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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?
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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 • 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!