Scientific inquiry and experimental design

1. Scientific inquiry and experimental design CSCOPE Unit 14 Lesson 01

2. Scientific inquiry • What does “scientific inquiry” mean to you? • Scientific Inquiry: “The diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work.”

3. SCIENTIFIC METHOD • What are the “steps” in a scientific method? • Does a scientific method always have to include the same steps and have a definite starting and ending point?

4. hypotheses • What is a hypothesis? • Hypothesis: “A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation.”

5. Experimental design project • Select a topic in biology that is interesting to you and is something around which you could design an experiment • Select 2–3 scientific research articles on this topic. Review and summarize each article as part of the background research for your project.

6. Experimental design project • Based on your research, formulate a testable problem. • Then, develop a hypothesis for your problem. • Next, write detailed procedures for your experiment. Be sure to include the equipment/materials you will need and review any safety precautions that are necessary.

7. Experimental design project • Select and use appropriate equipment to conduct your experiment. • Collect appropriate data while conducting your experiment. • Analyze your data, and communicate valid conclusions based on your data.

8. Experimental design project • Finally, you will write and present a report that follows the experimental design process and communicates your results and conclusions. • You should record all of your experimental design project work in your science notebooks, then your final report will be typed using the information in your science notebooks.