Science Question of the Day Do you think you like Science class?

Why or why not?

Scientific Method

A blueprint for

experiment success.

Let’s make an experiment! Take a look at these two objects. If I

were to drop them, which do you think would land first? Why?

How can we determine the answer to our question?

Let’s come up with a plan!

Our Plan Step One: Identify the Problem/Ask a Question

Step Two: Make a Guess (hypothesis)

Step Three: Perform Experiment

Step Four: Make Observations

Step Five: Analyze Data

Step Six: Draw Conclusions

Science Question of the Day What are you looking forward to this

year in Science?

What is the scientific method? It is a simple method scientists use to conduct an

investigation. It is a way to ask & answer scientific questions by

asking questions & conducting experiments.

Step One: Problem/Question Ask a question about something

observed.– Why?– How?– What?

Question to be solved. Think of what you already know about

the problem.

Step Two: Hypothesis Educated guess about how things work. Prediction Use If, then statements

– If ____ [I do this], then _____ [this will happen]

Focus on one variable only. What’s a variable??? What are some variables we could change

about our drop experiment?

Step Three: Experiment Test your hypothesis. Is it accepted (right) or rejected (wrong) ? Change only one variable at a time. Use a control group (A group that has nothing

done to it. Standard used for comparison in an experiment.)

For example, we could open the book when we drop it to see if it changes the speed. Then, we would test it against a closed book to see if it makes a difference. This is the control group.

In order for results to be valid, conduct several tests.

Let’s change the variable! Think back to our rock and book. What

could we change about our objects to see if they will change in speed?

Each group will come up with two changes in variables and see if it effects the speed of the objects.

Let’s experiment!

Science Question of the Day Do you think Science class is an

important subject? Why or why not?

Step Four: Make Observations When making observations, we can

make two kinds: Quantitative and Qualitative.

Quantitative has to do with numerical data and values (height, weight, speed, velocity, volume, mass, etc).

Qualitative has to do with immeasurable observations (type of soil, kind of environment, thoughts and feelings, etc.).

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data

Think about our drop experiment again. What do you know about the objects in

our experiment? Which of those are quantitative

observations? Which are qualitative?

Record Observations When making observations, it is important to write

down what you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste (when appropriate) during an experiment.

You can use this information later to analyze your data and draw conclusions.

Graphs, tables, charts, and other graphics are a great way to organize your information.

Record Observations Let’s record our observations from the

drop experiment. Take a look at your tables. We will fill in our variables and record

what happened in those tests. This may look complicated now, but we

will go through it together.

Science Question of the Day

What careers are you interested in that use Science?

Step Five: Analyze Data You will always conduct your

experiment more than once. Many times you will change your

variables (things you do to the items in your experiment) during a lab.

You must use various methods to analyze your results and determine why the experiment turned out the way it did.

Yes, we will use math!

Step Six: Draw Conclusions Summary of your experiment. After your experiment, analyze your data to

see if your hypothesis was accepted or rejected.

If hypothesis is rejected, give possible reasons for the difference between your hypothesis and the experimental results.

Why did it turn out the way it did?

Blast Off! You are now ready to perform your own

experiment using the scientific method! Each group will be given a problem

(Step One), and you must design your own experiment to execute the scientific method.

Good luck scientists!