Contents *What is the Scientific Method? *Why Use the Scientific Method? *The Problem *The Hypothesis *Variables *Materials and Procedure *Scientific Tools *Organizing Data *Writing the Conclusion

What is the Scientific Method? *An orderly approach to learning information and solving problems *Similar to problem solving in day to day life, but more consistent *Consists of a problem, hypothesis, materials, procedures, data, and a conclusion To table of contents

Why Use the Scientific Method? *Consistent *Clear *Simple *Repeatable *Thorough To table of contents

The Problem *The purpose of doing an experiment *Stated as a question Give me an example of a problem. To table of contents

The Hypothesis *An educated guess *Answers the question in the problem *Written in “If, then, because” form *Based on past observations or scientific knowledge Show me how to write a hypothesis ! To table of contents

Variables *Everything kept the same except for the one item being tested *Independent variable/ Manipulated variable: the thing that is being changed in an experiment *Dependent variable/Responding variable: what changes as a result of the independent variable *Control: the item that is being tested with no changes, used to compare Show me a bunch of examples!

Scientific Tools To MeasureUseBase Unit LengthRulerMeter (m) AreaRuler (l x w)Square meter (m 2 ) Volume (solid)Ruler (l x w x h)Cubic meter (m 3 ) Volume (liquid)BeakerLiter (L) MassBalanceKilogram (Kg) TemperatureThermometerCelsius ( C) To table of contents

Organizing Data *Qualitative Data: a description, uses senses *Quantitative Data: measurements, uses scientific tools *Put data into a chart or a graph How do I make a data chart? To table of contents

Writing the Conclusion *Restate the problem and your hypothesis *Explain what happened to the test group when you applied the variable *Answer the question in the problem *State whether or not your hypothesis was correct Show me how to write a conclusion

The Problem: Examples *What will happen if I put my hand in a bucket of ice water for four minutes? *What happens to a houseplant if it is not watered for three weeks? *What happens to a person’s heart rate if that person runs a mile? Back to the problem

The Hypothesis: Examples *IF I put my hand in a bucket of ice water for four minutes,THEN my hand will hurt, BECAUSE the cold will make my blood vessels get smaller, which will cause less blood to go to my hand, which will make my hand hurt. *IF a houseplant is not watered for three weeks, THEN the plant will wither and droop BECAUSE the water will leave the plant through the leaves and make the plant droopy. Back to the hypothesis

Variables: Examples *VARIABLE: temperature of environment in which hand is located *VARIABLE: amount of water given to a plant *VARIABLE: amount of activity the person is doing Back to variables

Materials: Example Procedure: Example Salt Triple beam balance One sheet of loose-leaf paper 500 ml beaker 300 ml water Egg Back to materials and procedure 1.Fill beaker to 300 ml mark with water. Add salt ONE GRAM at a time. 2.After each addition of salt, put the egg in the beaker to see if it floats. 3.Remove the egg before adding more salt. 4.When the egg floats, record the number of grams required for your egg to float. 5.If you have additional time, complete another trial following the same steps.

Data: Example Height and Width Data Group Member NameHeight (m)Width (m) Total Average Title Units Labels Back to data

The Conclusion: Example The purpose of this lab was to find out what happens to a person’s heart rate as that person increases his or her activity level. My hypothesis was that if a person increases his or her activity level, then that person’s heart rate will increase because their cells need more oxygen to keep working. The variable was the amount of activity the person was doing. I found out that my hypothesis was right because when the members of my group went from resting to walking, and then walking to running, their heart rate went up each time. For example, I went from 77 beats/min resting to 86 beats/min walking, and then up to 103 beats/min running. My other group members had similar results. Therefore, I conclude that when a person increases his or her activity level, that person’s heart rate will also increase. Back to the conclusion The end

Now you’re all ready to use the scientific method in your own labs! Let’s get going!