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. It is a way to ask & answer scientific questions by asking questions & conducting experiments.

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

II. Conduct Research Make a plan about how you will collect data Use a variety of research sources (books, journals, reliable websites, interviews with experts) Verify information is true and related to your question/purpose

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

VI. Conclusion After your experiment, analyze your data to see if your hypothesis was accepted or rejected. Using the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning framework create a summary of your experiment results. Claim: Answer the investigative question Evidence: Provide supporting data Reasoning: How/Why does your data support your claim?