Solving a problem in an orderly and systematic way.

1. Define the Problem Put the problem in the form of a question. ie.What will happen to a gummy bear when you put it in water overnight?

2. Research Gather as much information as you can on the problem. Review everything important related to the question. This is done through your own past knowledge or through research.

3. Hypothesis A suggested solution is your hypothesis. This is also called an educated guess.

4. Perform an EXPERIMENT to test the hypothesis. Only test one thing at a time. This is called your variable. The variable is what is being tested. A control experiment has no variable.

While performing your experiment, keep track of the steps. The easiest way is to number each step. This will help others to follow your experiment exactly as you did it.

5. Record and 6. Analyze Data Carefully record anything that happened. These facts are called DATA. Data includes observations.

7. Conclusion First, tell if the information agrees or disagrees with your hypothesis. Next, review the entire lab and then restate the problem in the conclusion section of the lab. My hypothesis agrees…

Repeat the Experiment A good scientist will check the accuracy of their work by repeating the experiment. Scientists do not consider the results as accurate unless it has been repeated many times.

Sometimes the results of research may cause them to go in another direction.