1. Scientific Method
HONORS Biology

2. I. Observation/Question/Research
Make an observation, which leads to asking a question, and then do research to learn more about the items/organisms you have observed.
Example:
Observation: You notice a plant has a lot of pine straw around it’s base. You also notice it is growing better than other plants of the same age and type. You know that pine straw makes the soil slightly acidic.
Question: Since orange juice is acidic, will it make plants grow at a faster rate also?
Research: Learn everything you can about orange juice and what conditions are needed to make a plant grow better.

3. II. Form a Hypothesis A. An educated guess or ….
B. A testable explanation/prediction …..
C. Always make your hypothesis an “If…then…” statement
Example: If tomato plants are given orange juice daily, then they will grow better than plants that are not given orange juice daily.

4. III. Experiment
A set procedure to test a hypothesis under controlled conditions. You should always have a large sample size.
A. Involves two groups  control group & experimental group
1. Control Group  all conditions are kept the same as normal/standard for comparison
2. Experimental Group  gets the “treatment” or is the group being “tested”

5. III. Experiment Continued….
B. Experimental Design:
1. Keep everything CONSTANT. Everything must stay the same except for the experimental variable (or treatment)
2. Dependent Variable –
On the Y axis
To determine, ask yourself
“What is being measured?”
3. Independent Variable –
On the X axis
“What am I changing?”

6. III. Experiment Continued ….
So let’s go over the experimental design for our “example” experiment…
Control Group?
Experimental Group?
Constants?
Dependent Variable?
Independent Variable?

7. IV. Results Collect your data in a neat format
Examples: Record your data in a chart/table and then show a visual representation of the data using a graph(s) – line, bar, pie, etc.
A. Quantitative Data – numerical
B. Qualitative Data – describes appearance

8. Line Graph
Independent Variable?
Dependent Variable?

9. Bar Graph
Independent Variable?
Dependent Variable?

10. V. Discussion REEP R- Results E-Explain E- Evidence P- Possible Errors
State the results
E-Explain
Explain the science concepts that support your results
State IV, DV, and control
E- Evidence
Use evidence/data to support your results (accepting or rejecting the hypothesis)
P- Possible Errors
State 1-2 possible errors AND how they could affect the data

11. VI. Conclusion A. Write a one to two sentence conclusion that:
1) Summarizes what the data/results told you about the problem/question.
2) Accepts or rejects the hypothesis
Accept? -- repeat experiment many times and if results are the same, you can publish
Reject? – formulate a new hypothesis & repeat the experiment
Never use 1st/2nd person in a lab report (I) – only use 3rd person

12. VII. Publish
1. If you run the experiment many times and get the same results, you may publish your findings.
2. Usually published in professional journals.
3. Theory vs. Law
1. Theory  hypothesis supported by many experiments and observations over a long period of time, but it can NEVER be proven.
Example: Theory of Evolution
2. Law  a rule of nature; a proven fact
Example: Newton’s Laws

13. Validity & Reliability
Large Sample Size
Constants
Control the Experiment
Clear and concise procedures
Repeat the experiment multiple times
Perform statistical analysis of the data (chi square analysis, standard deviation, standard error of the mean, t test, etc.)

14. Ethics
The study of the standards of what is right and wrong.