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The Scientific Method
Claire Golec
EDU 290
Tu/Th 11:00am
What is it?
• “A way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments.”
– There are 6 major steps to follow when using The Scientific Method…
http://www.sciencebuddies.org
1. Ask a question!
• Consider:
– What do you want to learn?
– Why are you going to do an experiment?
– What do you hope to discover?
http://www.sciencebuddies.org http://www.illustrationsof.com
2. Research/ Apply Prior Knowledge
• Consider:– Do I have access to anything that can provide
me with more information about the subject of this experiment?
– What do I already know about the items involved in this experiment?
• Will any of this knowledge help me guess the outcome?
http://www.sciencebuddies.org http://www.123rf.com
3. Make a hypothesis
• What do you think will happen during the experiment?
- Why?
http://www.sciencebuddies.org
4. Test your hypothesis!
• This is the step where you begin your experiment.
– List the materials and steps of the procedure
– Make sure that your experiment is a “fair test”
• Change only 1 variable
• Keep all other aspects of the experiment the same
– Don’t forget to record your results!
http://www.sciencebuddies.org
5. Analyze your data/ Draw a conclusion
• What happened?
– Did the experiment go as planned?
– Are there any exceptional results that stand out from the others?
http://www.sciencebuddies.org http://blog.duarte.com
6. Report your results
• Write up your entire process in a complete paragraph with proper grammar and units (unless specifically instructed to format otherwise).
• Consider:
– What did I learn?
– Was my hypothesis correct?
– Did anything unusual happen/ why?
– Possibility of human error.
http://www.sciencebuddies.org
EXAMPLE EXPERIMENT
Uncooked Eggs
vs.
Cooked Eggs
*Which will float in tap water?*
Question
• What happens when you drop a raw egg and a hard-boiled egg into separate but equal containers of tap water?
– Does only the raw egg float?
– Does only the hard-boiled egg float?
– Do both eggs float?
– Do both eggs sink?
1
Research
• What do I already know about eggs?
– “I once dropped an egg in a sink full of dishwater and it sank to the bottom.”
– “Raw eggs have fluid inside them and fluids that are not water can often float in or on top of water.”
– “The raw egg felt heavier than the hard-boiled egg when I held them.”
2
Hypothesis
• Based on my previous knowledge that a raw egg will sink in a sink full of dishwater, I predict that the raw egg in our experiment will sink when placed in a container of tap water. When I held the raw egg in one hand and the hard-boiled egg in my other hand, I felt as though the hard-boiled egg seemed lighter. Due to the fact that the hard-boiled egg felt lighter than the raw egg when I held them, I predict that the hard-boiled egg will float.
3
Experiment
• Procedure– 1: Fill both containers with equal amounts of tap
water. Make sure the water is the same temperature in each container.
– 2: Place the raw egg in one container of water and the hard-boiled egg in the other.
– Record observations.
• Materials:
– 1 raw egg
– 1 hard-boiled egg
– 2 equally sized containers of tap water
4
Conclusions5
• Both the raw egg and hard-boiled egg sank.
• My hypothesis was incorrect.
• I do not believe there to have been any human error that influenced the results of this experiment.
Reported Results6
• In conclusion, neither the raw egg or the hard-boiled egg floated in their respective containers of tap water. Furthermore this experiment proved my hypothesis to be incorrect as I predicted that the hard-boiled egg would float. There was no evidence of human error during this experiment that may have influenced the results.
The End
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