Scientific Method Science Ms. Kellachow

1. State problem State the problem as a question.

Read, get advice, and make observations. 2. Gather Information Read, get advice, and make observations.

Make a prediction about 3. Develop a hypothesis Make a prediction about what will happen

Plan how you will test your hypothesis 4. Perform an experiment Plan how you will test your hypothesis

5. Collect and Analyze Data Create a chart or graph of your data

summarize your findings 6. Draw conclusions Analyze your data and summarize your findings

Conduct the experiment again and record and compare the data Test your hypothesis You may need to Conduct the experiment again and record and compare the data

Independent Variable An independent variable is the variable you have control over, what you can choose and manipulate. It is usually what you think will affect the dependent variable. Example: You are interested in how stress affects heart rate in humans. Your independent variable would be the stress level. You can directly manipulate stress levels in your human subjects and measure how those stress levels change heart rate.

Dependent Variable A dependent variable is what you measure in the experiment and what is affected during the experiment. The dependent variable responds to the independent variable. It is called dependent because it "depends" on the independent variable. In a scientific experiment, you cannot have a dependent variable without an independent variable. You are interested in how stress affects heart rate in humans. Your dependent variable would be the heart rate. You can directly manipulate stress levels in your human subjects and measure how those stress levels change heart rate.