1. Scientifi c Method Chapter 1: The World of Earth Science

2.  It is the complete method of creative problem solving and decision making for all fields  A logical and rational order of steps by which scientists come to conclusions about the world around them  A way to make sure that your experiment can give a good answer to your specific question  Helps to organize thoughts and procedures so that scientists can be confident in the answers they find Why Use This Method?

3.  After you decide on your area of science and the specific question you want to ask, you will need to research everything that you can find about the problem  In order for the scientific method to answer the question it must be about something that you can measure Step 1: Ask a Question / State the Problem

4.  This word basically means " a possible solution to a problem, based on knowledge and research."  Also called an “ educated guess ”  Is a simple statement that defines what you think the outcome of your experiment will be  Should be an “ If….. then…..” statement  You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can easily measure and should be constructed in a way to help you answer your original question Step 2: Form Your Hypothesis

5.  You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same  You also want to correctly identify the major parts of your experiment : independent variable, dependent variable, constants, and controls o INDEPENDENT : the factor that can be manipulated or varied in an experiment o DEPENDENT : what you measure and what is affected during an experiment ; it “ depends ” on the independent o CONSTANT : the variable that you want to stay the same throughout o CONTROL : a group, sample, test, etc. that is used in comparison to the group, sample, test, etc. that the experiment is actually done for Step 3: Test Your Hypothesis

6.  Once your experiment is complete, collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false  Show any calculations that you may have had to do during the experiment  Show results in the form of a graph, chart, etc. Step 4: Analyze Your Results

7.  See if your results supported your original hypothesis  Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again  Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way Step 5: Draw a Conclusion

8.  To complete an experiment you would communicate your results to others in a final report and / or a display board  Professional scientists do this by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster or by doing a presentation at a scientific meeting, conference, convention, etc. Step 6: Communicate Your Results