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The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method. What is the scientific method?. All scientists use a variety of scientific methods to obtain knowledge and formulate strategies to answer questions . Observe and Ask Questions. All scientific understanding of our natural world is based on observation

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The Scientific Method

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  1. The Scientific Method

  2. What is the scientific method? All scientists use a variety of scientific methods to obtain knowledge and formulate strategies to answer questions.

  3. Observe and Ask Questions • All scientific understanding of our natural world is based on observation • Observation is the most important part of the scientific method • Observation involves one of our five senses • There can be many questions at the beginning of an investigation, but generally, a scientist will try to answer one at a time

  4. Collect Initial Data and Hypothesize • Initial data is usually obtained by observation, measurement, or sampling • Data is then used to make a hypothesis, an educated guess, to answer the question. • A hypothesis must be able to be tested.

  5. Forming a Hypothesis • It is just before dinner time and you see taco meat cooking on the stove… • Your hypothesis is _______________ • It’s your birthday and you walk into a room to find your friend suddenly pushing something behind the couch. You see scissors and tape lying on the floor… • Your hypothesis is _______________

  6. Set Up an Experiment!! • All experiments will contain 2 groups • control group – under normal conditions • Experimental group- contains the manipulated factor (a variable is changed) • There will also be 2 variables in each experiment 1. Independent variable- factor that gets changed/manipulated 2. Dependent variable- what you measure

  7. Identify the control group, experimental group, independent and dependent variable for the scenario below: • On what surface (other than hard) does a tennis ball bounce higher? Control group= hard surface Experimental group= grass, clay Independent variable= surface of court Dependent variable= height of bounce

  8. Identify the control group, experimental group, independent and dependent variable for the scenario below: • Does having breakfast affect a student’s performance on a test Control group = NO breakfast Experimental group = WITH breakfast Independent variable = food intake Dependent variable = test grade

  9. Analyze Data and Draw Conclusions • After collecting data in the experiment, we then analyze it and infer to determine a conclusion. • Question: Does our data support our hypothesis? • Answer: NO  we change our hypothesis and start over • Answer: YES check to make sure our data agrees again, if it continues to be upheld scientific theories and laws may result! Report our findings to the scientific community

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