The Scientific Method

What is it? The scientific method is a series of steps a scientist follows when conducting scientific inquiry. The method has 6 steps.

Step 1: Problem The question proposed by the scientist. It’s the purpose of the experiment. One Complete Sentence Ex: The purpose of this experiment is to…

Step 2: Hypothesis A possible answer to the problem based on the scientist’s knowledge. “Educated Guess” One Complete Sentence Ex: I believe… I think… I predict that…

Step 3: Materials A list of all supplies needed to perform the experiment. Use a bullet-style format.

Step 4: Procedure This is the actual experiment. It’s a list of steps that are followed in order to complete the experiment correctly. Use a number format and complete sentences.

Step 5: Results The observations and data collected during the experiment. What happened??? In paragraph form with complete sentences. Tables, graphs, charts, or drawings will be included here.

Step 6: Conclusion The answer to the problem based on the scientist’s analysis of the results. In paragraph form with complete sentences. Restate the purpose and the hypothesis. Then explain why the results supported or didn’t support the hypothesis.

Example Purpose The purpose of this experiment is to compare how effective salt, sand, and sugar are at melting ice. Hypothesis I predict that sugar will melt ice faster than salt or sand. Materials Water Three Beakers Three Ice Cubes Salt Sugar Sand Teaspoon Grease pencil

Example Continued Procedure Label the beakers: A, B, C Place an ice cube in each beaker. Sprinkle two teaspoons of salt in beaker A. Sprinkle two teaspoons of sugar in beaker B. Sprinkle two teaspoons of sand in beaker C. Observe the beakers for the next hour. In the results section, make a data table ranking the ice cubes in the order in which they melt.

Order in which ice melts. Example Continued Results Beaker Order in which ice melts. A: salt First B: sugar Third C: sand Second I observed the salt melting the ice fastest. At thirty minutes into the experiment, the ice cube was completely melted. At an hour into the experiment, the ice cubes with sugar and sand were still there, but smaller. Sugar and sand melted the ice at about the same rate.

Example Continued Conclusion The purpose of this experiment was to compare how effective salt, sugar, and sand were at melting ice. My original hypothesis was that sugar would melt ice fastest, but it was disproved. The results showed that salt was the fastest. In conclusion, salt melts ice faster than sugar or sand.