Scientific Method Who uses it? What is it? Why should I care?

Everyone uses the scientific method every day.  Yes, Even You!!!!!!!

It is a series of logical steps to solve problems. Do you have any problems to solve?  Any big or any small ones?

Any of these sound familiar?  Where are my shoes?  What should I have for lunch?  What class do I have next?  Did I do my homework for that class?  What is the cure for cancer?  Which deodorant works the longest?

There are six steps to the Scientific Method.  1. Problem/Question  2. Research  3. Hypothesis  4. Experiment  5. Analysis  6. Conclusion

By following these steps in order, you will answer your questions.  Notice the IN ORDER part. It is very important.

Problem/Question  This is the question that you are trying to answer or the problem you are trying to solve.  Try to narrow it down and be very specific.

Research  Gather data about your question: internet books magazines reports experts your past experiences

Hypothesis educated  An educated guess. based  A prediction based on data.  What you think the answer is, based on gathered information. your gathered information.

Write the Hypothesis  Say what you are going to do and then include what you expect the result to be.  An IF…THEN statement is a good way to state a hypothesis.  IF (what you are going to do), THEN (what you expect to happen.)  Example: IF 3 types of paper airplanes are thrown, THEN the most streamlined one will fly the furthest.

Experiment  This is broken into 3 parts.  Materials is a list of equipment that you will need for the experiment.  Procedures are a list of instructions that you need to follow for the experiment.  Data collection is writing down what data you measure and what you observe. This is usually in the form of a data table.

Pictures  Visual observations can be preserved with photographs. A picture is worth a thousand words!

Analysis  Organize your collection of information from the experiment.  It may be data tables, graphs, or written work (probably all 3!)  This is figuring out WHAT HAPPENED!!!!!  Use all of the above to think about, understand, and write down what happened.

Conclusion  In a conclusion you explain the following:  What was the answer to your question?  Did the data prove your hypothesis true?  It is OK if your hypothesis was not correct. Simply explain what the data shows.  Report to others your findings.  Think of a new question!

By following these steps in order, you will answer your questions using the scientific method.  That is how you use the scientific method. You’ve been doing it all along!