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Scientific Method
A blueprint for
experiment success.
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.
I. Question/Problem
Ask a question about something observed.– Why?– How?– What?
Question to be solved. Must be about something measurable.
Preliminary Research
Before a hypothesis can be made, background information is collected.
II. Hypothesis
Educated guess about how things work. Prediction Use If, then statements
– If ____ [I do this], then _____ [this will happen]
Tests your hypothesis. Focus on only changing one variable at
a time (independent). Use a control group (A group that has
nothing done to it. Standard used for comparison in an experiment.)
In order for results to be valid, conduct several trials and average the results.
III. Experiment
III. Experiment
Record your data in a data table.– Quantitative Data: Numerical data organized in
rows and columns. Examples: 33 cm, 2.4 g– Qualitative Data: Observations that are not
numerical. Examples: red color, bubbles, smoky smell
III. Experiment
Trial Variable 1 Variable 2 Variable 3
1
2
3
4
5
AVERAGE
Title: Describing the Data
IV. Data Analysis
Analyze the data– Calculate the average (Mean) of
quantitative data. Graph
– Graph the data to look for trends & relationships.
V. Conclusion
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. – If rejected, construct a new hypothesis and
test it.