Title: Scientific Method

Scientific Method Notes A process used by scientists to complete experiments

Scientific Method C-Notes The question that you the scientist plan to answer. You want to solve this problem Step 1: Problem

Scientific Method C-Notes An educated guess or explanation that answers the question in the problem Step 2: Hypothesis

Hypothesis At the first time that the first humans landed on the moon, several areas of the United States had heavy rains. Some people said that rain was caused by the moon landing…   Is this a valid hypothesis?

Scientific Method C-Notes The items you need to do your experiment. Includes lab and safety equipment. Step 3: Materials

Scientific Method C-Notes The process or steps you will take during your experiment. Step 4: Procedure Step 1…….. Step 2……. Step 3…….

Scientific Method C-Notes The information you will gather during your experiment. Step 5: Data

Scientific Method C-Notes Analyze Data Summarize Data Determine if your hypothesis should be accepted or rejected. Step 6: Conclusion

Conclusion ·        Be sure to include how the data supports or refutes the hypothesis ·        Analyze the Data --- No lists

Scientific Method C-Notes The things in your experiment that never change. Constant

Constants In the penny lab, what were some things that were constants? Things that didn’t change at all during the experiment?

Scientific Method C-Notes The sample in your experiment you are comparing other samples to. Control If we did another lab with different types of coins, your penny might be your control. You might want to know how many drops of water coins can hold compared to a penny.

Scientific Method C-Notes The things in your experiment that change. Variables

Variables In the penny lab, what were some variables? Things that changed or were different in the lab.

Variables The number of drops the penny held The person dropping the water The height you dropped the water from The type of eye dropper you used

Remembering types of variables: DRY MIX D – ependent R – ecord/respond Y – axis M –anipulate (manos) I –ndepent (I change) X - axis

Variables The thing that I change in the experiment. What did I make different? Independent Variables

Variables What am I recording or writing down, what is changing by itself during the experiment. Dependent Variables

A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course.  Half the students were offered $5 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money.    What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable?

Variables During the penny lab John and Daviyance found that there penny held 25 drops the first time, 35 the second time, and 30 the third time. They took turns dropping water onto the penny, and each one used a different type of pipette. What are some independent variables? What is the dependent variable?

A social psychologist thinks that people are more likely to conform to a large crowd than to a single person.  To test this hypothesis, the social psychologist had either one person or five persons stand on a busy walking path on campus and look up.  The psychologist stood nearby and counted the number of people passing by who also looked up. What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable?

Exit Slip Quiz Example 1 A researcher is studying the effect of sleep on aggression, thinking that less sleep will lead to more aggression. She has some people sleep 6 hours per night, some people sleep 3 hours per night and some people sleep as much as they want. She then monitors aggressive behavior during basketball games among participants. What is the independent variable? What is the dependent variable?

Example 2 A researcher is curious to find out what effect classical music has on people’s level of relaxation (as measured by heart rate). He suspects that listening to classical music will make people feel more calm and relaxed. He lets one group listen to classical music for one hour. He lets another group sit in a quiet room for one hour (i.e they hear no music). After one hour, he monitors the heart rate of each participant to measure their level of relaxation. What is the Independent Variable? What is the Dependent Variable?

Example 3 A researcher conducts an experiment to assess the effects of alcohol on people's sense of balance. He divides his subjects into three groups: in one group the participants drink one ounce of alcohol, in another they drink two ounces of alcohol and in a third group the participants drink soda. He then watches as each participant tries to walk on a straight line from one corner of the room to the next and notes how many times they stumble outside the line. What is the Independent Variable? What is the Dependent Variable?