard used for comparison in an experiment.) In order for results to be valid, conduct several tests.

IV. Experiment Record your data in a data table. Numerical (quantitative) data organized in rows and columns The specific independent variables are listed •The number of trials are listed Blanks are left for the data (dependent variable) to be filled in

IV. Experiment Title: Describing the Data Trial Variable 1 Variable 2 3 4 5 AVERAGE

V. Procedure List of all of the materials you will need. List each thing you will do. Number each step in order.

VI. Data Analysis/ Results Reduce the data Average (Mean) Graph Graph the data to look for trends & relationships.

VII. Conclusion Summary of your experiment. After your experiment, analyze your data to see if your hypothesis was accepted or rejected. If hypothesis is rejected, give possible reasons for the difference between your hypothesis and the experimental results.

Review 7 Steps 1) Choose a problem/ question 2) Make observations about your problem/ Research your problem 3) Form a hypothesis 4) Write your procedure 5) Experiment to test the hypothesis 6) Record results/data of experiment 7) Communicate the conclusion

1. Question: Do BMS scholars prefer hot Cheetos or spicy Doritos?

2. I made my observations by: watching what snacks scholars were eating at lunch.

3. Hypothesis: If BMS scholars were asked which snack they preferred, hot Cheetos or spicy Doritos, then they would choose hot Cheetos.

4. Procedure Procedure Materials 20 BMS 6th graders 20 BMS 7th graders 40 cups of hot Cheetos (each cup the same size) 40 cups of spicy Doritos 40 cups of water (1) I will choose 20 BMS 6th graders and 20 BMS 7th graders at random (2) Each day for 5 days, I will test 4 6th graders and lunch and 4 7th graders until I test all 20. (3) Each scholar will be able to eat one cup of hot Cheetos & one cup of spicy Doritos (4) In between eating each cup, they will drink a cup of water (5) After they have eaten both cups, they will pick which one they enjoyed better.

5. Experiment to test the hypothesis! Get your materials, follow your procedures, and make observations. Write down your observations, this is called your data!

6. Data: 14- 6th graders preferred hot Cheetos 6- 6th graders preferred spicy Doritos 9- 7th graders preferred hot Cheetos 11- 7th graders preferred spicy Doritos

6. Data Write down as much data as you can about what you see during your experiment. Make tables, charts, or graphs using your data.

6. Data What do our BMS Scholars prefer: Hot Cheetos or Spicy Doritos?

7. Conclusion Based on my results, 23 BMS scholars preferred hot Cheetos, while 17 BMS scholars preferred spicy Doritos. Therefore, it is my conclusion that BMS scholars prefer hot Cheetos to spicy Doritos. My hypothesis was correct!

Once a scientist completes an experiment, they often repeat it to see if they get the same findings and results. This is really what we call verification, or checking things out to make sure everything was valid and will happen again and again.