The Helicopter Hypothesis
A lesson in scientific inquiry
Teacher’s Notes, page 1
• Background:– Students should already know how to identify
and use observation, inference, and prediction.– Students should be familiar with Cornell note
strategies.• This introductory lesson will be
accompanied by a laboratory experiment and data analysis.
Teacher’s Notes, page 2
• Action Steps incorporated into this lesson:– Identification of critical-input experiences– Presentation of information in small chunks
with room for student input– Student-written conclusion (in Cornell format)– Student reflection of learning
Teacher’s Notes, page 3
Continued• Action Steps incorporated into this lesson:
– Providing students with opportunities to practice learning
– Use of games focused on academic content– Incorporation of unusual information
Student Lesson begins on next slide
The Helicopter Hypothesis
A lesson in scientific inquiry
Notes
I. Notes Notes Notes
A. notes notes notes notes notes notes
B. notes notes notes
C. notes notes notes
Using your Cornell frame
Main ideas
Key terms
Questions
Cartoons - A brief summary
- Connections to other things you know
Objective• Students will be able to:
– Define/explain several important terms used in scientific inquiry
– Apply these terms in a real-life scientific inquiry challenge
Brainbuster!What is the only bird that can fly
both forwards and backwards?
Brainbuster!Answer:
the hummingbird
hummingbird
helicopter
paper helicopter of science!
Today’s Important Terms:Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is Scientific Inquiry?• It is the process of using
observations, inferences, predictions and experiments to learn about the world
• It is an ongoing process of discovery• It is used in all types of science, but
also in other areas, and even regular daily life!
Example: Scientific InquiryUh oh! I turn on my radio, but no music
comes out.
Maybe the radio is unplugged?
If the radio is unplugged, then plugging it in will start the music.
I’ll check and see if the plug is plugged
into the wall.
Yep, the plug is plugged in.
The plug isn’t my problem.
Something else must be wrong.
observation
inference
predictionexperiment
data analysis
conclusion
Example: Scientific InquiryUh oh! I turn on my radio, but no music
comes out.
Maybe the radio is unplugged?
If the radio is unplugged, then plugging it in will start the music.
I’ll check and see if the plug is plugged
into the wall.
Yep, the plug is plugged in.
The plug isn’t my problem.
Something else must be wrong.
prediction
hypothesis
Today’s Important Terms:Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is a Hypothesis?• It is a prediction • It is almost always based on
observations and inferences• It is testable• It is my best guess of what will
happen
Today’s Important Terms:Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is a Control Group?• It is the unchanged (“normal”)
stuff in an experiment where I am testing different conditions
• It is something to which I can compare my test results
• It’s sometimes just called a control
Control =Comparison
Today’s Important Terms:Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is an Independent Variable?
• It is the condition I change in an experiment
• I change it because I want to see what will happen
• I should change only one thing at a time
• I’m in charge of it!Independent Variable =
I change it
Today’s Important Terms:Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is a Dependent Variable?
• It is the data I collect• It is the observation I make after
testing my independent variable• It is the result of my experiment• It depends on what I changed
Dependent Variable =Data that Depends
Today’s Important Terms:Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is an Uncontrolled Variable?
• It is a source of error• It is an unexpected mistake or
event in my experiment• It may be unavoidable• It may make my data unreliable• It is generally unwanted!
Uncontrolled Variable =Unexpected, Unreliable
Quick Quiz
What do you call a prediction, or educated guess?
Scientific InquiryHypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is the thing that I change in an experiment?
Scientific InquiryHypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What is the thing that remains unchanged in an experiment?
Scientific InquiryHypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What do you call the data that you collect in an experiment?
Scientific InquiryHypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What do you call the things that may cause errors in your
experiment?Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
What do you call the process of doing experiments to learn
answers?Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis
Independent VariableDependent Variable
Uncontrolled Variable
Control Group
The Helicopter Hypothesis• To practice using
all these parts of scientific inquiry, you will build and test paper helicopters
• Your goal is to figure out what will make them stay in the air the longest
Hypothesis
The Helicopter Hypothesis
What I think will happen
Scientific Inquiry
Independent Variable
Dependent VariableUncontrolled Variable
Control GroupA regular helicopter What I change
Possible mistakes What actually happens
The entire experiment
The Helicopter Hypothesis• In your next
lessons, you will perform the experiment and examine your data
• You’ll learn more about scientific inquiry by really using it!
Objective• Students will be able to:
– Define/explain several important terms used in scientific inquiry
– Apply these terms in a real-life scientific inquiry challenge
Notes
I. Notes Notes Notes
A. notes notes notes notes notes notes
B. notes notes notes
C. notes notes notes
Using your Cornell frame
Main ideas
Key terms
Questions
Cartoons - A brief summary
- Connections to other things you know