Steps of The Scientific Method:
Problem
P = ___________________________
What is the main question being asked?
Steps of the Scientific Method:
Hypothesis
H = _____________________________________
“Educated Guess”
This should be an “IF - THEN” statement
Ie. – “IF” we do not water the plants,
“THEN” they will not grow!
Steps of the Scientific Method:
Experiment
E = _____________________________________
ALERT - Within the Experiment, we need to look for the…
Does not receive the special treatment or receives the
Control Group:____________________________________________
recommended treatment
Receives the special treatment
Experimental Group:_______________________________________
A measurement that we CAN control
Independent Variable:_____________________________________
(the “IF” part of the hypothesis)
A measurement that we CANNOT control
Dependent Variable:______________________________________
(The “THEN” part of the hypothesis)
Things that are the same for all groups
Constants:_______________________________________________
Steps of the Scientific Method:
Observation
O = _____________________________________
What is it that you are actually being
asked to look for or measure?
Steps of the Scientific Method:
Conclusion
C = _____________________________________
A Final statement that either supports
or refutes the hypothesis
Example – Grow Plant Grow!
Pete thought that if a plant received 250 mL of water, it would grow the
tallest. He planted ten seeds in each of 5 pots found around the house
that contained 500 g of “Pete’s Potting Soil.” The recommended
amount of water for the plants to receive is 150 mL. The pots were
given the following amounts of water each day for 40 days: pot 1=50
mL, pot 2 = 100 ml, pot 3 = 150 ml, pot 4 = 200 ml, pot 5 = 250 mL. The
height of each plant was measured at the end of the experiment.
WRITE A HYPOTHESIS FROM THIS SCENARIO……
IF Pete gave a plant 250 mL of water a day,
THEN that plant would grow the tallest.
Pete thought that if a plant received 250 mL of water, it would grow the
tallest. He planted ten seeds in each of 5 pots found around the house
that contained 500 g of “Pete’s Potting Soil.” The recommended
amount of water for the plants to receive is 150 mL. The pots were
given the following amounts of water each day for 40 days: pot 1=50
mL, pot 2 = 100 ml, pot 3 = 150 ml, pot 4 = 200 ml, pot 5 = 250 mL. The
height of each plant was measured at the end of the experiment.
WHAT IS THE INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLE IN
THISSCENARIO…… (Hint: The independent variable will be the “if” part
of the hypothesis and the dependent variable will be the “then” part of
the hypothesis.
IF Pete gave a plant 250 mL of water a day, THEN that plant would grow the tallest.
Independent = amount of water
Dependent = height of plant
Pete thought that if a plant received 250 mL of water, it would grow the
tallest. He planted ten seeds in each of 5 pots found around the house
that contained 500 g of “Pete’s Potting Soil.” The recommended
amount of water for the plants to receive is 150 mL. The pots were
given the following amounts of water each day for 40 days: pot 1=50
mL, pot 2 = 100 ml, pot 3 = 150 ml, pot 4 = 200 ml, pot 5 = 250 mL. The
height of each plant was measured at the end of the experiment.
WHAT ARE THE CONSTANTS IN THIS EXPERIMENT?
500 grams of Pete’s Potting Soil ; tested for 40 days
WHAT IS THE CONTROL?
150 mL of water.
HOW MANY DIFFERENT TREATMENTS (OR GROUPS) ARE THERE?
5
HOW MANY TRIALS ARE IN EACH TREATMENT OR GROUP?
10
TEAM TIME…..
Sandy heard that plants compete for space. She decided to test this idea.
She bought a mixture of flower seeds and some potting soil. Into each
of the 5 plastic cups, she put the same amount of soil. The amount of
seeds in each cup were as follows: Cup A = 2 seeds, Cup B=4 seeds, Cup
C = 8 seeds, Cup D = 16 seeds, Cup E = 32 seeds. After 25 days, she
determined which of the plants looked the best. She predicted that
cup E would do the worst.
IN YOUR TEAM, DECIDE ON THE FOLLOWING…..
HYPOTHESIS: If plants were planted close together, THEN they would not do well
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:
How many seeds were put in a cup
DEPENDENT VARIABLE: How well the plant did
CONSTANT(S): Same amount of soil, looked at for 2 days, used plastic cups
CONTROL:
NONE!!!
NUMBER OF GROUPS: 5
TRIALS PER GROUP: 1
NOW ITS YOUR TURN…
As a team, make up any experiment (we will not
actually test it out.) You can present this to us in
several forms, picture, acting out, song, diagram,
etc….. In the experiment, you will need to identify
to us the hypothesis, independent variable,
dependent variable, control, constant(s), number of
groups, number of trials in each group.