1. Science & Technology: Chapter 1 Section 2
Objectives:
1. Explain what the scientific inquiry involves.
2. Describe how to develop a hypothesis and design an experiment.
3. Differentiate between a scientific theory and a scientific law.

2. Scientific Inquiry (Scientific Method)
Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations base on the evidence they gather.
Steps in Scientific Inquiry or Scientific Method
1. Posing Questions – Find a topic
2. Develop Hypothesis
3. Design an experiment
4. Experiment
5. Collect/Record and Interpret Data
6. Drawing Conclusions

3. Posing Questions
Scientific inquiry often begins with a problem or question about an observation.
Ex. – Does air temperature affect the chirping of crickets?
Scientific inquiry cannot answer questions about personal tastes or judgements.

4. Developing A Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a possible explanation for a set of observations or answer to a scientific question.
A hypothesis is not a fact.
A hypothesis must be testable.
Therefore, researchers need to be able to carry out tests and gather information that will either support or disprove the hypothesis.
Many trials are needed before a hypothesis is accepted.

5. Designing An Experiment
A variable is any factor that can change an experiment.
In designing an experiment all variables must be kept the same except for the one being tested.
Ex. – Kind of crickets, type of container, thermometer
Variables that kept the same are called constants.
A manipulated variable (independent variable) is the one variable that is purposely changed to test the hypothesis
Ex. - Temperature

6. Designing An Experiment
The factor that may change in response to the manipulated variable is called the responding variable (dependent variable).
Ex. – Cricket Chirps
A controlled experiment is an experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time

7. Collecting and Interpreting Data
Data are facts, figures, and other evidence collected through observations
A data table will provides an organized way to collect and record your observations.
Once all of your data has been collected, a useful tool to help interpret the data is a graph.
Bar Graph, Line Graph, Pie Graph, Etc.

8. Drawing Conclusions
A conclusion is a summary of what you have learned from your experiment.
In concluding, you should ask the following questions:
1. Does the data support the hypothesis
2. Did you collect enough data
3. Did anything happen during the experiments that may have affected the results
Scientific inquiry will usually lead into another one with new questions, hypotheses, and experiments.
Inquiry is a process with many different paths, not a rigid sequence of steps.

9. Scientific Theory and Scientific Laws
A scientific theory is a well tested explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results.
A theory is only accepted when there is a large body of evidence that supports the theory.
Future testing can prove an accepted theory to be incorrect.
The theory may then be modified or discarded.

10. Scientific Laws
A scientific law is a statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions.
Unlike a theory, a scientific law describes an observed pattern in nature without attempting to explain it.
A scientific law then can be thought of as a rule in nature.