How We Know What We Know
The Scientific Method
‘I’m just no good at science’
Many students have been allowed to use
this line as a cop-out for too long.
It is almost always completely (or mostly)
untrue.
People use science everyday without
thinking of it
What Is “Science”?
Science is: The objective interpretation of
observations
Sense
Predict
An example
Yay….SCIENCE!
The Scientific Method
A protocol for understanding the world
• Observe a phenomenon. Gather background
info and come up with a question that needs answering.
• Develop a HYPOTHESIS
“Educated guess”
“Testable prediction”
• Design a CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT.
• Gather data and interpret.
• Peer review and publish. Share with the world!
Ingredients For a “Good” Controlled Experiment.
• Only ONE experimental variable
• All other factors are as close to identical
as possible between different groups.
• Repetition, repetition, repetition