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