1. EQ: How will I distinguish the steps of the scientific method?
Scientific Method S4CS1
EQ: How will I distinguish the steps of the scientific method?

2. The scientific method is a way in which scientists find out how things work and affect each other. The six steps of this method help scientists test ideas.

3. Observe & Ask Questions
I wonder?
What happens when?
Why?

4. Research Your Topic Visit the library. Find online resources.
Ask an expert.

5. State your Hypothesis An educated guess. Make the questions testable.
What do you think will happen?

6. Test Your Hypothesis
Conduct
the
experiment.

7. Analyze Your Data Put your data into a chart or graph.
Was your hypothesis correct?
Why or why not?

8. Report Your Results
Your report should have complete sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization.

9. Think Like a Scientist
You are hungry. You decide to make a sandwich for lunch. You gather all your favorite sandwich foods: cheese, meat, lettuce, mustard, and tomatoes.
Then you look for the bread. You know your father bought a fresh loaf a few days ago. It isn’t in the refrigerator. You find the bread in the metal bread box right next to the stove. You open the package and pull out two slices. Wait!! There are black and green fuzzy spots on the crust. The bread is moldy!!!

10. You have seen mold on bread before
You have seen mold on bread before. But the mold was not on such fresh bread. That makes you wonder, “If the bread was fresh only a few days ago, why is there mold on it today?”
You just went from being hungry to thinking like a scientist. All scientist wonder about the things they notice. Then they ask questions about them. They also investigate how or why things happen. But you do not need to be a scientist to do a scientific investigation. All you need to do is follow a certain way of thinking.

11. The scientific method helps you think out ideas and plan investigations. You will not always follow all the steps in the same order. But the method almost always starts in the same way.
The first step of a scientific method is to notice something interesting. When you noticed the mold, you made an observation. When you observe, you use your senses to gather information. Your senses are sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

12. You use your senses all the time
You use your senses all the time. If you want to find a book, you look around. You hear a knock on the door and know there is someone there. You can smell fresh flowers in our home, often before you even see them. These are all observations. They are clues about what is happening around you.

13. Common Phrases in Scientific Questions
What is….?
What causes…?
How does…?
When will…?
How long…?
Why…?
How many more…?
What happens if…?
What is the quickest way to….?

14. Observing and asking questions
Object/Event
Senses used to observe
Questions
Moldy bread
Overripe banana
Wilted plant in a sunny yard
Can of garbage tipping over
Shivering while wearing a new jacket

15. Think Like a Scientist
Your stomach is growling, but you don’t want to eat moldy bread. You wonder, “What caused the bread to get moldy?”
Maybe there are clues to answer in the kitchen. You observe the kitchen carefully. You look at the breadbox next to the stove. You remember that your family usually stores bread in the refrigerator. And you don’t remember bread from the refrigerator getting moldy so quickly. What are the differences between the bread box and the refrigerator? You compare them. These observations lead you to make a guess about what caused the bread to get moldy. You ask yourself, ‘How can I find out whether my guess is right?”

16. To answer your question, you need to plan an experiment
To answer your question, you need to plan an experiment. But before you plan your experiment, you need to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a guess about the answer to a scientific question. Your hypothesis might be “Mold grows faster in warmer temperatures.” Now you can plan an experiment and find out whether your hypothesis is correct.

17. Click here for a Scientific Variable Video
An experiment tests a hypothesis to see if it is correct. You test your hypothesis by observing the effects of a variable. A variable is a condition in an experiment that can change. You only change one variable in any experiment. That way, your test is fair. You know that anything that happens afterward was caused by the one variable you changed.
Click here for a Scientific Variable Video

18. Both plants are the same kind of plant. Both plants are the same size
Both plants are the same kind of plant. Both plants are the same size. The plants get light from bulbs that are the same size. And both bulbs are the same distance from the plants . The experimenter also uses the same kind of soil and the same kind of pot. Both plants also get the same amount of water.

19. What condition is different
What condition is different? The color of the light is the only variable that changes. That is the variable being tested In this experiment, any differences in the growth of the plants will be caused by the color of the light.

20. For our bread experiment, we will place two slices of bread in different places. One slice goes in a warm place. The other in a cool place. The variable will be the temperature. The other conditions will be the same.
Then observe and record data. Data are information. Data can include measurements or observations. When you record data, you observe what happens. Then you write or draw what you observe. Later, your data help you decide whether your hypothesis makes sense.

21. Forming A Hypothesis and Designing An Experiment
Observation
Two loaves of bread were left on a kitchen counter The loaves were identical. One loaf was left on the counter for two weeks. It became very moldy. The other loaf on the counter for only one week. It was not moldy.
Hypothesis
Experiment
Variable that you will change
Conditions that you will keep the same

22. You did the experiment. Each morning for a week, you observed both slices of bread. Remember, one slice was kept in a warm place. The other slice was kept in a cool place. Your carefully recorded what you saw. After the week is over, you look over your data.
“What does this information tell me?”
“Does my hypothesis make sense?”

23. Organizing Your Data
There are many ways to make data easier to read and understand. First, you organize you data in a sensible way. Then you display the data. This helps you make sense of it. Sometimes you do both these things at the same time.

24. Tables
A table organizes and displays data in rows and columns. You can make your table before you start that way you fill in the table as you collect your data.
Outside Temperature
Day
Noon
9:00 P.M. 1
5° C
-4° C 2
0° C
-7° C 3
2° C
-5° C 4
8 °C
3° C 5

25. Graphs
A graph displays a relationship between sets of data.

26. Analyze Your Data
Once you have your data in a graph or table you must analyze the data. To analyze means to study data carefully to figure out what it means. When you analyze data, you look for details or patterns. The details or patterns help you figure it all out. This can lead you to an explanation. Then you can draw a conclusion.
When you look at the bars on a double bar graph, you are comparing data. When you compare, you look at two or more sets of data and tell how they are alike or different.

27. Draw a Conclusion
You recorded data each day for a week. Now it’s time to analyze the data. To analyze means to figure out the meaning of data. When you analyze data, you look for details that explain things. In this case, you analyze mold growth on the slices of bread. You look for patterns in the growth of mold over the one week period.
At the end of the week your data chart looks like this:

28. Data From Bread Mold Experiment
Day
Slices of Bread in
Cool Place
Warm Place 1
No Mold 2 3 4
One small patch of mold 5
First patch of mold is bigger; second small patch of mold 6
First two patches of mold are bigger; a third patch is starting 7
Small patch of mold
The two big patches combined into one large patch; two new patches of mold.

29. You analyze our data by looking for patterns
You analyze our data by looking for patterns. This helps you understand what happened. Look at he data for the bread stored in a cool place. There was no mold on that bread until the seventh day of your experiment. In the end, there was only a small patch of mold. But there was mold on the bread in the warm place by the fourth day. More and more mold appeared every day after that.
There is a pattern! Now it’s time to decide whether the pattern supports your hypothesis. To support means to ‘hold up.’ If the data can support your hypothesis, the hypothesis holds up That means it makes sense.
If the data do not support your hypothesis, the hypothesis ‘falls down.’ But don’t feel bad if that happens. A hypothesis is a guess. It’s fine if your guess wasn’t right. You learned from your experiment either way.

30. Your hypothesis was that mold grows faster in a warm place than in a cooler place. The data that you collected and analyzed shows that your hypothesis is supported. That means you can conclude that temperature does affect the growth of bread mold. A scientific conclusion is a decision that comes from analyzing data. Your conclusion? Mold grows faster on warmer bread than on cooler bread.
Remember, a careful experiment is never a failure. It’s nice to prove your hypothesis correct. But every experiment gives you valuable information. An experiment may rule out an idea. That is important information to know. It lets you consider other ideas. After you rule out ideas that do not make sense, you come up with new ideas.
You might find observations from an experiment that might give you more questions. You will have to form a new hypothesis and perform another experiment.

31. Forming and Testing Hypotheses
Observation
New Hypothesis/Way to Test it
1. The container with the moldy bread was not tightly sealed. The bag holding the bread without mold was tightly sealed.
2. You tried this experiment again with different brands of bread. One brand got no mold at all. The other brand got much more mold.
3. Moister bread grew mold faster than drier bread.

32. (Resource: Writing Strategies for Science by Sarah K Clark)
Report Your Results
When writing your report remember to use complete sentences, correct punctuation, and capitalization. Use the self assessment on the next page to assist your writing.
(Resource: Writing Strategies for Science by Sarah K Clark)

33. Name: ____________________________________________________________
Self-Assessment
Title: ___________________________________ Date: _________________
Topic: _________________________________________________________
Directions: Answer the questions below to self-assess your writing.
1. Capitalization
__________ Did I capitalize the first word of each sentence?
__________ Did I capitalize proper nouns such as names and places?
2. Punctuation
__________ Did I put a ., !, or a ? at the end of each sentence?
__________ Did I use commas in a series?
__________ Did I use commas in dates?
__________ Have I been careful not to use the exclamation point too much?
__________ Have I used quotation marks when I needed them?
3. Handwriting
__________ Did I write neatly?
__________ Are there missing words that need to be added?
__________ Are there extra words that need to be deleted?
4. Spelling
__________ Did I check my spelling?
5. Overall Content
__________ Have I been clear about the topic of my writing?
__________ Is it easy to tell what the main idea is?
__________ Have I used any special words or phrases that add to my writing?
__________ Are there any words or phrases that are confusing?
__________ Have I used an interesting lead?
__________ Have I considered what would make my writing better?
6. Science Content
__________ Did I use the correct science terms?
__________ Did I write about the science topic accurately?
__________ Did I do adequate research on the science topic?
__________ Did I use my own words?
__________ Do I clearly understand the science topic I am writing about?

34. Mr. Parr’s
Scientific Method
Song

35. Are you ready for
REVIEW QUESTIONS?????

36. 1. When you observe, you find out about your surrounding by using?
Only your eyes.
All your senses.
Only your ears.
Only your hands and eyes.

37. 2. Which is an example of observation?
Forming a hypothesis.
Graphing daily air temperatures.
Hearing birds start to chirp.
Walking into a room.

38. 3. Which is often the last step of a scientific method?
Drawing a conclusion
Forming a hypothesis
Making an observation
Asking a question

39. A hypothesis is an idea that you can
Observe
Study
Test
See

40. A variable is something that
Moves
Changes
Rests
Cannot be measured

41. 6. What are data? Pieces of information Types of experiments
Methods for recording data
Variables

42. 7.You plan an experiment to test which type of toy car travels the longest? What should be the variable you change?
The kind of toy car that you are testing
The type of surface that the car rolls over
How much force you use when you push the car
The air temperature on the day of the test

43. 8. Pieces of information that are collected in a scientific study are
Conclusions
Tables
Graphs
Data

44. 9. Which is NOT a form of data?
Measurements
Something you see
A conclusion
Something you hear

45. A graph is a way to Collect data Correct data Display data
Measure data

46. 11. Which is the BEST way to record measurement?
In a table
In a drawing
In a graph
In your memory