1. How to Solve a Problem

2. The Scientific Method  The steps that scientists take to gather information and answer questions

3. Steps of the Scientific Method Problem/Question Observation/Research Formulate a hypothesis Experiment Collect and Analyze Results Conclusion Communicate the Results

4. Identify the Problem  Asks a question  What are you trying to solve?  What is it that you want to know?

5. Gather Information/Research  Use the following: Books Magazines Reports Experts Your past experiences

6. Form a Hypothesis  Educated guess  Testable explanation for a question or problem  Prediction based on data

7. Design the Experiment  Test the hypothesis  Must have controlled conditions  Controlled experiments only look at 1 variable at a time  A control group is the standard for comparison—what you compare your results to ALL experiments need a control group

8. Variables in an Experiment  Independent The condition that is being changed This variable affects the outcome  Dependent Variable that responds to changes in the independent variable Changes can be measured “Depends on” the independent variable

9. Make Observations/ Collect Data  Observations: Descriptive, uses words only (not numbers) Known as Qualitative Data ○ EX: what it looks/feels/smells like, etc.  Data: Refers to numbers Known as Quantitative Data ○ EX: height/amount of … etc.

10. Analyze Data  Create a table, chart, or graph for numerical data

11. State a Conclusion  Summary of what you found when you tested your hypothesis  Was your hypothesis supported?  What could have/did go wrong? Things that could have caused abnormal results Called sources of error

12. Let’s put our knowledge of the Scientific Method to a realistic example that includes some of the terms you’ll be needing to use and understand.

13. Problem/Question John watches his grandmother bake bread. He ask his grandmother what makes the bread rise. She explains that yeast releases a gas as it feeds on sugar.

14. Problem/Question John wonders if the amount of sugar used in the recipe will affect the size of the bread loaf?

15. Observation/Research John researches the areas of baking and fermentation and tries to come up with a way to test his question. He keeps all of his information on this topic in a journal.

16. Formulate a Hypothesis After talking with his teacher and conducting further research, he comes up with a hypothesis. “If more sugar is added, then the bread will rise higher.”

17. Do you know the difference between the independent and dependent variables?

18. Independent Variable The independent, or manipulated variable, is a factor that’s intentionally varied by the experimenter. John is going to use 25g., 50g., 100g., 250g., 500g. of sugar in his experiment.

19. Dependent Variable The dependent, or responding variable, is the factor that may change as a result of changes made in the independent variable. In this case, it would be the size of the loaf of bread.

20. Experiment His teacher helps him come up with a procedure and list of needed materials. She discusses with John how to determine the control group.

21. Control Group Because his grandmother always used 50g. of sugar in her recipe, John is going to use that amount in his control group.

22. Constants John’s teacher reminds him to keep all other factors the same so that any observed changes in the bread can be attributed to the variation in the amount of sugar. These factors are called constants

23. Can you think of some constants for this experiment?

24. Constants Include  Other ingredients  Type of oven  Rising time  Brands of ingredients  Cooking time  Type of pan used  Oven temperature  Age of yeast  ETC…

25. Experiment John writes out his procedure along with a materials list in his journal.

26. Trials Trials refer to replicate groups that are exposed to the same conditions in an experiment. John is going to test each sugar variable 3 times.

27. Experiment John gets all his materials together and carries out his experiment.

28. Size of Baked Bread (LxWxH) cm 3 Amt. of Sugar (g.) 123Average Size (cm 3 ) 25768744761758 501296118812961260 10011881080 1116 250672576588612 500432504360432 Size of Bread Loaf (cm 3 ) Trials Control group

29. Collect and Analyze Results John examines his data and notices that his control worked the best in this experiment, but not significantly better than 100g. of sugar.

30. Conclusion John rejects his hypothesis, but decides to re-test using sugar amounts between 50g. and 100g.

31. Experiment Once again, John gathers his materials and carries out his experiment. Here are the results.

32. Size of Baked Bread (LxWxH) cm 3 Amt. of Sugar (g.) 123Average Size (cm 3 ) 501296144012961344 601404129614401380 701638 15601612 8014041296 1332 90108012009721084 Size of Bread Loaf (cm 3 ) Trials Control group

33. Conclusion John finds that 70g. of sugar produces the largest loaf. His hypothesis is accepted.