Science Process Skills

Science Process Skills are tools scientist use to: identify problems solve problems And answer questions “known” about our world

OBSERVING Use your senses to determine the properties of an object or event. You must pay close attention to everything around you and sometimes use instruments to assist you with your observations.

OBSERVING USE ONE OR MORE OF YOUR 5 SENSES SMELLING SEEING HEARING TASTING TOUCHING

COMPARING Identify common and distinguishing characteristics of objects or events.

COMPARING 5 - HARD BALLS 3 - SOFT BALLS 2 - SMOOTH BALLS 1 - ROUGH BALL 3 - DULL BALLS 5 - SHINNY BALLS

CLASSIFY / ORDERING Group information, objects or events together according to their properties.

CLASSIFY / ORDERING 2 - BLUE BUTTONS WITH TWO HOLES 3 - BROWN BUTTONS WITH 1 HOLE 3 - PAIRS OF WHITE SHOES WITH LACES 4 - PAIRS OF WHITE SHOES WITH NO LACES.

RECOGNIZING TIME / SPACE RELATIONSHIPS Estimate and / or describe how moving and / or nonmoving objects or related to one another during or based upon a specific event.

MEASURING You use the skill of estimation, describe and record appropriate units of measurement (quantitative measurement) and make relationships between time and space.

COLLECTING, RECORDING, AND INTERPRETING DATA Gather and organize data in order to make it understandable (sense of), meaningful, and to find patterns that lead to inferences, predictions, and hypothesis.

COMMUNICATING Use written and spoken words, graphs, tables, diagrams, and technology presentations to share and explain ideas and information.

INFERRING Form a conclusion based upon what you think explains your observations and data. Making inferences may include cause and effect relationships.

OBSERVATION OR INFERENCE? THE LADY HAS HER UMBRELLA UP. IT MUST BE RAINING OUTSIDE.

PREDICTING You state the anticipated outcomes of new or changed situations using your previous / past/ prior knowledge, experiences, and observations.

PREDICTING I believe that the egg will float in salt water and sink in fresh water.

HYPOTHESIS Form and make suggested solutions to a problem; from observations or events. You will state in writing or verbally your solution or explanation as the expected outcome of an experiment.

IDENTIFYING AND CONTROLLING VARIABLES Be very specific in identifying the factors and / or control the factors that might be expected to affect the outcome of an experiment. You will select the variables to be manipulated and / or held constant.

IDENTIFYING AND CONTROLLING VARIABLES Want to determine if the rate of plant growth in salt water and fresh water will be different. The constant is fresh water and the variable is the salt water. You have the same type of plants, in the same type and amount of soil .

EXPERIMENTATION Write the step by step procedures (instructions). These procedures will assist in determining (decide) if your tested hypothesis is correct or incorrect based upon manipulation of materials.

MAKING AND USING MODELS You are developing a copy representing the “real world” application you’re studying. This will allow you to understand how systems work and how they are constructed.

MAKING AND USING MODELS Models can be a constructed replication (3-dimensional copy), a painting, a drawing, or a diagram

ANALYSE Study the results / data of your experiment or investigation carefully.