Scientific Method A planned approach to solving a problem Make Observations and form a hypothesis Test Hypothesis/Perform Experiment Define/Identify the Problem Organize and Analyze Data New Experiment Do Experiment and Observations Support Hypothesis? No Draw Conclusion Communicate Results Yes Faulty Experiment? A planned approach to solving a problem

Problem A well-defined question

Anything you see, hear, taste, touch, or smell Observation Anything you see, hear, taste, touch, or smell (using your senses)

Implying a conclusion based on observations Inference Implying a conclusion based on observations

Hypothesis An educated guess

Experiment A test of the hypothesis

Procedure The step by step plan for the experiment

Variable = Size of the Ball Anything that changes during the experiment 2 Types: Independent & Dependent Variable = Size of the Ball

Independent Variable The variable that YOU change in the experiment 50 mL water 100 mL water 200 mL water

Dependent Variable The variable that responds to the independent variable What changes because YOU changed something = Height of Plant (affects) 50 mL 100 mL 200 mL

Same size/color/type of flower Control/Constant The factors that are kept or stay the same in the experiment Same amount of soil Same size/color/type of flower Same amount of light

Collect & Analyze Data Information collected from the experiment Usually displayed in the form of a chart, table, or graph

Conclusion Forming an answer based on the interpretation and analysis of data

Classify To sort objects and/or organisms into categories

Model A structure that visually represents real events or objects

Models cannot show us everything about what they represent Limitation Models cannot show us everything about what they represent