Agree or Disagree? When cows fall asleep standing up, it is easy (and fun!) to sneak up next to them and tip them over. Birds eating rice thrown at weddings swell up and die (even burst). Animals exposed to radioactive waste mutate and turn into other types of animals.

Agree or Disagree? Earthworms come up onto the sidewalks after heavy rain to avoid being drowned in their underground tunnels. People licking toads have hallucinations. Lennon wrote better music than Tchaikovsky. Heaven is not in our solar system, but it is somewhere in the universe.

Science involves… Using and extending the senses Observing and collecting Probing and testing Deductive hypothesis testing Inductive search for patterns Building increasingly accurate explanations based on evidence

Mendeleev and the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements

Fleming and the serendipitous discovery of the first antibiotic

Goodall and the willingness to break with convention

The Scientific Method There is simply no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow, no one path that leads them unerringly to scientific knowledge.

“The Scientific Method” 1)Question or Problem 2) Hypothesize 3)Predict Consequences 4) Experiment 5) Interpret Experimental Results

Experiments An experiment is a test used to determine if there is evidence to support a hypothesis

What is a hypothesis? A hypothesis is a guess or prediction about a phenomenon. Hypotheses can be stated as positive or negative. can be stated as an “If __, then __.” statement.

Write your own hypothesis Write your prediction for the outcome of the radish seed experiment You should also provide a REASON…why do you think the experiment will turn out the way it will?

What is a theory? A theory is an explanation that has a very large amount of evidence to support it. A fact is an observation about nature. A theory is an explanation. So a theory can never “become” a fact.

Experiment Titles Usually, experiments are titled in a format like this: “The Effect of _______ on _________” Sample title: “The Effect of Light on Growth of Radish seeds”

Experimental variables The ONE factor that you cause to be different between experimental groups is the MANIPULATED variable (also called INDEPENDENT variable). Sample: In the radish seed experiment, the manipulated variable is”Amount of Light”

Experimental variables The factor that you measure as the outcome of the experiment is called the RESPONDING variable (also called DEPENDENT variable) In the radish seed experiment, the responding variable is ___________. The responding variable is LENGTH of STEM, measured in millimeters.

Constants All other factors in the experiment must be controlled so they are the same for all groups. Examples of constants in radish seed experiment: Type of Petri dishtype of seed Number of seedpaper towel Water, Locationtemperature

Measure the responding variable Draw a data table for recording radish plant sizes DateLight Dark

Writing an experiment description Title Hypothesis Short description of procedure Identify control and experimental groups. Name the manipulated, responding variables Identify five constants

Measurements Obtain a flexible plastic ruler and measure the length of the radish seeds today in millimeters. Record your data and your partner’s data in the data table.

Fact, Hypothesis, Law, Theory Fact = a stated observation Hypothesis = a proposition that may be investigated Law or Principle = a description of observable phenomena Theory = an explanation based on extensive evidence