Scientific Method How Scientists Work

The Scientific Method A way to answer a question or problem in any field of science No one way to do science, yet all scientific methods have the same components Based on deductive thinking or inquiry May never produce an answer… This is okay

Problem/Question Something observed in nature must trigger a question Something to solve

Research Research is done on the question Has anyone asked this before? Has the answer already been found?

Hypothesis A possible answer or educated guess Matches the question Sometimes written as an “if…then” statement The hypothesis must be testable Allows for experimentation

Experiment An experiment is designed to prove the hypothesis Uses observations Senses or measurements with tools Generates data Must have a control A comparison, something that doesn’t change Should only test one variable (maybe two) A variable is something that changes

Analyze Data The experiment generates data The data must be studied and a conclusion must be made regarding the hypothesis Accept hypothesis Data seems to support hypothesis Repeat experiment many times to prove data and conclusion is ok Reject hypothesis Look for possible errors and start process over

Theory Sometimes a hypothesis is found to be a true description of nature This allows a theory to be made A theory is well tested