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Next, Experimentation. Why do we have the scientific method?. Gives us logical steps to follow to assist us in answering a question. What are the “steps”?. Develop a question Conduct background research: (Obtain facts and ideas that provide info regarding your questions)
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Why do we have the scientific method? Gives us logical steps to follow to assist us in answering a question.
What are the “steps”? • Develop a question • Conduct background research: (Obtain facts and ideas that provide info regarding your questions) • Form a hypothesis:(Proposing a solution to your question) • Test with an experiment: (Gives you info or data that supports or rejects your hypothesis) • Analyze the results: Does your data support or reject your hypothesis?) • Draw conclusions • Report results and test again
Hypothesis • A working explanation or “an educated guess” • Can be written in the form of “If….. then…....because
Independent Variable • Part of the experiment that the scientist changes • The factor that you wish to test • There is only one independent variable at a time. • A variable we manipulate, change, on purpose
Dependent Variable Part of the experiment that changes because of the independent variable The factor you measure to gather results
Control A group of subjects in an experiment that are not given any special treatment Something that is not manipulated This group is used to make a comparison to the other experimental groups.
Constants Factors in an experiment that remain the same for every part of the experiment
An example experiment • A person wants to test whether music can help make plants grow. The person plants several seeds from the same batch into identical flower pots with identical potting soil, watering schedule and light supply. One flower pot is isolated from the sound supply, while the other pots are subjected to various types of music. After 1 month, the “healthiness” of each plant is measured.
Self Check • The Control Group in the experiment is used for ______________. • An educated guess or possible answer to your question that is based on your research is known as ________________. The parts of an experiment that stay the same are known as ________________.
Put a YES next to questions that are good scientific method questions and a NO next to those that are not. • What is the best color in the world? • Will using or not using fertilizer help a plant grow better? • Do athletes run faster with or without vitamins? • How fast can humans run?