Science
The Scientific Method:
Lesson 3:
The Scientific Method
(balloon experiment)
The BIG Question:
How do scientists
attempt to explain
our world?
The BIG Question:
What are the steps
scientists use to
find answers to
their questions?
The
Scientific
Method
Step 1:
Step 2:
I
think…
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Now it’s
your turn to
think like a
scientist!
The number
of experiments
we do this
year depends
on YOU!
Using the Scientific Method
Question: (What do you want to find out?)
What happens when vinegar and baking soda are mixed together?
Hypothesis: (What do you think will happen?)
When vinegar and baking soda are mixed together, I think ____
___________________________________________________
Procedure:
1. Use a funnel to pour 1 teaspoon of baking soda
into an empty bottle.
2. Use the funnel to add 1 ounce of water to the
bottle. Mix the water and baking soda by
swirling the bottle.
3. Fit a balloon over the mouth of the bottle and
observe what happens. Draw a picture on the
back of this sheet to show what you see.
Results: (What happened during the experiment?)
balloon with baking soda
and water in the bottle
Procedure: (What steps will you follow?)
4. Carefully remove the balloon. Then use the
funnel to pour 2 ounces of vinegar into the
balloon. One person should hold the funnel and
the balloon tightly while the other person pours
in the vinegar.
5. Carefully stretch the top of the balloon back
over the mouth of the bottle. Be careful not to
get any vinegar into the bottle.
Procedure: (What steps will you follow?)
6. Lift the balloon so that the vinegar falls into
the bottle. Swirl the bottle to mix the vinegar
with the baking soda and the water. Observe
what happens and draw a picture on the back of
this sheet to show what you see.
Results: (What happened during the experiment?)
balloon with baking soda, water,
and vinegar in the bottle
Conclusion:
(What did you learn from this experiment?)
When baking soda and vinegar are mixed
the gas named carbon
together, they create ______________________
dioxide.
_______________________________________
Word Splash
1
Making Observations
2
Balloon Experiment
3-4
Sum
it up!
What did you
learn today?
What do you call the steps
that scientists use to find
answers to their questions?
Name as many of
the steps as you
can remember.
Number them
from 1 to 5.